Beyoncé

After Losing a Constitutional Right, America Picks a President

Americans are picking their first president after the Supreme Court overturned their constitutional right to an abortion.

Now, two-and-a-half years later, with near-full abortion bans in 13 states, deaths confirmed because of them, and a smattering of states that have enacted protections via the direct democracy of ballot initiatives, the country has a choice: to reelect Republican Donald Trump, whose pledge to undo Roe helped fuel his first ascent to the White House; or to elect Democrat Kamala Harris, who is running on resurrecting abortion rights as she aims to be the first woman to win the presidency. 

Will Taylor Swift’s Endorsement Swing the Election?: The Ms. Q&A With Scholar Janell Hobson

Since Taylor Swift announced her endorsement of Vice President Kamala Harris on the night of the debate with former President Donald Trump, publications from NBC to Fox have been debating what it might mean for Harris’ campaign and the outcome of November’s election.

An Instagram post from Sept. 10 shows the pop star posing with a fluffy cat in her arms—a direct reference to JD Vance’s quip deriding single and childless women. Before signing the post, “With love and hope, Taylor Swift, Childless Cat Lady,” Swift told followers that she plans to vote for Harris “because she fights for the rights and causes I believe need a warrior to champion them. I think she is a steady-handed, gifted leader and I believe we can accomplish so much more in this country if we are led by calm and not chaos.”

Ms. spoke with contributing editor and scholar Dr. Janell Hobson about about what the endorsement might mean.

The Political Life of Beyoncé’s ‘Freedom’

The sonic power of Beyoncé’s “Freedom” has done the work in freeing our minds to imagine women’s leadership on the world stage. It has found new life articulating a “Freedom” agenda for presidential nominee Harris. Harris’ campaign insists on forward movement. This freedom story of the nation and the world is far from over. It’s this possibility of leadership that is quite on brand with Beyoncé’s “Freedom.”

‘The Future Is Here!’: America Is Finally Ready for a Woman President

Eight years ago, Hillary Clinton made history as the first woman to be nominated for president by a major party. A proud feminist, she embraced the trailblazing nature of her campaign, portraying it as a quest to break the “highest, hardest glass ceiling.” But winning the popular vote still didn’t enable her to shatter the glass. A greater equality, the dream of generations of women, remained just that—a dream. Another woman would have to make it come true.

This week, in what might have been the waning days of her second term, Clinton declared in a full-throated speech at the Democratic National Convention, that “the future is here.” It is Kamala Harris, she said, who can smash that centuries-old ceiling once and for all.

Kamala Harris Is Older, Wiser … and Cooler

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Kamala Harris has rapidly assumed the mantel of cool, youthful candidate. Among Gen Z, she is “brat,” with Charli XCX, Olivia Rodrigo and Beyoncé lining up fast for the cause. Among the older crowd, longstanding debate over whether the vice president qualifies as a Baby Boomer—born in 1964, she is just on the cusp—rages on. It is apparently a hill Gen X is prepared to die on, citing her penchant for Chuck Taylors as proof.

Either way, at nearly 60 years old, Harris has achieved what might have seemed impossible before this moment: She has changed the perception of what it looks and sounds like to be a vibrant and capable “older” woman. We see a woman who radiates from the certainty of age and of knowing herself. Quite frankly, it is a gorgeous sight.

Ain’t I a Princess? Including Black Women and Girls in Fantasy and Play

It is only fitting that Netflix chose Juneteenth to debut the Shondaland-produced documentary film, Black Barbie. The film tells the story of Black women who worked at Mattel and gave us the titular doll, showcasing the joy of freedom through play. And yet, while the film shows that today’s Black children may no longer have feelings of being “ugly” or “bad,” as demonstrated during Clark’s doll experiment, they clearly understood Black Barbie wasn’t the “real Barbie,” wasn’t the “hero” of her own story. 

To that end, are we needing to ask a similar question about other fantasies: “Ain’t I a princess?”

It is not enough for Black women and girls to enter fantasy and play as “corrective” heroes. While we are as indebted to the Black women imagineers who worked on the new Disney ride, Tiana’s Bayou Adventure, as we are to the Black women at Mattel for giving us Black Barbie, we are equally in need of imaginations that transcend our limited realities and revel in our most whimsical dreams.

Beyoncé Banned From the Classroom? The Race and Gender Debates Continue

Pop star Beyoncé Knowles-Carter continues to be a catalyst for cultural provocation. She dares to suggest that African Americans are vital to U.S. culture and are equally worthy subjects that require our attention and recognition of their value through their inclusion in our cultural heritage. if Kimberlè Crenshaw is the theory, Beyoncé is the practice. Our laws emerge from our culture, and those we hold up as culture bearers – including our pop stars – have the power to elevate the status of those most marginalized and to make visible our different political struggles.

Black Women Caught in the Digital Crosshairs

Black women are often in the crosshairs of abusive discourse driven by social media. That recent targets are often public figures suggests that social media abusers find it profitable to attack high-profile Black women who have become symbolic avatars for the group as a whole.

(This article originally appears in the Spring 2024 issue of Ms. Join the Ms. community today and you’ll get issues delivered straight to your mailbox!)

Keeping Score: Women’s Basketball Reaches New Heights; France Protects Abortion, While Florida Tightens Its Ban

In every issue of Ms., we track research on our progress in the fight for equality, catalogue can’t-miss quotes from feminist voices and keep tabs on the feminist movement’s many milestones. We’re Keeping Score online, too—in this biweekly roundup.

This week: Women’s college basketball smashed viewership records; France passed a constitutional amendment protecting abortion; Florida will soon have a six-week abortion ban; Beyoncé makes history on the country album charts; IWMF honors Palestinian journalist Samar Abu Elouf; Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) managed to include $1 billion for childcare in the fiscal year 2024 appropriations bills; federal employees will soon have access to insurance plans that cover fertility services; President Biden announced a new plan to cancel student debt; the Supreme Court allowed Idaho to maintain its ban on gender-affirming care for minors; and more.

Beyoncé’s Country Accent in ‘Cowboy Carter’

Beyoncé’s voice of discontent resonates strongly, as does her once-considered “too country” accent, on Cowboy Carter. This, her eighth studio solo album, is a brilliant and genre-bending album rooted in country music that transcends the genre through its audacious, boundary-pushing and aggressive remixes and interpolations that have honored the hybrid space that is Southern culture.