Ms. Magazine: You Mean There Are Still Feminists Out There? (KcFoxy Write-Off)

In the late 1960s, women across the US began to come to terms with what Betty Friedan called “the problem with no name.” These women, who would come to be called Second Wave feminists (the first wave being the movement for women’s suffrage from the mid-1800s through 1920), publicly articulated what many people had long privately believed: that men’s social dominance was not justified and that women deserved equal treatment across all domains of their lives. At this time, although women had the right to vote, they also faced major barriers in a variety of areas. For example, women could not receive credit—meaning no credit cards, no mortgages, no small business loans without a man as co-signatory. In the 1960s, businesses still ran classified ads separated into two columns: jobs for men and jobs for women. It probably goes without saying that few people at this time in America believed husbands should share in the housework and child care, and women’s sexual pleasure was unimportant at best.

As they began to develop small consciousness-raising groups to talk these issues out and national organizations (like NOW—the National Organization for Women—and the Feminist Majority) to pursue large-scale change, feminist activists founded Ms. Magazine in 1971 as a public voice for their burgeoning movement. Over the years, Ms. has stayed at the forefront of feminist activism in the US (and, to a lesser extent, around the world), helping to create public awareness and deepen our understanding of many important feminist issues.

Ms. Content

In each bimonthly issue, Ms. aims to provide a broad examination of feminist issues around the world (but with a focus on the United States). Most prominently, these issues include reproductive rights, violence against women, work and family responsibilities and dilemmas, and women's political power and activism. For example, in the August-September 2001 issue, articles address discrimination in academic jobs, the experiences of feminist college students on today’s campuses, the bogus new “disorder,” “Post-Abortion Stress Syndrome,” created by the Religious Right, and stories about a woman who lost family to the Khmer Rouge and now helps in the fight against land mines. Ms. generally also includes biographical sketches and interviews with prominent feminist artists, activists, writers, or other performers. Along with these feature-length articles, the magazine always includes shorter pieces including book reviews, opinion columns, news updates (for example, the status of important feminist-related legislation around the world).

The writing in Ms. is accessible; while there may be references to events or issues unfamiliar to readers without much feminist background, Ms. contributors generally explain issues clearly. Readers should be aware that this is a feminist magazine: its accounts are partisan. This partisanship is, in fact, what makes Ms. valuable, because mainstream media often to do not cover (or more likely these days, do not give a feminist perspective on) the many important issues Ms. takes the time to bring to our attention.

Ms. is nicely laid out on semi-glossy paper, with bold background colors, full but uncluttered pages, and wonderful photography (reproduced so that it is large enough to enjoy the details).

Finally, it is well worth mentioning that Ms. does an excellent job, much better than other magazines do, of alerting readers to additional resources. You will find recommended books, websites, and organizations throughout the magazine from which you can learn more about issues you care about—or better yet, get involved in them. Further, Ms. has a website (www.msmagazine.com) which provides even more resources, as well as discussion boards, book reviews (including the possibility to post your own), news updates, and a selection of articles from the magazine.

Ms. Magazine's Bold Move

But the most unique aspect of today’s Ms. Magazine deserves its own section of this review. If you want a refreshing break from the rampant commercial pressures we all face every day, check out Ms. Magazine--it is advertising-free. The editors made this decision because of the hypocrisy involved in a feminist magazine accepting advertising money from (and reproducing the sexist images of) the makeup and fashion industries, and I think that their decision shows their real dedication to feminist ideals, particularly since having no advertising means that the magazine’s production costs must be covered by subscription and newsstand income alone--quite a tall order.

There are two results of this move to no advertising. First, it means the magazine is a bit expensive. The cover price is $5.95, and the subscription price is even more per issue. This should be a surprise: normally, subscriptions cost less than buying the magazines individually, because the magazine is guaranteed an audience for advertisers. With no advertising, however, Ms. cannot afford to do this, and must pass such costs as postage on to readers who subscribe.

While you may still want to subscribe in order to make sure you don't miss issues, this extra subscription expense may be a blessing in disguise. By buying at the newsstand, we ensure that retailers keep buying Ms. for their magazine shelves, and we therefore help to keep the feminist message spreading.

A second result of the lack of advertising is that the magazine appears to be thinner than other magazines on the shelf. But do not be mislead--every issue is full of real content; it is thinner simply because it leaves out the filler.

Conclusions

In short, Ms. Magazine is the place to go to keep up with feminist concerns and developments worldwide. It has been around now for three decades and is still the best--perhaps the only--popular source through which to follow these issues. I highly recommend that anyone interested in feminism or in gender relations read Ms. or its website regularly.

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This review is part of the KcFoxy Second Anniversary Re•Write•Off. The following members took part in the celebration:

• kcfoxy • viper1963 • curtisedmonds • mrsfitts • drlolipop
• beecharmer • cornelia • lernerj • suzer • blackelve • quasar • awoolcott • mshawpyle • lynnzop • LorinSilver • sparkospunky • psychovant • ifif1938 • kristinafh • NolleQueen • dchefsours • nwinston • TheUnknown285 • Barefooter • isinga • lunadisarm • Bonies7 • marytara • Workingmomof2 • nobody_knows • auldbawl1 • repulsemonkey • howard_creech • e_burrell • Donnie013 • sunkah • gransurfer1 • joubert • MagnumForce • i_culookn • begood_ca
• GinaHill • coldsteel7 • sgentile • pogomom

For links to all the reviews in the write-off, please visit:
http://www.comfo.ca/us/welcome2.html