Ms. Magazine’s Spring 2025 Sneak Peek: ‘If It Can Happen Here…’

Just a few short miles away from Ms.‘ L.A. office, officials with the city of Beverly Hills responded to a campaign by antiabortion extremists by blocking an all-term clinic from opening its doors. An investigation into how they succeeded—in California, an “abortion sanctuary”—is our cover story for this issue. With this accomplished, where will extremists target next?

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The Story of Chicago’s First Black Woman-Owned Bookstore

An excerpt from Prose to the People: A Celebration of Black Bookstores by Katie Mitchell, out April 8:

“Meeting Desiree Sanders made me wish I had a time machine so I could travel back to the 1990s and 2000s and just once, experience Chicago’s first Black woman-owned bookstore, Afrocentric Bookstore. …
Before the store closed permanently in 2008, Afrocentric Bookstore served the Black community for 18 years. Thousands sat at book signings, partied at book festivals, browsed curated inventory, and soaked in the artful aesthetics that Afrocentric became known for—no time machine required.”

‘Everything Fell Apart in Seconds’: Women and Girls Need Urgent Support After Disastrous Earthquake in Myanmar

 “I’ve lived here all my life, but I have never experienced anything as devastating as this earthquake,” said 55-year-old Than in Mandalay, her voice trembling. “Everything fell apart in seconds.”

On March 28, 2025, a powerful 7.7-magnitude earthquake struck central Myanmar, devastating communities across the regions of Mandalay, Sagaing and beyond. Homes crumbled, bridges collapsed and essential services were brought to a halt. The disaster left thousands dead and injured, and countless others—especially women and girls—battling to survive.

On the Fifth Anniversary of COVID-19, the Crisis for Women and Girls Isn’t Over

Five years ago, the world was upended by the COVID-19 pandemic—a crisis that transcended borders, affecting every facet of our lives. Today, while much of the world has moved on, the scars remain deeply etched in the lives of women and girls in the Global South. The crisis for us has not ended; it has merely been pushed into the shadows. As we mark World Health Day on April 7, it is imperative to confront the ongoing struggles of women and girls in the Global South and demand urgent action.

In Uncertain Times, We Cannot Stay Silent

Staying motivated and positive in these uncertain times is no easy feat. We are witnessing a full-fledged patriarchal meltdown, with women’s rights under threat, jeopardized or outright stripped away.

At a recent women’s conference, an attendee told me, “I’m waiting for someone to help us and tell us what to do.” My response? Don’t wait, because nobody is coming. Change starts with us. We are the ones we’ve been waiting for.

Trump’s War on Older Women

By now we all know that President Trump’s various policies and announcements have targeted immigrants, institutions with DEI programs and several federal agencies, including ones that focus on media, libraries, museums and ending homelessness.

But one of the biggest groups caught in his crosshairs is older women.

Here’s the truth: Social Security is the foundation of retirement security for most American seniors, and the damage, especially to women, is likely to be severe. Women account for more than half (56 percent) of the total beneficiary population aged 65 or older; they are the vast majority (78 percent) of widowed retirees.

Protecting All Students Requires Listening to Them: Reflections on the Implementation of Ohio’s Anti-Trans ‘Bathroom Bill’

Picking up the few remaining “all gender restroom” signs that had hung outside bathrooms at the College of Wooster in Ohio for over a decade, I found myself in a moment of reflection. My own students had worked so hard to have the signs installed, just to be removed last month in compliance with Ohio’s so-called Protect All Students Act, which was signed into law late last year.  More commonly known as the “Bathroom Law,” the act requires all schools—K-12 to college, public and private—to “designate specified facilities for the exclusive use of students of either the male biological sex or the female biological sex.”  

No one is being “protected” by these recent laws and proclamations. Instead, there are many students actively being hurt in their implementation and aftermath. When I think back to the important work my students did over a decade ago, it feels blatantly disingenuous to see those efforts superseded by politicians in the name of “protecting all students.” What those lawmakers have done is put some students in far more vulnerable positions; and educational institutions have been forced to forgo the needs of their students in order to comply.

Jackson Katz Calls on ‘Every Man’ to End Men’s Violence Against Women

In an online culture becoming increasingly dominated by the hypermasculine manosphere, men’s roles in preventing violence toward women are more important than ever.

As decades of progress against gendered violence crumbles around us, another man is speaking out: renowned anti-violence educator Jackson Katz in his new book, Every Man: Why Violence Against Women Is a Men’s Issue and What You Can Do About It. Co-founder of the pioneering gender violence prevention program Mentors in Violence Prevention, Katz has written an engaging, practical guide for men who want to end violence against women.

This Week in Women’s Representation: With Crawford’s Win in Wisconsin, Six of Seven Justices Are Women; Bipartisan Push for Proxy Voting in Congress for New Parents

Weekend Reading for Women’s Representation is a compilation of stories about women’s representation. 

This week: Remembering Abigail Adams’ warning to her husband, “Remember all Men would be tyrants if they could”; Susan Crawford won the most expensive judicial election in American history; Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.) is leading the push to allow proxy voting for expectant mothers in Congress, but some of her Republican colleagues are standing in the way; new Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney eliminated the position of minister for women and gender equality and youth from his Cabinet; and more.