"I feel proud, and I feel mad as hell."
At the time Ms. Magazine hit newsstands, in 1972, the term "sexual harassment" was hardly in the public lexicon, though of course many women had experienced it. Victims of domestic violence were often called "battered women," and while such abuse was illegal (unlike marital rape, which was still legal in most states), it was hardly treated as such. In those days, women could not get a credit card in their own name and few dared talk about abortion out loud. Even the word "Ms." — a title that, like Mr., did not identify a woman by her marital status — was considered radical. |
I was a child of the '80s who grew up on Sassy and YM; I always considered Ms. — the magazine co-founded by Gloria Steinem — a dusty old relic of my mother's generation. |
And yet to delve into the early issues of Ms., which turns 50 this year, is to feel simultaneously transported back in time and utterly in the present. |
There are articles on the burden of housework and an argument for the "desexing" of the English language (in modern terms, gender neutral pronouns). One piece is called "The Black Family and Feminism," and there is a proclamation, signed by 53 women, including Anaïs Nin and Billie Jean King, stating, "We Have Had Abortions." How is it possible that a 50-year-old magazine feels so of the zeitgeist? |
Describing the accomplishments of back then as well as how not far, in some ways, we've come, Gloria Steinem told us, "I feel proud, and I feel mad as hell." |
Steinem and several other early Ms. editors and writers joined Times Opinion for a round table to reflect on the magazine's founding and where the feminist movement is today. |
Here's what we're focusing on today: |
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