Project 2025 is the reassertion of an old-fashioned hegemonic masculinity vastly out of step with the American people—even among self-identified conservatives. It’s the result of decades-long organizing on the religious right, but the underpinning ideologies can be traced back to the colonization of the United States.
‘Forced to Return to the Butcher’s Lair’: The Reality of Abortion Before Roe and the Fear of What’s to Come
Abortions are sought by a wide range of people for many different reasons. There is no single story. Telling stories of then and now shows how critical abortion has been and continues to be for women and girls. (Share your abortion story by emailing myabortionstory@msmagazine.com.)
“Instead of protecting our right to freedom of choice, they would have women go through what I went through and perhaps die in the process.”
“The night before the procedure, the nurse gave me a sleeping pill and as I became sleepy, I shed a few tears. But, I knew that it was the only decision for me as the baby was unplanned. I was too young and my spirit had to be eternally free to create and experience my own type of utopia.”
The Movement to Swear Off Men: No Sex. No Dating. No Marriage. No Children.
Following former President Donald Trump’s election victory, Google searches related to 4B—a fringe South Korean feminist movement that made a name for itself in the mid to late 2010s—surged in the United States.
It’s called “4B” because “B” is a shorthand for the word “no” in Korean—and a series of “nos” is what the movement calls for: No sex. No dating. No marrying men. No children.
“Young men expect sex, but they also want us to not be able to have access to abortion. … They can’t have both.”
Books in Dumpsters, But Ideas Thrive: The Resilient Legacy of New College of Florida
You’ve likely read about New College of Florida’s (NCF) transformation from a bastion of non-conformity and progressive ideals to a “Hillsdale of the South.” This telling homage refers to a private, conservative Christian school in Michigan that prides itself on not accepting federal aid for students, which allows it to dispense with federal rules like following Title IX guidance on cases of sexual discrimination.
As an educator for over 20 years and a proud alum (1993-1997) of New College, the embattled public small liberal arts college in Florida, I think of the influence of education as rhizomatic. It creates an underground network of stems and shoots that produce new growth. It’s a nonlinear network with multiple pathways—much like a diaspora—one where each node is distinct but also remains connected.
‘Critical as We Move Forward’: Reproductive Rights and Voter Advocacy Leaders Reckon With 2024 Election
Dr. Lauren Beene was still processing the election outcome when she spoke with Ms. magazine the morning after Donald Trump had been declared the winner of the 2024 presidential election. Dr. Beene, co-founder and Vice President of Ohio Physicians for Reproductive Rights, had successfully led the fight a year ago to pass an amendment that enshrined the right to abortion in the state’s constitution. Yet Dr. Beene now worried that under Trump, a national abortion ban may be in the not-so-distant future, and Ohio’s win to protect abortion rights could be in jeopardy.
Feminists Make Sense of 2024 Election Aftermath: ‘Will a Woman Ever Be President?’ ‘Our Work Continues’
Weekend Reading for Women’s Representation is a compilation of stories about women’s representation.
This week: The results of the 2024 general election have left us grappling with the status of women in the United States. So many wins across the nation must be celebrated, even if the race at the top of the ticket was not what so many of us expected. The time for organizing, protesting, advocating for systems reform, and analyzing the election, as well as so many other avenues for policy debate, can and will come soon.
Navigating Gen X Parenthood, Politics and the 2024 Election’s Hard Lessons
Two 50-something women, mothers and friends wonder: What will this next Trump era hold for our daughters and sons, our future grandchildren? Will the lessons and values we have imparted to our children enable them now, as young adults, to rise to meet the moment our nation faces?
What Kamala Harris *Still* Means to Me as Young Indian American Woman
In her concession speech, Vice President Harris spoke of an old adage: “Only when it is dark enough, can you see the stars. I know many people feel like we are entering a dark time, but for the benefit of us all, I hope that is not the case. But here’s the thing, America, if it is, let us fill the sky with the light of a brilliant, brilliant billion of stars.”
Hearing this after Diwali, the Hindu celebration of the triumph of good over evil, of light over dark, gave me chills.
Women Support Harris, but the American Presidency Remains a Male Bastion
In the end, Americans chose the man whose presidency led to the undoing of abortion rights over the woman who said she would fight to restore them. And yet, in seven of 10 states, residents also voted to protect and in some cases reinstate their legal right to abortion, which is supported by the vast majority of Americans.
The seeming disconnect might be explained by the fact that many more voters were concerned about the economy, and felt they were personally harmed by inflation, than they were about abortion, according to exit polls. Or it might be explained by the fact that the United States never has elected a woman, let alone a woman of color, to be president—and wasn’t ready to do so now. That’s a question the exit polls did not ask.
The Best Lines from Kamala Harris’ Concession Speech: ‘Sometimes the Fight Takes a While’
“We will continue to wage this fight in the voting booth, in the courts and in the public square. We will also wage it in quieter ways, in how we live our lives, by treating one another with kindness and respect, by looking in the face of a stranger and seeing a neighbor, by always using our strength to lift people up.”
After an electric 107-day campaign that made history, challenged traditional norms of political leadership and centered equality for all Americans, Vice President Kamala Harris delivered a concession speech at Howard University, acknowledging the outcome of the election was not what she had hoped for but emphasizing the enduring promise of America.