Holidays

In an Era of Unrealistic Expectations on Moms, Product Safety Is a Feminist Issue

PUBLISHED 12/21/2021 by
In an Era of Unrealistic Expectations on Moms, Product Safety Is a Feminist Issue

In the midst of the holiday season, the pressure on parents to select the perfect gift for every member of their family can feel overwhelming. What’s harder is when companies have developed a tendency of blaming accidents of shocking children’s deaths on parents, even if their unsafe products are the real culprits.

This is a feminist issue. The more the government encourages industry self-monitoring and consumer educational campaigns over regulation and federal oversight, the more the management of risk is transferred to individual families, and the gendered labor of mothers in particular.

Build Back Better Is in Peril. Low-income Families Can’t Afford To Lose It

PUBLISHED 12/20/2021 by

As families hope Democratic leadership will find a different path to pass Build Back Better policies like childcare or paid leave, another revolutionary policy is just beginning to enter mainstream awareness: guaranteed income.

Guaranteed income involves regular payments directed to specific marginalized groups, as a way to address economic inequities caused by systemic racism and sexism. Economic justice organizations like the Magnolia Mother’s Trust argue that a federal guaranteed income program would not just help low-income families pay their bills, but also reduce financial stress and set their families up for long-term success. 

“I Am Just Out of Energy This Year”: In a Pandemic Holiday, Women Still Do It All

PUBLISHED 12/18/2020 by
"I Am Just Out of Energy This Year": In a Pandemic Holiday, Women Still Do It All

Pressure and guilt, in all their forms, converge around this time every year, when the invisible work women typically do at home gets ratcheted up a few notches for the holidays. Add to that the pandemic, which has claimed more than 300,000 U.S. lives and, at its worst point, 20.8 million jobs. People are burnt out. Women most of all.

And yet, the household work—who keeps track of what groceries to buy, what appointments to make, the outfits needed for the holiday photos—continues to fall on women, as it historically has.

Five Ways to Support Ms. Before the End of the Year

PUBLISHED 12/30/2019 by

Ms. is a non-profit, independently-published magazine—meaning we rely on the support of our community to stay in print, publish online and continue mobilizing the feminist movement around the world. There are many ways you can support the work we do to make feminist perspectives heard and amplify voices from the feminist frontlines.