Summer 2025

Here, you’ll find articles originally published in the Summer 2025 issue of Ms. Join the Ms. community today and you’ll get issues delivered straight to your mailbox—or order a single copy of the Summer issue as a standalone for just $5.

Rest in Power: Robert Redford, an Unlikely but Iconic Ally

PUBLISHED 9/16/2025 by

Robert Redford, who died Sept. 16 at 89, was more than a Hollywood legend—he was also a man unafraid to stand with women.

In October 1975, Redford appeared—back turned, jeans and T-shirt on—with a rolled-up copy of Ms. tucked into his pocket for our “Special Issue on Men.” The image, art-directed by Bea Feitler, became one of the magazine’s most iconic covers, making a simple but bold statement: Women’s rights are a men’s issue too.

That appearance wasn’t a one-off. Redford consistently used his platform to support social justice, environmental causes, LGBTQ+ rights, and women’s voices in film—including through his Sundance Institute, which opened doors for countless underrepresented filmmakers. He welcomed the #MeToo and Time’s Up movements as a long-overdue tipping point, insisting that men’s role was to listen.

What About the Men? Analyzing the Public Health Crisis Affecting Men and Boys

PUBLISHED 8/6/2025 by

We can’t talk about the health crisis among men and boys without asking deeper, more uncomfortable questions—ones that go beyond the usual grievance-driven narratives.

During a visit to the Franklin County coroner’s office, I was struck by the fact that over 70 percent of the bodies they investigate are male—victims of overdose, suicide, homicide and accidents. This data doesn’t just signal a crisis; it reflects a profound societal failure to understand men’s suffering through a critical, feminist lens.

Feminist scholars have long argued that the way men are socialized—into silence, risk-taking and emotional suppression—contributes directly to their declining health outcomes. And the burden of this crisis doesn’t fall on men alone: Women, particularly women of color, are often left to carry the emotional and financial weight of caring for the struggling men in their lives.

Healing men is not about restoring old hierarchies, but imagining new, more just forms of connection, care and masculinity.

From Limbaugh to Rogan: The Rise of the Conservative ‘Brocast’

PUBLISHED 7/30/2025 by

In the wake of Trump’s reelection—America’s first “podcast election”—commentators pointed to his surprising success with young male voters, driven in part by appearances on popular “brocasts” like The Joe Rogan Experience and Bussin’ With the Boys. These shows, often focused on comedy, sports and self-improvement, gave Trump a platform to project masculine authenticity and connect with disaffected young men. As UFC CEO Dana White put it, podcasters like the Nelk Boys and Adin Ross played a pivotal role in Trump’s victory.

Conservative media has created a space where right-wing ideas feel rebellious and “real men” vote Republican. These podcasts offer not just political messaging but a sense of belonging during a “loneliness epidemic.” Unless Democrats figure out how to enter these spaces and shift the narrative, they risk losing another generation of young male voters.

Dreams Deferred: The Oppression of Women Judges Under Taliban Rule

PUBLISHED 7/28/2025 by

On a cold Sunday morning in January 2021, Qadria Yasini, a judge on the Supreme Court of Afghanistan in Kabul, set out for work with her colleague, Zakia Herawi. As they rode in the back seat of a government-provided car, they were gunned down in broad daylight by three assassins, who then fled on foot and by motorcycle. When Yasini’s possessions were returned to her family, a Mother’s Day greeting from her two teenage sons was found in her handbag, riddled by bullets.

This heartbreaking story opens British journalist Karen Bartlett’s deeply reported, troubling new book: Escape From Kabul: The Afghan Women Judges Who Fled the Taliban and Those They Left Behind.

But Bartlett’s narrative also provides an inspiring tale of resilience.

Why Is the Vice President Sitting Like That?

PUBLISHED 7/25/2025 by

That awkward posture isn’t accidental. When Vance spreads his legs and plops down for an interview, he is directly addressing young men. He wants to prove that he’s just one of the guys, while also issuing a dire warning. “The boys,” he asserts, are under attack.

Advancements in women’s rights have always been followed by countermovements, each one lamenting, “But what about the boys?”

In reality, the cure for loneliness can’t be found in calling your friends the f-word or finding a “trad wife” who will stay in her place. It requires genuine relationships. It’s about having your feelings valued but with the equal expectation of emotional reciprocity. Behold and be held. That’s the deal.

Guys: You all, like all people, deserve to be loved. The problem is, the messengers who claim to be your friends are lying. Those guys don’t love you. They love their power over you.

Ms. on Men: Rethinking Masculinity in the Wake of the 2025 Election

PUBLISHED 7/24/2025 by

When the editors of Ms. asked me to guest-edit “Ms. on Men,” a feature section in the latest print issue highlighting key issues related to men and masculinity, I knew this was more than a symbolic gesture—it was a necessary intervention.

In the wake of the 2025 election, with a growing number of young men embracing right-wing populism, we need a pro-feminist vision of masculinity rooted in justice, not grievance. This section brings together voices committed to that vision, offering both critique and possibility.

The first piece from the feature—going live on MsMagazine.com early Friday, July 25—will answer the question we’ve all been pondering: Why is the vice president sitting like that?

A System Designed to Keep Immigrant Parents From Their Children

PUBLISHED 7/22/2025 by

In Trump’s America, children languish in custody, separated from their parents because of their immigration status.

“If you care about trafficking, about what will protect children, you have to ask: Are children feeling supported?” asked Jonathan Beier, the associate director of research and evaluation for the unaccompanied children’s program at the Acacia Center for Justice—where the Trump administration abruptly canceled a multimillion-dollar legal services contract, jeopardizing the cases of approximately 26,000 children represented by attorneys from more than 100 legal organizations around the country.

Now Streaming: New Film ‘Lilly’ Tells Transformative Story of Equal-Pay Hero Lilly Ledbetter

PUBLISHED 7/18/2025 by

It’s tempting these dark days to dismiss the idea that any one person can make a difference. And yet, every day ordinary people fight injustice. And some days, those people persist long enough, resist long enough, that their fights rise to national prominence.

One such fight is chronicled in the new film Lilly, released in theaters this May and now available for rent. The brainchild of director Rachel Feldman, Lilly tells the story of Lilly Ledbetter, “an ordinary woman who became extraordinary,” in the words of Patricia Clarkson, who portrays her in the film.

‘No More Shame!’ The Transformative Lesson of Gisèle Pelicot, the French Survivor of Mass Rape

PUBLISHED 7/15/2025 by

A phone call one autumn morning from local police requesting that Dominique Pelicot, then 67, husband to Gisèle, also 67, report to the local station interrupted their daily routine. A surprised Gisèle listened as her husband told her not to worry: “It won’t be pleasant, but by noon we will be home,” he said. But the next time she saw him was at his trial.

Like many countries, France has a protective privacy act guaranteeing anonymity for crime victims. Gisèle’s lawyers warned what would happen in a public trial—the intense media attention that would surely follow every development in the case, the probable attacks on her testimony in court and possible threats to her life. Undaunted, Gisèle chose to waive her right to anonymity.

“When you’re raped, there is shame, and it’s not for us to have shame,” she told the court. “It’s for them.”

Her insistence that her trial be public surprised both her lawyers and the presiding judge—and transformed Gisèle into a feminist hero and icon.