50 Years of Ms.: The Best of the Pathfinding Magazine That Ignited a Revolution

by Katherine Spillar (Editor), Eleanor Smeal (Contributor), Gloria Steinem (Contributor)

A celebration of Ms.--the most startling, most audacious, most norm-breaking of the magazine's groundbreaking pieces on women, men, politics (sexual and otherwise), marriage, family, education, work, motherhood, reproductive rights, as well as the best of the magazine's fiction, poetry, and letters.

For the past five decades Ms. has been the nation's most influential source of feminist ideas, and remains at the forefront of feminism today, affecting thought and culture with a younger than ever readership (ages 16-20!).
Ms. was the first U.S. magazine to:
feature prominent American women demanding the repeal of laws that criminalized abortionexplain and advocate for the Equal Rights Amendmentrate presidential candidates on women's issuesfeature domestic violence and sexual harassment on its cover, long before either were widely understood or acknowledgedcommission and publish a national study on date rape Here is the best reporting, fiction, and advertising, decade by decade, as well as the best photographs and features that reveal and reflect the changes set in motion by Ms., along with the iconic covers that galvanized readers.
Here are essays, profiles, conversations with and features by: Alice Walker, Cynthia Enloe, Pauli Murray, Nancy Pelosi, bell hooks, Billie Jean King, Eleanor Holmes Norton, Allison Bechdel, Brittney Cooper and Joy Harjo, as well as fiction and poetry by Toni Morrison, Audre Lorde, Joyce Carol Oates, Adrienne Rich, Rita Dove, and Sharon Olds, among many others.

Genres: Feminism, Nonfiction, History, Essays, Poetry, Short Stories, Audiobook

544 pages, Hardcover

First published September 19, 2023

Reviews

[Pooja Peravali · Rating 4 out of 5]

Seminal articles, pieces of fiction, and letters to the editor compiled from fifty years’ worth of Ms. magazine provide us with a glimpse into the last half-century of the feminist movement.

For someone living in the 21st century, I have a hefty digital collection of midcentury magazines. I find it fascinating to immerse myself in the minutiae of such a different period, seeing how the world was expected to look at the time. I even like reading the advertisements! I haven’t read any old editions of Ms. before though, and was excited to get the opportunity to read and review this book.

This book contains a selection of articles and letters published in Ms. in the past fifty years, divided by decade. I liked that there’s plenty of commentary to support them, providing both context and updates on the issues discussed, as well as discussion of the iterations the magazine itself went through as it changed publishers and eventually went to an ad-free model.

There’s a diverse selection of topics covered, such as equal pay and employment, abortion, and parents’ rights. It was cool to see that intersectionality was put front and center right from the start, as well as seeing how the language around the topics discussed became more exact and sophisticated as time went on. Though the fight for womens’ rights has evolved over time, it was interesting to see how in many ways we are fighting for the same issues that we had started out with.

I did wish that there were more short stories and poems included in the selection offered, as there were less than I had expected. I also thought that the 2020s were overrepresented, article-wise, considering how short that period of time is compared to the other decades. As such, there was less variety in the topics covered. I also wished that the selection had included more letters from ordinary subscribers in the last few decades – most of the 2010s and 2020s letters were from public figures instead.

Disclaimer: I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley. This is my honest and voluntary review.

[Bargain Sleuth Book Reviews · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book should be required reading for every young woman who might not realize the struggles the women before them had. Just because women won the right to vote in 1920 does not mean that magically, society treated them equally. Founded the year before I was born, Ms. magazine was at the forefront of the modern women's movement, and this book curates a selection of material from the magazine. Included are articles about date rape, abortion rights, gender equality, ERA, the importance of Wonder Woman, you name it. If the issue was important to women during the past 50 years, Ms. covered it in detail. I also liked seeing the letters to the editor and the different covers through the years. I will be looking for a copy of this book in bookstores to add to my coffee table collection for myself and my three daughters.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced reader's copy in exchange for an honest review; all opinions expressed are my own.

[Jackie Sunday · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is one to wrap your arms around for the love of women -- with all the pain endured throughout the ages and advancements made since the magazine was first published in 1972.

Well known activist Gloria Steinem worked with talented feminists over the years to cover leading news articles related to equal rights for women. This is a collection of stimulating stories, letters, poetry, news clips, and photographs covering 50 years of publications. Some of the magazine covers bring back memories.

The material is massive and it’s well organized in the book. It touches on a number of topics which includes: rape, abortions, effects of divorce, violence, women in prisons, military and women’s rights, prostitution, fashion, equal pay, gender rights, and Supreme Court rulings.

Some of what I read was very disturbing such date rape, violence against women and third-world women who work in horrible conditions hired by American companies.

Other parts made me feel inspired with the progress that has been made with equal pay for equal work, more representation in political leadership roles and help for battered wives. I think all women cheered when Billy Jean King won the tennis match with Bobby Riggs in 1973 paving the way for female athletes.

This book addresses how quickly conditions have changed with the recent reversal of Roe v. Wade. Fewer medical schools are training doctors to do procedures removing a fetus. “Why spend time training for a surgery that’s likely to be made illegal?” However, what happens when someone needs it for an emergency medical situation and there’s not a doctor to help?

It’s not easy to find a copy of a Ms. magazine in stores these days. However, digital copies are available online and this book will bring the past up to date with readers. It's my hope that the next generation will take a look as so few understand that just a short time ago, women fought for rights that are enjoyed today.

The work of the editor is praiseworthy. It’s certainly thought provoking. It’s my hope that someday there will also be a museum dedicated on the National Mall just for women.

My thanks to Knopf and NetGalley for allowing me to read this advanced copy with the expected release date of September 19, 2023.

[JoAnn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Before Ms. Magazine came along, magazines for women focused solely on the domestic lives of women. Cooking, keeping a tidy house, raising children were the topics deemed to be of interest to women. But then came Ms Magazine, focusing on and targeted toward a whole new group of women.
When Ms appeared I was in college and got myself a subscription. My roommates and I devoured every new issue. It opened a whole new world…discussions
of sexuality, politics, equal employment and other topics that were quite different from our mothers’ magazines.
50 Years of Ms. is a celebration of this groundbreaking publication, with some background on obstacles faced through the years and essays focused on important subjects covered throughout the decades of the magazine’s existence. It was an interesting, enjoyable look back at journalistic history. Thank you to NetGalley for the advance copy for review..

[Rachel-RN · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was first introduced to MS when I was in college. I remember going to the local B & N and discovering it on the shelf. I did eventually get (and currently have) my own subscription. In MS, I found something that sang to me and reinforced my feminism. I also liked reading about other POV from other people different from me. It was awesome to read previous stories, letters to the editor from the time MS was founded to present day. They also included the dates of publication in the articles they chose to publish in this 50th anniversary celebration.

[Mary Northrup · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reading through this collection of articles from five decades of Ms magazine, you can see how far we've come and also how much has not yet changed. A nostalgic, but also timely, read. Highly recommended!

[Gabriela Tirado · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really great articles about everything I love it

[Jessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

In December 1971 the first issue of Ms. magazine appeared as a supplement in New York magazine. Not sure how this first feminist magazine would go over, the initial print run of 300,000 copies was intended to last on the newsstands for several months, yet sold out in just 8 days. After the first issue 26,000 readers mailed in subscription cards and the editors received 20,000 letters from readers. I would say it hit a nerve. And 50 years later Ms. magazine is still going despite the odds. This collection of articles highlights the many issues that this ground-breaking magazine have covered over the decades. Each decade has a brief introduction as to what was going on with the magazine at that time then several articles from issues during that decade. While this was a fascinating read, it was disheartening to see how many of the issues from earlier decades are still an issue today (if not worse) - motherhood and poverty, pornography, equally dividing chores and/or childcare with your partner/spouse, abortion/birth control access, rape, inequities in how the law is applied to women and especially women of color, etc. There is obviously much that HAS improved since the beginning of Ms. but still more work to be done. Feminism is just as needed now as ever.

A quote I liked:

[From an article in Spring 2004 issue titled "A Cruel Edge: The Painful Truth About Today's Pronography - and What Men Can Do About It" by Robert Jensen, PHD] "It hurts to know that no matter who you are, you can be reduced to a thing to be penetrated, and that men will buy movies about that, and that in many of those movies your humiliation will be the central theme. It hurts to know that so much of the pornography men buy fuses sexual desire with cruelty...People routinely assume that pornography is such a difficult and divisive issue because it's about sex. I think that's wrong. This culture struggles unsuccessfully with pornography because it is also about men's cruelty to women, and about the pleasure that men sometimes take in that cruelty. And that is much more difficult for everyone to face." (p. 282) [And this was LONG before everyone had streaming internet and smartphones. Now this starts with children. We'll be seeing just how much this affects them in the next few decades.]

[Janalyn, the blind reviewer · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great book about a magazine that the patriarchy thought no one would read it on its first printing they never thought they would have to re-print it but they did it blew off the shelf. They said no one would want to read about women loving women, abortion, the working woman and child care and other issues that face the American woman but that’s because it was men saying it and women wanted to read it. I mean it was also men who said women shouldn’t ride horses or bicycles because they wo might fall out so needless to say the publishers didn’t listen printed the magazine and here it is 50 years later. This is a great book and anyone who has just a passing interest in women’s issues can go back and sing the history of everything women had to fight for and in some cases are still fighting for. I consume this book faster than a banana smoothie from smoothie king. This is a great book and a definite five star read. I want to thank the publisher a NetGalley for my free arc copy please forgive any mistakes as I am blind and dictate my review.

[Annarella · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ms is one of those magazine you never read even if it was often quoted
This a good to get to know a founding source of thought
Highly recommended
Many thanks to the publisher, all opinions are mine

[Jen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great anthology of Ms. magazine. Covering reproductive rights, equal rights, Nancy Pelosi, USWNT, fashion, rape, women rappers, prison, balancing work and housework, letters to the editor, and fiction, this book hits the high points over 50 years of reporting. I read this magazine in my early 20s and loved its independent streak- giving me more agency to chart my path that was quite different than I ever thought it would be.

[Steven H · Rating 5 out of 5]

A MARVELOUSLY INFORMATIVE OVERVIEW OF AN EXTREMELY IMPORTANT MAGAZINE

The Foreword to this 2023 book by Gloria Steinem states, “If you asked me fifty years ago, when we started Ms. magazine, if this first women-controlled magazine would still be alive half a century later, I would have said absolutely not. Although there were no other magazines for women that weren’t about food, fashion, and family… I believed that advertisers would soon realize that women’s interests were just as wide and deep as men’s interests are and there would be new magazines that were at least like, say, Esquire for women. What I didn’t understand then was how little advertising would change over the decades… Indeed, Ms. would not have been able to prove that women would buy even one issue of such a magazine if Clay Felker at New York magazine, where I was an editor, had not agreed to publish a sample of Ms. in its pages, and then an entire preview issue that was placed on newsstands nationwide. That gave women themselves chance to show the breadth of their interests… that first issue… sold out in eight days.” (Pg. xv-xvi)

She continues, “The biggest challenges we faced, though, were financial… in the mid-1980s. when Ms. was still struggling to survive, it was bought by a couple of commercial publishers who didn’t understand its spirit. Ms. ultimately found a home with the Feminist Majority Foundation… and, thus, a nonprofit. This move was crucial to the survival of Ms. and its service to women and a movement.” (Pg. xvii)

Executive Editor Katherine Spillar and Publisher Eleanor Smeal explain in the Introduction, “In the pages that follow, we include important pieces from the past five decades as told through groundbreaking articles, iconic covers, opinion essays, and letters. Thus, this book serves both to acknowledge Ms. Magazine’s tremendous institutional memory, its presence and impact, and to herald its future necessity.” (Pg. xxi) They add, “This book, then, serves not as an archive of the past but as a reflection of how far we have come and an assurance of the continued need for a feminist future. Over the years, the magazine had adapted to serve the needs of contemporary feminists, always sustaining a community. Ms. is as essential a voice of the movement as it has ever been---as the selections in this collection… bear out.” (Pg. xxiv)

The book begins each ‘decade’ with a short introductory essay; e.g., “1970s: … It is … difficult to convey how quickly the social and cultural winds were shifting in the 1960s and 1970s… in large part to the tremendous exertions of the women’s, civil rights, gay and lesbian rights, and other social and political movements of the era. Feminist organizations were gaining significant traction… Ms. emerged to fill a gap between a determined, vibrant movement and the continued curtailment of women’s rights in virtually every aspect of American life… Ms. began as an effort to wrest control of the messaging about the feminist movement from mainstream media and put it back in the hands of women. Few could have imagined that Ms. would become the landmark institution in both women’s rights and American journalism that it is today.” (Pg. 3, 6)

Jane O’Reilly laments in the 1972 preview issue, “In the end, we are all housewives, the natural people to turn to when there is something unpleasant, inconvenient, or inconclusive to be done. It will not to for women who have jobs to pretend that society’s ills will be cured if all women are gainfully employed. In Russia, 70 percent of the doctors … are women, but women still do all the housework. Some revolution.” (Pg. 9)

A sidebar notes, “Contrary to stereotypes that painted feminists as antifamily, the early editors of Ms. mad a concerted effort to include a special section for children in each issue of the magazine. These ‘Stories for Free Children’ broke the mold of early 1970s children’s book publishing with characters who weren’t exclusively straight, white, able-bodied, and gender conforming.” (Pg. 44)

“1980s: … with the rise of the religious right and its determination to reverse the gains of the women’s, civil, and gay rights movements, Ms. covered the urgent fights of the moment---from rollbacks on abortion rights to the stalling of the drive for the Equal Rights Amendment.” (Pg. 99)

Barbara Ehrenreich observes, “Male dominance isn’t the only problem. There’s also male insecurity. When men have talked honestly about talking (or about not talking), under either psychiatric pressure or the lure of royalties, they tell us that they are AFRAID to talk to women… Given the cultural barriers to intersex conversation, the amazing thing is that we would even expect women and men to have anything to say to each other for more than ten minutes at a stretch.” (Pg. 118)

“1990s: The decade started under the leadership of Robin Morgan… And the decision was made to eliminate all paid advertising---a revolutionary call. When the ‘new’ Ms. was launched, sixty thousand copies were printed and, like the first time, sold out in days. Circulation quickly climbed to 200,000… Marcia Ann Gillispie… took the reins as editor in chief. Gillespie further integrated coverage by and about women of color, lesbians, and young women… by the turn of the twenty-first century, Ms. was once again the only national magazine for women owned and controlled by women---and able to control its own destiny.” (Pg. 175)

Gloria Steinem acknowledges, “When Ms. begins, the staff decides not to accept ads for feminine hygiene sprays or cigarettes… Gradually we also realize our naïveté in thinking we COULD decide against taking cigarette ads. They became a disproportionate support of magazines the moment they were banned on television, and few magazines could compete and survive without them… By the time statistics in the 1980s show that women’s rate of lung cancer is approaching men’s, the necessity of taking cigarette ads has become a kind of prison.” (Pg. 182)

“2000s: … Again, in the throes of financial constraints… [Ms.] approached the Feminist Majority Foundation … to assume the role of nonprofit publisher of Ms. … The magazine entered the digital era: launching a website and online platforms that would expand and engage it robust feminist community. A full digital library and curriculum for women’s and gender studies programs … reached thousands of college students each year… Ms. also developed a series of writers’ workshops to train and feature feminist scholars, as well as a cohort of student and teen contributors.” (Pg. 265-266)

“2010s: Ms. began the decade doubling down on investigative reporting, winning awards for its work … documenting the criminal prosecution of young girls who had been trafficked for sex, and the cover-up of rapes in the military… But the decade was disrupted by deep political upheaval. The United States went from reelecting its first Black president… to the Democratic Party running a feminist woman candidate for president… to the devastating outcome of the 2016 election. The Trump administration’s all-out war on women meant that Ms.’s coverage and presence took on new and crucial import: the entire movement was front and center like never before, from the Women’s March to #MeToo to Black Lives Matter.” (Pg. 325)

‘2020s: Today, Ms. continues to publish a quarterly print issue that is sold on newsstands and in bookstores and is also distributed via membership subscriptions, at feminist events and conferences, and through the Ms. Prison and Domestic Violence Shelter donation program. Ms. maintains its award-winning, action-packed website, MsMagazine.com, where a dedicated digital team posts upwards of 150 articles every month… And of course, with the rise of social media, Ms. continues to engage millions from Twitter to TikTok. In 2020, Ms. launched its first two podcasts… The launch of … Ms. Studios… brings even further depth and opportunities for audience interaction, including new podcasts and video programming. And so, the Ms. legacy continues in force. Ms. looks ahead to the next fifty years with resolve and gratitude---for those whose vision is reflected in these pages, and for generations of feminist readers, contributors, and leaders who have been a part of the Ms. story.” (Pg. 413)

The Postscript summarizes, “On June 24, 2022… the U.S. Supreme Court … struck down Roe v. Wade, taking away a fundamental constitutional right that women had fought for … for almost fifty years… The tragic consequences for women and girls quickly emerged as the most extreme bans took effect… With virtual unanimity, the medical community has spoken out, warning of ever more dire consequences as more women are denied abortion care and as the full range of reproductive health services… is impacted with the closure of clinics. Maternal mortality and morbidity rates---already a crisis in Black, Native American, and rural communities---will increase.” (Pg. 463)

This book will be absolute “must reading” for anyone even remotely interested in the women’s movement, and of course Ms. magazine itself.

[Liz · Rating 4 out of 5]

I grew up during the Ms. era, a latchkey kid in the 1970s. My mom always told me to find a career of my own that would allow me to not rely on a man for my livelihood. I started reading Ms. in my tiny little hometown library, where I went as often as possible to browse the shelves and learn about the world beyond its borders. In the pages of Ms. I read about women's perspective, independent of what their husbands might think, for the first time. I discovered a magazine whose words made me feel like I could belong in the world. Fifty Years of Ms. is a representative collection of the work that has appeared in the magazine, covering unique perspectives at the cutting edge such as violence against women, workplace equality, equal pay and abortion rights, as well as publishing letters to the editor of various perspectives. No other publication has influenced culture change as has Ms. magazine, and this 50-year collection makes it easy to see how they pulled it off. Thanks to NetGalley and Knopf for an advanced reader’s copy in exchange for an honest review.

[Brigette · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is THE book about Ms magazine, one of the most influential magazines in the history of modern publication. This book is so full of not only information, but photos, archives and magazine covers. The gamut of topics in one book such as this is astounding and captures the history of women and women’s rights like no other. From topics you would expect to more unexpected ones like Marilyn Monroe are throughout these pages. This magazine pre-dates me but the book has made me greatly appreciate it in its entirety. I highly recommend this in print!

[Danielle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you, NetGalley, for a chance to review 50 Years of Ms. I found this book riveting from the first chapter right to the last. What a textbook of knowledge for women to learn how far we have come and still need to go. Ms is ahead of her time. I highly recommend this book to everyone who wants to help make a better and more inclusive world for all. Thank you, Ms.

[ashes ➷ · Rating 4 out of 5]

(I received a complimentary finished copy from the publisher.)

I didn't know this was happening 'til I got a copy, but it was a really fun read! That's an odd word to use, but it's true-- it was comforting seeing the past work of feminists which has now become common sense policy, and really fascinating to see what the editors pulled out. I'm going to post my "must-reads" from this collection when I can, but for now, my opinion is that this is a really solid feminist history collection and only tapers off when it hits the '10s and '20s-- you can tell they started being a little less revolutionary than magazines around them; it feels like in the early days of the magazine they were genuinely groundbreaking and unafraid to say things which were unpopular, but there's relatively little on the last pages that couldn't be found in dozens of other leftist magazines or even mainstream publications now.

In particular, the exclusion of any article on trans issues from past 2010 is a GLARING error, and lost the book most of the star I dropped. It is just obviously strange to not include a single article about trans people by a trans person-- and if Ms Magazine has never published such an article, that's an even bigger issue which the book reveals. There is one article about a trans lesbian from the perspective of her daughter (who uses she/her and refers to her as a woman, but also calls her her father, though this appears to be mutually agreed-upon?), but that's hardly enough in a fifty-year retrospective. I also noticed no other reviews seem to mention the word "trans," so... here's your list of just 5 articles featuring reporting on trans-related issues that I would consider worth revisiting far into the future, comparable to other articles collected in this book, all from the 2020s alone.

How Much Does it Cost to Medically Transition? by ELIZA POWERS (granted, posted just before the book released)
Anti-Trans Legislation to ‘Protect Children’ Harms LGBTQIA+ Youth—Both Now and in the Future by LAURA KINA
Who Taught Beyoncé to Love Herself? ‘Renaissance’ Pays Tribute to Trans Sisters, Gay Uncles and Black Self-Love by OMISE’EKE NATASHA TINSLEY (numerous articles on feminist artists, including Beyoncé!)
Anti-Trans Extremists ‘Come For’ Doctors by JUDE ELLISON S. DOYLE (features ERIN REED. c'mon.)
Halfway Through the Year, 2021 Is Already the Worst Year Ever for Anti-Trans Legislation by OLIVER C. HAUG

(I went through 10 pages of results for the word 'trans' on msmagazine.com, and didn't see anything more directly mentioning JKR's hateful screed than a second-hand reporting on the letter a bunch of authors signed against her. I just don't think it's acceptable for a major feminist magazine to not have a trans woman write an article on transness for them?? It's very backwards to assume feminism is cis women first, trans women polite afterthought, and as a result no wonder this wasn't as strong as it could've been.)

So: would recommend the specific articles I'm going to pull for general reading, and if you're interested in... well, the history of Ms Magazine as a feminist paper, likely the whole thing. The letters are especially great! Seriously, I'll have to excerpt them when I get a chance.

[Courtney R. · Rating 5 out of 5]

"50 Years of Ms.: The Best of the Pathfinding Magazine That Ignited a Revolution" is an extraordinary collection that stands as a testament to the enduring impact of Ms. magazine on the feminist movement. With the added gravitas of Gloria Steinem's insightful foreword, this anthology offers readers a compelling journey through half a century of feminist thought, activism, and cultural change.

Steinem's foreword, a powerful reflection on the magazine's significance, sets the tone for what follows. Her keen insights provide a context that enriches the reader's understanding of the historical and cultural backdrop against which Ms. emerged. It's a fitting tribute to the magazine's pioneering spirit and its role in shaping feminist discourse.

The curated selection of articles, essays, and features showcases the evolution of feminist thinking over the years. From the early days of the women's liberation movement to the present day, "50 Years of Ms." offers a comprehensive view of the issues that have animated the movement, including reproductive rights, gender equality, and intersectionality.

The diversity of voices represented in this anthology is striking. The inclusion of contributions from a wide range of writers, activists, and thinkers underscores the collective effort that has fueled the feminist movement. Each piece, whether a personal reflection or a pointed critique, contributes to the rich tapestry of ideas that define modern feminism.

One of the strengths of this collection is its ability to balance the historical with the contemporary. The juxtaposition of early articles with more recent writings provides a dynamic perspective on the enduring relevance of feminist issues. It's a testament to the resilience of the movement and the ongoing work that still needs to be done.

The editors have done a commendable job in organizing the material, offering insightful introductions to each section that provide context and highlight key themes. This structure makes the anthology accessible to both newcomers to feminist discourse and longtime advocates.

In "50 Years of Ms.," readers are treated to a vivid panorama of feminist history, thought, and action. It's a celebration of the progress that has been made and a reminder of the challenges that lie ahead. This anthology is not only a valuable resource for those interested in feminist studies, but also a source of inspiration for anyone committed to a more just and equitable world.

I was provided an advanced copy of this book by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

[Carol Storm · Rating 2 out of 5]

You know how people have bumper stickers that say, "honk if you love Jesus?" A lot of reviewers here seem to think, "give this book five stars if you love feminism." But while the feminist movement might be a great thing for all women everywhere, that doesn't mean that every piece in this collection is a five star exercise in persuasive rhetoric. Some of these pieces are pretty dated. Some of these authors have weird agendas that have nothing to do with feminism. There's a lot of preening. A lot of gloating. And Mary Gordon just wants to go to Disney World.

Do you remember Mary Gordon? She's that mean Irish-Catholic woman from Queens, the one who wrote all those dreary best-sellers back in the Seventies about repressed, self-hating Catholic girls who hate men but can't get enough of sex. In her books the Sixties was a big mistake, black girls are rude and ill-mannered, and America is a filthy democracy where nobody respects aristocratic culture and genteel white-girl privilege. (If she's an aristocrat, I fought at Gettysburg.) But here she is, pitching in for the cause, writing a silly, giggly little article about her son playing basketball. She's generous enough to concede that it's okay for boys to like sports. And to prove that she's a good sport, she takes her kids to Disney World!

Why does Mary Gordon love Disney World? I'll tell you why. Because it's all the America she can handle. This is an Irish-Catholic bigot of the old school, a secret hater of everything fine and noble in the American experience. Her ancestors fought in the streets to keep black men slaves. Look it up! But you won't see Mary Gordon writing articles about the Draft Riots, or Dagger John Hughes. She won't ever confront our shared history as Americans, or the role the Irish have far too often played as muscle for white power. What she will do is go to Disney World, and giggle about how silly it is.

When do we get a piece on Mary Gordon taking her kids to the Lincoln Memorial, or Arlington National Cemetery, or Gettysburg National Military Park? Nothing silly about those places. Nothing aristocratic, either. I understand why Mary Gordon doesn't want to write about them. But the feminist movement is cheapened and demeaned by her presence. The message is that all feminists are hypocrites who espouse gender equality while secretly holding democratic values in contempt.

Get Mary Gordon out of feminism, and you restore moral dignity to the movement.

[Michelle Adamo #EmptyNestReader · Rating 5 out of 5]

Some 50 years ago I was near the end of my undergraduate life and at the beginning of my days as an advocate for women's issues, equal rights for all races and genders, protesting the war and fighting corrupt politicians. Happily this all happened at the beginning of Ms. Magazine. Today we can look back at the first 50 years of Ms. and appreciate “The best of the pathfinding magazine that ignited a revolution." A book that should be required reading!

Ms. Magazine was perfect for me, the daughter of a woman who called herself a feminist long before the word was common parlance. Ms. Magazine's articles spoke up, spoke out and told it like it was - it did not hold back. Topics of sexuality, sexism, family, education, reproductive rights, marriage, domestic violence and the Equal Rights Amendment were brought into the open. So influential was Ms. that many famous women, actresses, singers, politicians and business leaders openly signed a letter, printed by Ms, entitled: "I have had an abortion". Many things that were not spoken of in polite company were, through Ms., open for all to read and learn about on its pages. Ms. Magazine’s pages were open, honest, educational and refreshing.

From the blurb: A celebration of Ms.—the most startling, most audacious, most norm-breaking of the magazine's groundbreaking pieces on women, men, politics (sexual and otherwise), marriage, family, education, work, motherhood, and reproductive rights, as well as the best of the magazine’s fiction, poetry, and letters.

Inside this 50 year anthology you can read how Ms. came to be. You’ll find copies of the beautiful artwork that served as the magazine's covers as we as letters to the editor and many, many articles some of which are, sadly, as relevant today as they were then. Organized by decade, the book is easy to find your way around. Read a page at a time, whole sections or the entire book cover-to-cover, you’ll be delighted to learn (or remember) this history. A fascinating read, not just for those of us who lived through it but for anyone interested in the history of the struggles of women, the women’s movement, and what we are still facing today. "For the past five decades

Continued in Comments...

[J Earl · Rating 5 out of 5]

50 Years of Ms. is a collection that will serve many roles for many readers, from remembering why we became activists to helping with research to even just plain old nostalgia.

The articles included range from analyses of the types of things we accept because "that is just how it is" to debunking the many fabrications that have been made to thwart progress in so many areas. The one common denominator in them is, whether implicit or explicit, they are calls to action. Sign petitions, write letters, contact legislators, get in the street, and, perhaps most important, make the changes in your own life that will empower you and help empower other women. From the beginning the idea of the personal being (always) political is evident.

I found a lot of the sidebars and shorter features interesting because they are the things I likely overlooked, or at least didn't pay a lot of attention to, when reading the original magazine. The short columns with paragraph recaps of events or ideas. These, as much as the articles themselves, helped take me back to those days.

Because of my age and when I became active in the movement(s), this reminded me of the victories we won, the battles we lost (or rather, haven't won yet), and the many things we still have to work on, both within and without our movements. Just in the past 5-7 years I have read so many good books that highlight how dynamic activist groups are organizing to avoid some of the mistakes my generation made. By my age and generation, I will say that my first WGS course was in 1990, and I never had another semester (or quarter at one of my grad programs) without at least one.

I would recommend this to anyone with an interest, formal or informal, in feminist history leading right up to today's issues (which are largely, unfortunately, also yesterday's issues). From those who simply remember reading the issues as they came out to know they weren't alone in what they believed to be right, to those wanting a nice collection of primary sources that cover some of the history of feminist thought of the past 50 years.

Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley.

[Karna Converse · Rating 4 out of 5]

Article reprints with sidebars of present-day notes about community and governmental actions-and inactions


I was eight years old when Ms.'s Preview Issue hit the newsstands in spring 1972. The cover illustration—an eight-armed pregnant woman, dressed in high heels and holding items that include a frying pan, a typewriter, an iron, a mirror, and a steering wheel—promoted "The Housewife's Moment of Truth," an article that opened with "American women are angry." and proceeded to suggest rules for sharing household responsibilities. That article ended with a call to action that challenged women to ask "What if we become liberated women who recognize that our guilt is reinforced by the marketplace . . . What if we don't allow ourselves to be treated as people with nothing better to do than wait for repairmen and gynecologists? What if we finally learn that we are defined not by our children and our husbands but by ourselves?" Ms. founders saw a need for a publication where women could read and write about more than that, a place "where women could fully express themselves."

In 1972, Ms. joined an industry of women's magazines that were primarily known for recipes, crafts, and home decorating tips. Those (and a wide variety of Midwestern farm-related publications) were the staple of my childhood home. I don't know that my mom ever brought Ms. into our home or gave it and the topics it covered much thought. (To be fair though, later in life, she appreciated any and all conversations about a variety of feminist issues.)

This glossy, coffee table-worthy book nearly yelled at me from the library bookshelf I was browsing—and I inhaled it.

The chapters are organized by decade. Each includes between fifteen and twenty-five pieces that showcase the magazine's width and breadth; the fiction is as thoughtful as the essay; the profile as smart and hard-hitting as the feature article. I was especially taken with the pieces from the decades of my childhood and young adulthood (1970s and 1980s), saddened and surprised that many of the arguments being made then are still having to be made today.

[Debra Hines · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reading this 50-year compilation was a trip down memory lane for me. In 1972 when Ms. Magazine was first published (as well as Title IX) I was a sophomore in high school. I was greatly influenced by the feminist movement and read Gloria Steinem, Betty Friedan, Kate Millet, Simonne de Beauvoir and of course, Ms. Reading this compilation from cover to cover was a walk thru important issues of my life as a woman. The articles are arranged by decades, beginning with the 1970s and going up to the present 2020s. The writers are amazing-Steinem, Letty Cottin Pogrebin, Angela Davis, Barbara Ehrenreich, Alice Walker, Joyce Carol Oates, Susan Brownmiller, Adrienne Rich, Audre Lord, Joy Harjo, Rita Dove, Eve Ensler, Eleanor Smeal, Brittany Howard, Marge Piercy and so many more! There are over 160 color pictures and illustrations as well as reproduction of primary source material. I read every single article and loved thinking about all these issues through the decades. And unfortunately, so much more to do to ensure that women are treated equally under the law and given control of their own bodies. This library book will definitely by now bought as part of my home library. Essential reading for Women's History Month...and every month!

[AnnieM · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of the most important books to read this year. I remember reading some of these articles back in the 1980's when I was a teenager and it was transformational for me. All the classics are here including essays by Gloria Steinem "If Men Could Menstruate" - one of my all time favorites, as well as other notable women (and men). The book has reprints of the poems and articles but also shows the actual magazine covers and articles as they looked in the magazine at the time - this made this collection very visual appealing as well. Not only are these pieces ones I will revisit again and again, I also felt some sadness in reading them. Why? Because some things have not changed for the better for women over the past 50 years. While there has been progress, I asked myself why hasn't there been more progress for women given many issues were raised 40-50 years ago. This is an important read for women and men to understand how things have changed for the better for all, and where there is more work for us to do.. I highly recommend this book.

Thank you to Netgalley and Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor for an ARC and I left this review voluntarily.

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading this book very much. I have been as Ms. subscriber for several years, so some of the material was not new to me, but it was very satisfying to see how far the feminist movement has come. Ms. was not resting on their laurels though, they always pointed out where there was work still to be done. Their coverage of the choice issue made it clear that there are still many people who eschew a world where women have the same rights as men (After all these years, the ERA has not been ratified and the protections that Roe v. Wade provided us in the form of reproductive rights have been slashed, and it appears that more states will make it impossible for women to have an abortion in their own state, thus limiting their choices, particularly if the women are poor and live a distance from a state that allows abortions.) Progress has been made, but work must be done to preserve existing rights and create new ones. The feminist movement is as relevant today as it was 50 years ago when Ms. was first published.

[Lisa Vegan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a fabulous book. I can’t believe how many of the articles I remember. Great essays about the magazine and many magazine excerpts of articles, fiction/short stories, letters to the editor, etc. I didn’t read all the text in the book but I’d probably read most of it in the magazine, especially the ones published in the first decade. I’ll have to borrow this book from the library again to read the rest of it. I want to read it all but I’m still struggling with reading and it’s due back at the library and there is a long queue of holds so it’s not renewable. Great photos and images of some of the magazine covers. I didn’t know the magazine was still around but when it was new and I was in college it was a huge deal and, I think, important. This book could be seen as a coffee table book but one with a lot of substance. It would be a great book to own!

[Nan · Rating 3 out of 5]

The 50th anniversary of Ms. magazine is celebrated in this compilation of various articles from over the decades. Most of the early pieces were fairly strident and focused on what feminists were against rather than what they were for. (To be fair, there was plenty to be against.) Although most of the articles are interesting, my major critique is its lack of introspection. Two introductory essays, one by Gloria Steinem, focus exclusively on all the great things the magazine accomplished and neglect its missteps, including being slow to include more content on women of color, queer women, and lower income women. It would have helped for this volume to acknowledge that our understandings of feminism have evolved over time and continue to do so.

[TK · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was born decades after Ms. magazine came out so I didn’t know about it. I saw the book in a bookshop window and picked it up and loved it.

It’s so cool to read articles separated by decades and get a really great feel for the era, the writers, the topics discussed and how much more intersectional it is than I was expecting. It’s also a wonderfully put together book from a visual perspective.

I loved it so much that I immediately bought the original 1972 issue of Ms. to display. I learned a lot of history I never knew about and it was really cool to see commentary that gave updates to some of the stories. I frequently would pause in my reading to lookup a person or policy, etc. to learn more about the context.

[Lindsey]

Ms. is such a valuable source to look back at the history of women, gender & sexuality, and feminism throughout the last 50 years. This volume brings together articles from across the decades, covers and images, and critical commentary about the magazine's past and present. I liked how this was organized by decade, allowing for a chronological engagement or you could flip through to topics of interest. I do think this might be easier to navigate and flip through in a physical form, a digital version felt a little clunky, especially because of its length. Overall, what a great resource and one that I'd love to use excerpts of in a class!

[Haerlee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Description
A celebration of Ms.—the most startling, most audacious, most norm-breaking of the magazine's groundbreaking pieces on women, men, politics (sexual and otherwise), marriage, family, education, work, motherhood, and reproductive rights, as well as the best of the magazine’s fiction, poetry, and letters

Just as the description promises, this book collects essays and more from over the past 50 years. I liked combing through the pieces as seeing the verbiage of the day, advice, and issues, many of which resonates today. All told, this is a great coffee table or library book.

[Martha · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting and full of great articles and letters from the archives of Ms Magazine, this is a book you can pick up and put down and savor. It includes a wide variety of topics, and I found that, like any magazine, there were some that Interested me, some that didn’t, but all in all, covers much of women’s concerns for the past 50 years.