Updated
Updated · The New York Times · Sep 4
Ms. Magazine Transformed Publishing After Its 1971 Launch, Making Women's Liberation Unavoidable
Updated
Updated · The New York Times · Sep 4

Ms. Magazine Transformed Publishing After Its 1971 Launch, Making Women's Liberation Unavoidable

3 articles · Updated · The New York Times · Sep 4

Summary

  • Launched in 1971, Ms. broke from women’s magazines centered on homemaking and marriage by putting liberation at the core of its editorial mission.
  • The publication — described as the first owned and operated by women — pushed abortion, domestic violence and equality into mainstream debate and reshaped a generation of women writers and publishers.
  • Gloria Steinem said in a 1973 BBC interview that Ms. differed by treating women as human beings, a stance she argued was still radical in magazine publishing.
  • That model still echoes as legacy titles such as Glamour, Marie Claire and Teen Vogue have cut print or faded, while newer outlets like The 19th cite Ms. as a direct influence.

Insights

How did Ms. magazine prove women were not a niche audience when most publishers still treated them that way?
Why did Gloria Steinem’s simple claim that women are human beings revolutionize American magazine journalism?
What can today’s struggling women-focused media learn from how Ms. survived taboo topics, weak advertiser support, and changing times?