[[link removed]] Weekly Digest
Weekly Digest
Letter from an Editor | January 18, 2025
Dear John,
On Friday, President Biden issued his much anticipated statement on the Equal Rights Amendment, saying that “It is long past time to recognize the will of the American people… I affirm what I believe and what three-fourths of the states have ratified: the 28th Amendment is the law of the land, guaranteeing all Americans equal rights and protections under the law regardless of their sex.”
Even as we applaud the president’s unqualified support for the ERA, we know that the fight for equality under the law will go on, and Ms. will be there to cover every battle—ensuring feminists have the information they need and are ready to act. As Eleanor Smeal, president of Feminist Majority Foundation and publisher of Ms. said, “There is nothing in the president’s statement that prevents the Congress from also affirming the ERA as the 28th Amendment to the Constitution.” So, until Congress takes the simple step of voting to recognize that the Equal Rights Amendment has been properly ratified and is the 28th amendment to the U.S. Constitution, we will not let up.
Come Monday, we face a very different political reality. Hard-won rights are steadily being rolled back. Authoritarianism is once again fashionable, dressed up in slogans and banners. And billionaires are calling the shots. This moment feels grim and hopeless—but it’s not. Consider it, instead, a call to action for feminists everywhere.
Ms. magazine was born for a time like this. Fifty-three years ago, Gloria. Steinem and a small band of determined women set out to create a magazine that didn’t whisper, didn’t apologize and didn’t avert its eyes from the truth. This magazine was built on a belief in women’s voices and the power of those voices to change everything. Ms. was not content to observe from the sidelines. It threw itself into the fray, amplifying stories that mattered, pressing against the boundaries of what was considered acceptable or polite.
All these years later, Ms. remains—still defiant, still asking questions others
won’t dare to touch, still answering those questions truthfully and boldly.
We can do this because Ms. is not a “kept publication.” We do not cozy up to the powers that be, and we absolutely don’t take corporate dollars or government funds.
We can do this because we are prepared. Given the flood of misogyny in the
2024 elections, we expect more of the same from the Trump White House and MAGA Congress. We will report on the cruel and sometimes deadly
impacts of their Project 2025 agenda as each new executive order is issued and each new policy is implemented.
But we’ll do more than chronicle every potentially devastating action. We’ll report, as we do in our Winter print issue, on how feminists and the feminist movement are fighting back. We’ll talk to the governors and state attorneys general and members of Congress who are acting to protect women’s rights against the president’s attacks. And we’ll expose the billionaires and corporations that are funding his war on women.
Just as importantly, Ms. will lift up strategies for moving forward, even in this
time of backlash. We will report on how state equal rights amendments—like the one newly passed in New York—are being used to advance equality now.
This moment feels dangerous and daunting. But we’ve walked this path before. The feminist movement—and Ms.—has learned to endure, to rise even when everything tells us to fall. We carry with us the stories of every inch gained: the right to vote, to earn our own income, to own property, to access education, to live with dignity. Each gain was earned. Every time our opposition tried to bar the door, we found another way through.
This time calls for no less. They want us to disappear, but we’re not going anywhere. And we’re not alone. Women across the globe—in Afghanistan, in Iran—are risking everything for the chance to speak, to resist, to claim their rights. Their courage and conviction threads through ours, all woven into the same fabric of struggle.
We are proud to stand with our Ms. community of readers, knowing that with
your support, the promise of equality and justice will remain unwavering and unextinguished.
With deep gratitude and resolve,
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Kathy Spillar & the editors of Ms.
This Week's Must-Reads from Ms.
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Carolyn Maloney and Eleanor Smeal Applaud President Biden’s ERA Statement [[link removed]] Martin Luther King Jr. Day Is Also Trump’s Inauguration Day. We Must Keep Honoring Dr. King’s Legacy. [[link removed]]
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Secretary of State Marco Rubio Will Be a Disaster for Women [[link removed]] Elon Musk and the Phony Far-Right Narrative of ‘Protecting’ Women [[link removed]]
[link removed] [[link removed]] Tune in for a new episode of Ms. magazine's podcast, On the Issues with Michele Goodwin on
Apple Podcasts [[link removed]] + Spotify [[link removed]] .
We begin 2025 on ‘On the Issues’ with special guest Dr. Anthony Fauci. In this episode we discuss some of the most important issues currently confronting the health of our nation and the world—from vaccine skepticism, COVID denialism, and health misinformation and disinformation to the rising tide of violence aimed at medical providers. Dr. Fauci joins us to express his hope for the future, offer insights on the pushback against vaccines, and speak candidly about how his life changed after being in the public spotlight at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, including the toll it took on him and his family.
We hope you'll listen, subscribe, rate and review today!
U.S. democracy is at a dangerous inflection point—from the demise of abortion rights, to a lack of pay equity and parental leave, to skyrocketing maternal mortality, and attacks on trans health. Left unchecked, these crises will lead to wider gaps in political participation and representation. For 50 years, Ms . has been forging feminist journalism—reporting, rebelling and truth-telling from the front-lines, championing the Equal Rights Amendment, and centering the stories of those most impacted. With all that’s at stake for equality, we are redoubling our commitment for the next 50 years. In turn, we need your help, Support Ms. today with a donation—any amount that is meaningful to you [[link removed]] . We are grateful for your loyalty and ferocity .
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