Online Harassment

The ‘Subway Shirt’: How Young Women Are Dressing to Deflect Unwanted Attention

An excerpt from Sexy Selfie Nation: Standing Up for Yourself in Today’s Toxic, Sexist Culture, in which Leora Tanenbaum offers an incisive exploration of why many young women wear body-revealing outfits and share sexy selfies and what these choices say about our toxic, sexist culture:

“As temperatures in New York City climbed, young women faced a dilemma: They wanted to wear summery tank tops and miniskirts but were concerned that as they traveled around the city, especially on the subway, they would be met with predatory stares, harassing, ‘Hey baby, won’t you give me a smile?’ comments, and even unwanted touches and gropes.

“And so, being resourceful New York women, they hatched a solution: the ‘subway shirt’—an oversized, shapeless shirt one slips over her ‘real’ outfit.”

How the Take It Down Act Tackles Nonconsensual Deepfake Porn—And How it Falls Short

President Trump signed the Take It Down Act into law, a bipartisan bill that makes it a federal offense to share both real and digitally altered sexually explicit images of individuals online without their consent.

While the Take It Down Act offers a lifeline to victims of deepfake and revenge porn, critical blind spots, burdensome procedures, loopholes for offenders and a reactive framework threaten to undercut its promise.

Why Do MAGA Women Dress Like That?

No judgment, but the women featured in Evie Magazine, a “conservative Cosmo” for women 18-34, are more likely than not to show off their breasts. In a nod to the tradwife fashion trend, milkmaid dresses with low décolletage are featured on young, voluptuous white women. An article making the case against body positivity and fat acceptance, “The Return of Skinny,” is accompanied by a photo of a busty white woman on a beach wearing a thong bikini. A photo spread of Eva Vlaardingerbroek showcases the Dutch right-wing activist wearing a gold cross necklace—along with her breasts falling out of a low-cut gingham dress.

To people with conservative views, only some women—those who look and act like ‘real women’—get the privilege of being sexy.

How Violent Porn Initiates Young Boys in Violence Against Women

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“Your body, my choice.” That misogynist credo is the crux of the blockbuster Netflix mini-series, Adolescence, the third most-watched English language show of all time on Netflix. The show continues to provoke debate about the impact of social media on the mental health of boys, in a world dominated by the manosphere, and its power to transform boys’ into violent misogynists. 

Surprisingly, porn was the one missing element in the otherwise brilliant four-part Netflix drama.

The show centers on a 13-year-old boy, Jamie—a typical lad, vulnerable, like so many other young men, to the venom of online misogyny spewed through unbridled social media, chatrooms, blogs and podcasts. This angry ideology, masquerading as manly virtue, blames women for male alienation and promotes violent sexuality and the dehumanization of women—the very narratives of porn.

The Data We Don’t Collect Is Killing Women

Since Roe v. Wade was overturned in 2022, at least 10 women have died as a direct result of their inability to access healthcare. But this number is only a guess, because there’s no single place that records and tracks these tragedies. And that’s not just an oversight—it’s a choice. At the same time, women seeking reproductive care are more digitally surveilled than ever before.

Without a national system to track the consequences of abortion bans, preventable deaths are disappearing into the void—by design.

Trump Officials Trolling Journalists Is Just the Tip of the Iceberg

When The Atlantic’s editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg revealed last month that he had inadvertently been invited into a Signal group chat of senior U.S. national security officials, the news dominated headlines, cable broadcasts and social media for several days.

While Democratic lawmakers called for an investigation into the incident, Trump officials set their sights elsewhere: on Goldberg himself. The harassment Goldberg faced was an unusually intense pile-on, but it underscores the increasingly common trend of targeting individual journalists by administration officials and even President Donald Trump.

“You can be a little heartened by the extent to which the administration is going after the news media, because it is probably the biggest threat to their agenda,” said Elisa Lees Muñoz, executive director of the Washington-based International Women’s Media Foundation. “It does speak to the power of the news media as the ultimate source of holding people to account.”

‘Adolescence’ Is a Cautionary Tale of the Male Rage and Isolation Fueled by the Manosphere

Adolescence is a powerful cautionary tale about the destructive forces of the manosphere and the isolation many young boys face today. Through the lens of Jamie’s tragic journey, the show illuminates the profound impact of online misogyny, social media and a culture that discourages vulnerability in young men. As both a fictional story and a reflection of the real lives I’ve encountered, it serves as a stark reminder of the urgent need for adults—teachers, parents and communities—to guide boys through the confusion of adolescence and protect them from harmful online influences.

If we fail to act, the tragedy we see in Adolescence may become a reality for more young men.

Justice on Their Terms: Empowering Plaintiffs Through Anonymity 

The day that a survivor of sexual abuse files a lawsuit is a difficult and painful day, but also one that starts a journey toward justice.  

For many plaintiffs, stepping forward is not only the start of a legal proceeding but also an act of immense courage. It often involves sharing deeply personal and traumatic experiences with the court and, potentially, the public. This is why plaintiffs must have the option and privacy protection to have their cases filed under pseudonyms.

This issue is at the center of a recent high-profile case against Sean “Diddy” Combs, U.S. District Judge Mary Kay Vyskocil ruled that a woman suing under the pseudonym “Jane Doe” must reveal her real name or face dismissal of her lawsuit.

Keeping Score: Trump’s Executive Orders Undo Progress; Meta Allows Hate Against Women and LGBTQ People; Abortion Ban States Are Losing Residents

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: Trump enacts harmful executive actions on immigration, global abortion care, DEI and foreign assistance; Trump’s new treasury secretary said expanding tax cuts for the wealthy is “the single most important economic issue of the day”; Trump pardoned anti-abortion extremists; ICE raids spread fear; 1.4 percent of trans teens participate in sports, but 40 percent are bullied at school; Whole Woman’s Health has expanded its 24/7 abortion care services; states hostile to abortion rights see challenges attracting and retaining workers; female firefighters will now receive federal compensation for treatment for reproductive cancers; remembering Cecile Richards, and more.

‘There Will Always Be Journalists to Stand Up and Fight’: Women Reporters Brace for Trump’s Second Term

A conversation between Women Press Freedom senior editor Inge Snip; Ms. managing digital editor Roxanne Szal; California-based journalist Cerise Castle; and CFWIJ founding director, Kiran Nazish:

As Donald Trump returns to the presidency, women journalists are bracing for heightened threats—including online harassment, physical violence, and legal intimidation—building on the hostility they faced during his first term. In a panel hosted by the Coalition for Women in Journalism, reporters shared their experiences navigating these dangers, emphasizing both the risks ahead and the resilience of the press. Despite growing fear, they remain committed to telling critical stories and holding power to account.