More Than A Magazine, A Movement
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.
In 2022, we witnessed a war, the uprising of women in a country, the arrest of women journalists, and the deprivation of a vast number of women’s rights, including education, and much more. Among all of these major events, an unprecedented number of female journalists were killed while doing their jobs.
Rihanna got out there and performed with one baby and another on the way. She did it on her own, without any other big-name performers. The message was clear: I’m enough.
Already showing in select theaters and releasing nationwide on Jan. 27, Women Talking is both beautiful and harrowing: an ideologically captivating drama about how a group of women with very little agency navigate making a choice that will have profound effects on their lives, their children’s lives and their community. This extraordinary film features an equally extraordinary ensemble cast, including Rooney Mara, Claire Foy, Jessie Buckley and Judith Ivey, with Ben Whishaw and Frances McDormand.
The film takes place in 2010 in an isolated religious community, where it’s been discovered that men and boys have been drugging and raping the women and girls while they sleep; the story concentrates on the small group chosen to make a crucial decision for all the women and girls in the colony: stay and fight back, or leave. Ms. had the opportunity to speak with producer Dede Gardner about her work on the film and its reflection of the power of community, of choice, and of imagination.
The death of Barbara Walters is such a loss. We were professional colleagues and towards the end of our sometimes overlapping journeys as women in media, we became friends … not the kind of ‘share everything with’ friend, but a friendship based on the recognition that we had faced similar challenges and learned along the way the importance of showing up for other women.
I never aspired to ‘be’ Barbara, but like every woman in media then and now, I benefited from the battles she took on, the challenges she met and overcame, and the sacrifices she made to do the work she loved. I miss her on television and in my world.
“Finding Ms. felt like coming home—to myself, to my voice, to my intuition, to my knowing.”
We asked what Ms. means to you—and we were moved by your replies. Ms. magazine has been at the forefront of feminist journalism for half a century. The magazine was a brazen act of independence in the 1970s. Our readers recognize the impact Ms. has made over the past 50 years.
(This essay is part of the “Feminist Journalism is Essential to Democracy” project—Ms. magazine’s latest installment of Women & Democracy, presented in partnership with the International Women’s Media Foundation.)
It’s that time of year to reflect on highlights of 2022 and the ways that feminism showed up and showed out in our popular culture.
From Wednesday Addams’ cool confidence, to some fabulous baby bump reveals, to Megan Thee Stallion’s spotlight on mental health … here are our top 10 favorite moments.
Jennifer Baumgardner, founder and editor of LIBER: A Feminist Review, believes that a literary journal can be a place where women’s history intersects with today’s most pressing feminist debates. Baumgardner and Charis Caputo, LIBER’s senior editor, aim to include “a lot of diferent perspecives and be a big feminist tent for as many people as possible.”
The Southern Black Girls & Women’s Consortium has published an open letter in support of rapper Megan Thee Stallion, denouncing violence against women.
“There is no amount of power or prestige that can prevent a woman from becoming a victim of violence and there is no level of achievement that exempts women from our society’s complacency with that violence.”
U.S. patriarchal authoritarianism is on the rise, and democracy is on the decline. But day after day, we stay vigilant in our goals to dismantle patriarchy at every turn. The fight is far from over. We are watching, and we refuse to go back. This is the War on Women Report.
This month: The anti-abortion movement frames its tactics as “pro-woman,” Kanye West claims Black women are engaging in genocide, the House Committee votes to subpoena Trump, Brittney Griner’s appeal is rejected and more.