More Than A Magazine, A Movement
Official histories have deliberately left important stories of women and marginalized groups out of textbooks, museums and elite institutions. Learning women’s history implores people today to acknowledge how long feminists have fought for equality—and the ongoing challenges they’re still resisting today.
On Friday, April 5, the United States Postal Service (USPS) will issue a commemorative Forever stamp and hold an event to celebrate the life and legacy of Betty Ford, who served as first lady of the United States from 1974 to 1977.
As first lady and wife of a Republican president, Betty Ford carved out a role for herself that included advocating for issues she cared about—including ratification of the ERA.
Throughout Women’s History Month, discover untold stories of incredible women.
This week: Patsy Mink, the first woman of color elected to Congress; Merata Mita, filmmaker, teacher and activist; and Grace Lee Boggs, civil rights activist.
From calling attention to the endless labor performed by women in the home, to being the first magazine to put the first female speaker on its cover, Ms. covers allowed the magazine to make a statement on newsstands—and bring feminist conversations into the mainstream.
In honor of Women’s History Month, here are our picks of 10 of the magazine’s most impactful covers.
She Devils at the Door tells the true story of two formidable sisters, Lucy and Eliza Kennedy, who came of age in Gilded Age Pittsburgh, graduated from Vassar College, and became leaders of the suffrage movement.
This Women’s History Month, we’re reviving the iconic “Lost Women” column—diving into the archives to make these histories more accessible to our new age of Ms. readers.
For any writer to have produced 19 plays and 13 novels, plus 11 volumes of letters, translations and miscellaneous prose and verse, is remarkable. For a 17th-century woman to have done so is phenomenal. That was the literary output of Aphra Behn (1640-1689), the first woman to earn her living as a writer in the English language.
Thousands of American women have courageously spoken in public over the past four centuries. Their speeches helped shape the beliefs, culture and ideals of America. But their voices have been omitted from American history, and our storehouse of common knowledge. The same cannot be said about the many lionized male orators who appear in our history books, media, and public discourse.
I know because when I give talks and teach classes in public speaking, I ask my audience: “Which famous speakers in American history can you name?” Many people can rattle off at least half a dozen American male speakers like Abraham Lincoln, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Martin Luther King, Jr., John F. Kennedy, Robert F. Kennedy, Billy Graham and Ronald Reagan. But when I ask which women speakers they remember, there’s a long pause. Someone might mention Hillary Clinton or Michelle Obama. Mostly the faces are blank.
Could it be true, I wondered, that the “great men” in history gave all the greatest speeches? Or could it be we just don’t know about great women speakers?
“I hope you live forever.”
“Gloria made me believe I could do and be whatever I chose.”
“Ms. magazine changed my life and Gloria lives in my heart.”
“Your words changed my life and enabled me to become the feisty female that I am.”
Can you believe it’s Gloria Steinem’s 90th birthday? In honor of Ms. magazine’s beloved co-founding editor, we asked you to tell us: “What does Gloria mean to you?” These are just a few of your moving responses describing the many ways she “inspired our feminist lives.” Happy Birthday, Gloria!
Today, as Gloria Steinem, herself, turns 90, I will not flatter her with compliments about how she still doesn’t look her age, or how considerate, clever and courageous she remains. What I’d like to do, instead, is celebrate her and the feminist movement she continues to devote her long life to, enabling me, and countless others of my generation to, as she once put it, “Live out the unlived lives of our mothers, because they were not able to become the unique people they were born to be.”
Often overlooked when we think about Dr. King is the essential role his wife, Coretta Scott King, played to fortify his work. As we celebrate Women’s History Month, it is crucial to recognize the indomitable spirit of women like Coretta Scott King who carved a path for change in a time less forgiving, demonstrating the irreplaceable impact of feminine leadership. She was a warrior for social justice her entire life, whom we should remember and embody this month—and every month—in the ongoing journey to create a more equitable America.
Beyoncé’s depicting herself as a (Black) Lady Liberty is a choice, and a powerful one that seeks to not only rewrite history for racial inclusion but to reclaim our rightful place in the pantheon of American symbols and heroes while also resisting expectations for purity.
