Each month, we provide Ms. readers with a list of new books being published by writers from historically excluded groups.
Body Image
Body image is a person’s perception of their physical self and the thoughts and feelings, positive, negative or both. Because of negative media representation and prevalent gender stereotypes, many people of all genders struggle with body confidence.
‘This Barbie Is a Feminist’: Greta Gerwig’s Barbie Reckons With Her Fraught Legacy
In Barbie, Greta Gerwig pushes her message of feminist disruption as far as she can for a mainstream movie. She is reckoning with Barbie’s legacy and literally rewriting the script through active questioning and engagement. It’s a huge start.
What Black Barbie Means to Black Women and Girls
What does Barbie mean to a Black woman who was once “the Black girl”?
She reminds me that representation does not always come in the form of a person; sometimes, it’s a doll that allows you to embrace your creativity, dreams and imagination far beyond what society believes you are capable of … all in pink stiletto heels.
June 2023 Reads for the Rest of Us
And so it is summer! Are you enjoying it? Are you on a beach with a cocktail in one hand and a book in the other? I wish I was!
Check out any (or all!) of these 30 June releases which are sure to enthrall, enlighten, educate and excite you—wherever you happen to be.
Are We Witnessing the Collapse of Iranian Patriarchy?
The Islamic Republic’s existence depends on controlling women because this is also how they control men. But for brave young people, the slogan ‘Woman, Life, Freedom’ doesn’t represent three ideas, but rather one: Only in a world that truly respects women can liberty prevail.
No Don, It’s *Patriarchy* That Is ‘Past Its Prime’
It is time to stop judging women by their age and presuming that their assumed ability to reproduce (or at least be sexually available) is their defining, or most valuable, characteristic. But also, thank you Don Lemon, for giving us a sneak-peak on what to expect for the 2024 election cycle.
February 2023 Reads for the Rest of Us
I’ve written you a column of books that I hope will help you feel your way through the month as you dream of blossoms and sun, springtime and fun. Enjoy these 33 feminist February releases!
The Eyebrow of the Beholder
Tunkel’s expository essay chronicles their personal relationship with their hairiness and the ways in which it coincides with their gender identity and normative beauty standards.
December 2022 Reads for the Rest of Us
Each month, we provide Ms. readers with a list of new books being published by writers from historically excluded groups.
I want to do my part in the disruption of the “norm” in the book world for far too long—white, cis, heterosexual, male—and to amplify indie publishers and amazing works by writers who are women, Black, Indigenous, Latinx, APIA/AAPI, international, queer, trans, nonbinary, disabled, fat, immigrant, Muslim, neurodivergent, sex-positive or of other historically marginalized identities. You know … the rest of us.
Alopecia Isn’t a ‘Cosmetic Issue’—It’s a Serious Autoimmune Disease
It took bravery for Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.) and Jada Pinkett Smith to reveal their alopecia and rock a shaved head. The two revived the national conversation around alopecia—an autoimmune disease in which the body attacks its healthy hair follicles.
“To be bald as a woman really does disrupt conventional and societal norms of what is appropriate, what is professional, what is attractive, what is feminine,” said Pressley.