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Inside Ms.: 25 Years of the Magazine and the Feminist Movement

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When it first debuted in 1972, Ms. was assailed by conservatives for being too radical and other feminists for being too moderate and accomodating. Yet, the magazine has survived many incarnations and near death experiences (especially in the late 1980's with Anne Summers at the helm)to advocate for women's full equality.

In the process, the magazine started a revolution whose reverberations continue to be felt even in today's supposedly post-feminist generation. Ms. has become such an integral part of the American vocabulary (feminist and non-feminist alike) that it is impossible to imagine a time when advertisers were not aware of the word (this happened for the first couple of issues)and nobody was sure how to pronounce it.

Never enjoying circulation equivalent to Time, Life or other mainstream publications, Ms. magazine had an undeniable impact on the psyche of American society. Defying conventional wisdom which held innagural issues were especially supposed to be devoid of controversy, the magazine published a list of prominent American women who had undergone illegal abortions and wanted repeal of laws restricting women's reproductive rights.

Even though the magazine itself had several writers with extensive prior experience, it was committed (especially in the early days) to non-hierarchial management and production. While this ethos would later become modified and refined, it proved these people were dedicated to practicing the equality they preached about. Ms. was also one of the first magazines to offer day care for the children of its employees.

Certainly, most people will think of Gloria Steinem, but she would be the first to downplay her role in publicizing the magazine. While Steinem admired the politics of the women's liberation movement, she also knew society would not change unless there was some kind of way to bring the "movement" to areas where it was not particulary active yet.

She realized that there were people who were feminists, but did not have ready access to the limited production mimeographs of the movement or would not neccesarily know how to obtain them (women's studies was not yet a particularly large book market). By looking "mainstream" the magazine could bring numerous converts to feminism.

Although Steinem's modesty was undebatable by those who knew her well, others (who wanted the publicity) brought elaborate but false charges against her in the mid 1970's. It is worth noting that both Ms.'s former employee Betty Harris and the radical group Redstockings have disappeared off of the face of the earth while Steinem and Ms. continue to be advocates for sisterhood and women's empowerment.

Here is a lucid and sprightly account of the magazine that articulated the new language of feminism and turned it into today's lingua franca. From its inception, Ms. invigorated and infuriated readers---sometimes both at once. Thom's telling is both history and yarn. She puts you inside the office as the magazine's staff create the voice of the feminist movement, aware each month that every word counts, mindful of the fact that the magazine was becoming benchmark and buzzword for both its adherents and its detractors, convinced that they are making history. So they did. Thom's book captures the spirit of the moment: the earnestness, the laughs, the ideologies, the personalities, the drama of life at a publication whose influence went far beyond its circulation figures

Mary Thom has really done an excellent job with this book. Ostensibly its about the creation, development, and impact of Ms. magazine, but you wind up learning so much else about the feminist movement, about the personalities surrounding the magazine, and about the times in general. I totally recommend it for anyone interested in any of the above topics, or anyone looking for a good read.