In Barbie, Greta Gerwig creates a world where femininity is celebrated in the mainstream.
Feminist Art
Art as Protest—and Therapy—in War-Ravaged Ukraine
Art inspired by the Russian invasion of Ukraine fills Rivne, a city in northwestern Ukraine within a three-hour drive from the Polish border—where an exhibition of 44 paintings by Ukrainian artists opened last year at The Euro Gallery.
“Every moment is precious,” one artist said. “If I have a last opportunity to say something, I have to make it through art by telling the truth.”
Black Mamas Reclaim Their Space in Reproductive Justice
Forward Together’s 13th annual Mamas Day campaign “Black Mamas Reclaiming their Space in the Reproductive Justice Movement,” celebrates Black mamahood and the Black mamas who continue to push the work forward—since Black mamas are the founders of the reproductive justice framework and are the foundation of our movement.
Visit MamasDay.org to send a card to the mamas in your life.
Feminism and Freedom in Ghana: The Ms. Q&A With Nana Akosua Hanson
Nana Akosua Hanson, feminist activist, journalist and founder of Let’s Talk Consent, discusses her vision for a feminist future, the importance of art and media, and activism.
“I’m an African feminist who believes deeply in the power of art and artistic expression in changing the world.”
Ms. Global: Iran Installs Cameras for Veil Surveillance; The Vatican Allows Women to Vote; India Debates Same-Sex Marriage; Luxembourg’s Prime Minister Criticizes Hungary’s Anti-LGBTQ+ Stance
The U.S. ranks as the 19th most dangerous country for women, 11th in maternal mortality, 30th in closing the gender pay gap, 75th in women’s political representation, and painfully lacks paid family leave and equal access to health care. But Ms. has always understood: Feminist movements around the world hold answers to some of the U.S.’s most intractable problems. Ms. Global is taking note of feminists worldwide.
This time with news from Iran, Colombia, the Vatican, India, Zimbabwe, Luxembourg, and more.
The Secret History of the Vulva
The vulva is the oldest and most common object in prehistoric art. Carved in stone or painted on cave walls, images of the vulva were created around the world. Once revered, the vulva’s inherent power in bringing forth new life made it dangerous, and men tried—and are still trying—to denude it of power, tame, control and erase it.
‘Half of Men’: The Legacy of Iran’s Gender Apartheid
“What’s happening in Iran is not a movement for reform. … It’s not a movement just for equality for women. It is a revolution. The slogans that they’re chanting could not be more clear. … They want a fundamental political change in Iran.”
We Heart: The Giant Abortion Pill Snow Drawing at Sundance, Celebrating Reproductive Autonomy
In honor of the 50th anniversary of Roe v. Wade on Sunday, Jan. 22, Swedish-American artist Michele Pred created a 50-foot snow drawing of the abortion pills mifepristone and misoprostol in a park nearby the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah, where the film PLAN C about abortion pills premiered the next day.
Ms. Muse: A Short History of Falling in Love with Words, and Becoming a Girl with a Voice
Ms. Muse is a discovery place for riotous, righteous and resonant feminist poetry that nourishes and gives voice to a rising tide of resistance—brought to you by Ms. digital columnist Chivas Sandage.
What childhood experiences with language informed your relationship with poetry and life? How did you first find your voice?
Ms. Muse: Melissa Studdard on the Power of Poetry to Create the World We Want
Ms. Muse is a discovery place for riotous, righteous and resonant feminist poetry that nourishes and gives voice to a rising tide of female resistance.
How do you redeem a woman’s worst nightmare lived—or at least one of them? How do you give a mute, silenced or dead woman a voice? These are a few of the questions answered by Melissa Studdard’s poems.
“after I died / I put my clothes back on. / Like women do. / When everything has been taken.”