MORE THAN A MAGAZINE, A MOVEMENT |
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Today at Ms. | August 8, 2025 |
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With Today at Ms.—a daily newsletter from the team here at Ms. magazine—our top stories are delivered straight to your inbox every afternoon, so you’ll be informed and ready to fight back. |
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(Victoria Valdivia and Hans Lucas / AFP and Getty Images) |
By Charles Dallara | As the grandson of Lucien Neuwirth, the French parliamentarian who championed the 1967 law legalizing contraception in France, I feel a deep, personal and civic responsibility to speak out against an unfolding international scandal—one that threatens not only women’s health but also the legacy of reproductive rights and justice we hold dear.
The Trump administration is attempting to incinerate $9.7 million worth of United States-funded contraceptives, primarily long-acting reversible methods such as implants and intrauterine devices (IUDs), which were purchased under the Biden administration through USAID. These devices are not expired—many are viable for up to five more years—and were meant for women in some of the world’s poorest countries, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa.
In response, I issued an open letter to President Emmanuel Macron, urging him to intervene. “Mr. President, do not let France become complicit in this scandal,” I wrote, reminding him of our nation’s responsibility to uphold sexual and reproductive rights—a legacy rooted in the very law my grandfather fought to pass, the Loi Neuwirth.
We cannot allow France to become an accessory to injustice. The world is watching.
(Click here to read more) |
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(Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images) |
By Cynthia Richie Terrell | Weekend Reading for Women’s Representation is a compilation of stories about women’s representation in politics, sports and entertainment, judicial offices and the private sector—with a little gardening mixed in!
This week: —Sixty years have passed since the Voting Rights Act was passed on Aug. 5, 1965. The success of intentional policies like the Voting Rights Act grounds my belief that systems change is not only possible but necessary. —This month marks the swearing in anniversaries for Supreme Court Justices Sotomayor, Kagan and Ginsburg. —Detroit City Council President Mary Sheffield will advance to the general election this November.
—Women won nearly 20 percent of seats in the Lower House in Jordan’s 2024 parliamentary elections, up from 13.8 percent. —Women hold just 8 percent of negotiator roles, 9 percent of mediator roles, and less than 5 percent of peace agreement signatories in major conflict resolutions since 1990, despite evidence that their inclusion improves outcomes dramatically.
… and more. (Click here to read more) |
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(fcscafeine / Getty Images) |
By Jewel Woods | We can’t talk about the health crisis among men and boys without asking deeper, more uncomfortable questions—ones that go beyond the usual grievance-driven narratives.
During a visit to the Franklin County coroner’s office, I was struck by the fact that over 70 percent of the bodies they investigate are male—victims of overdose, suicide, homicide and accidents. This data doesn’t just signal a crisis; it reflects a profound societal failure to understand men’s suffering through a critical, feminist lens.
Feminist scholars have long argued that the way men are socialized—into silence, risk-taking and emotional suppression—contributes directly to their declining health outcomes. And the burden of this crisis doesn’t fall on men alone: Women, particularly women of color, are often left to carry the emotional and financial weight of caring for the struggling men in their lives.
Healing men is not about restoring old hierarchies, but imagining new, more just forms of connection, care and masculinity.
(Click here to read more) |
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| Tune in for a new episode of Ms. magazine's podcast, On the Issues with Michele Goodwin on
Apple Podcasts + Spotify.
Trump has been in office for 200 days. In those 200 days, important institutions core to democracy have been dismantled. But we’ve also seen a coordinated effort to resist him, with millions across the country taking to the streets again and again to protest on behalf of the rights of their neighbors, their families, and themselves. Attorneys and advocates are also stepping up, demanding courts to defend our rights. Two hundred days in, what have we learned—and what’s the playbook for the next four years?
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