Editing Ms. (magazine) (section)

==From 1971 to 1987==

=== The first cover of ''Ms.'' magazine ===
The preview issue of ''Ms.'' magazine was published in December 1971 by ''[[New York Magazine|New York]]'' magazine. The cover, illustrated by Miriam Wosk, depicts a pregnant version of the [[Hinduism|Hindu]] goddess [[Kali]] using eight arms to hold a clock, skillet, typewriter, rake, mirror, telephone, steering wheel, and an iron.<ref name="Pacific Standard">{{cite news |url=https://psmag.com/social-justice/ms-magazine-helped-make-wonder-woman-a-feminist-icon|title=How a Magazine Cover From the '70s Helped Wonder Woman Win Over Feminists|work=Pacific Standard|access-date=2018-04-22|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=2010-12-22|title=Remembering Miriam Wosk, First Ms. Cover Artist - Ms. Magazine|url=https://msmagazine.com/2010/12/22/rip-miriam-wosk-first-ms-cover-artist/|access-date=2020-07-01|work=Ms.}}</ref> 300,000 test copies of the magazine sold out in three days, and generated 26,000 subscription orders within the next few weeks.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://gender.stanford.edu/msat40|title=Ms. at 40 and the Future of Feminism {{!}} The Clayman Institute for Gender Research|website=gender.stanford.edu|access-date=2018-04-22}}</ref> Steinem advocated for this cover as she liked the imagery of a woman juggling multiple facets of life, something that ''Ms.'' magazine would focus on.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|last=Pogrebin|first=Abigail|date=2019-03-25|title=How Do You Spell Ms.?|url=https://www.thecut.com/2019/03/gloria-steinem-ms-magazine-history.html|access-date=2020-12-13|website=The Cut|language=en-us}}</ref> Additionally, the cover displays a Hindu goddess to convey messages of neutrality and female universality.<ref name=":1" />

=== Origins and creation ===
''Ms.'' was viewed as a voice for women by women, a voice that had been hidden from and left out of mainstream media. The magazine's first publication as an independent issue included articles about women who had experience with abortions, promoting the removal of sexist wording from the English language, and literature focused on helping women realize they could stand up for themselves against social norms.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.thoughtco.com/ms-magazine-first-issue-3529076|title=Articles in the First Issue of Ms. Magazine|work=ThoughtCo|access-date=2017-12-07}}</ref>

Co-founder Gloria Steinem explained the motivation for starting ''Ms.'' magazine, stating: "I realized as a journalist that there really was nothing for women to read that was controlled by women, and this caused me along with a number of other women to start ''Ms.'' magazine."<ref name="Gloria 2011 documentary">Gloria: In Her Own Words (2011 documentary, directed by Peter Kunhardt)</ref> Steinem wanted a publication that would address issues that modern women cared about instead of just domestic topics such as fashion and housekeeping.<ref name="Pacific Standard"/> Steinem originally wanted ''Ms.'' to be a newsletter but was convinced to make it into a magazine by her peers. Patricia Carbine thought a magazine was better because of the money from advertisers and that it could reach their audience with its portable, visually pleasing, easy format.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Farrell|first=Amy Erdman|date=2011|title=From a Tarantula on a Banana Boat to a Canary in a Mine: "Ms. Magazine" as a Cautionary Tale in a Neoliberal Age|jstor=23349341|journal=Tulsa Studies in Women's Literature|volume=30|issue=2|pages=393–405|doi=10.1353/tsw.2011.a498335 }}</ref> The creators of ''Ms.'' expected there to be significant participation of the general public as well as readers.<ref name=":3">{{Cite book|last=Bradley|first=Patricia|title=Mass Media and the Shaping of American Feminism, 1963-1975|publisher=University Press of Mississippi|year=2004|pages=172}}</ref> For example, the first issue published in 1972 included a feature titled "We have had abortions", a list of famous women acknowledging that they have gone through this particular medical operation. The feature had a coupon for readers to include their own names as part of this list. In addition, readers frequently interacted with the magazine through sending in letters to the editors about the personal importance of ''Ms.'' magazine.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web|last=Foussianes|first=Chloe|date=2020-04-25|title=The True Story of Ms. Magazine, and What It Meant for Feminist Publishing|url=https://www.townandcountrymag.com/leisure/arts-and-culture/a32131889/gloria-steinem-ms-magazine-true-story/|access-date=2020-12-13|website=Town & Country|language=en-US}}</ref>

As to the origin of the name chosen for the magazine, she has stated: "We were going to call it ''Sojourner'', after [[Sojourner Truth]], but that was perceived as a travel magazine. Then we were going to call it ''Sisters'', but that was seen as a religious magazine. We settled on ''Ms.'' because it was symbolic, and also, it was short, which is good for a logo."<ref name="Gloria 2011 documentary" />  "Lilith" and "Bimbo" were considered titles for the magazine as well.<ref name=":2" /> At this time, the honorific "[[Ms.]]", an alternative to "Miss" or "Mrs." that neutralizes a women's marital status, was being promoted by [[Sheila Michaels]] but not yet well known or defined by the media.<ref name=":2" /><ref>{{Cite web|last=Arteaga|first=Meliss|date=2017-06-20|title=Today in Feminist History: The New York Times Says "Ms."|url=https://msmagazine.com/2017/06/20/today-feminist-history-new-york-times-says-ms/|access-date=2020-07-01|website=Ms. Magazine}}</ref> In particular, when Michaels suggested the use of "Ms." in 1969, in a lull during a [[WBAI]]-radio interview with ''The Feminists'' group, a friend of Steinem heard the interview and suggested it as a title for her new magazine.<ref>{{cite news |title=On Language: Ms. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/25/magazine/25FOB-onlanguage-t.html |last=Zimmer |first=Ben |author-link=Ben Zimmer |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=2009-10-25 |access-date=2009-11-16}}</ref>

=== Wonder Woman cover ===
[[Gloria Steinem]] placed [[Wonder Woman]], in costume, on the cover of the first independently published issue of ''Ms.'' v1 #1, July 1972 ([[Time Warner|Warner Communications]], DC Comics' owner, was an investor), which also contained an appreciative essay about the character.<ref name="autogenerated2">{{cite book|title=DC Comics Year By Year A Visual Chronicle|publisher=[[Dorling Kindersley]]|year=2010|isbn=978-0-7566-6742-9|editor1-last=McAvennie|editor1-first=Michael|page=154|chapter=1970s|quote="After nearly five years of Diana Prince's non-powered super-heroics, writer-editor Robert Kanigher and artist Don Heck restored Wonder Woman's... well, wonder."|editor2-last=Dolan|editor2-first=Hannah}}</ref> Steinem was offended that the world's most famous female superhero had had her powers removed in the most recently published comics. The progressive author {{awrap|[[Samuel R. Delany]]}} wrote two issues of the ''[[Wonder Woman]]'' comic book in 1972, during this controversial period in the publication's history when the lead character abandoned her superpowers and became a secret agent.<ref>{{Cite web|title=WONDERLAND • The Ultimate Wonder Woman Site|url=http://www.wonderland-site.com/html/comix/comics01-04.htm|access-date=2020-07-01|website=www.wonderland-site.com}}</ref> Delany was initially supposed to write a six-issue story arc that would culminate in a battle over an abortion clinic, but the story arc was canceled after Steinem led a lobbying effort protesting the removal of Wonder Woman's powers, a change predating Delany's involvement.<ref name=":7">{{Cite magazine|last=Desta|first=Yohana|title=How Gloria Steinem Saved Wonder Woman|url=https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2017/10/gloria-steinem-wonder-woman|access-date=2020-07-01|magazine=Vanity Fair|date=10 October 2017|language=en-us}}</ref> Scholar Ann Matsuuchi concluded that Steinem's feedback was "conveniently used as an excuse" by DC management.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Matsuuchi|first=Ann|date=2012-01-01|title=Wonder Woman Wears Pants: Wonder Woman, Feminism and the 1972 'Women's Lib' Issue.|url=https://academicworks.cuny.edu/lg_pubs/3|journal=Colloquy|volume=24|pages=118–142}}</ref> Wonder Woman's powers and traditional costume were restored in issue #204 (January–February 1973).<ref name="autogenerated2" />

[[Joanne Edgar]] wrote the cover story for the 1972 issue with Wonder Woman. She described her personal relationship with comic books and applied issues women were facing such as power dynamics and gender discrimination at the work place to the character.<ref name="Pacific Standard" />

''Ms.'' featured Wonder Woman on the cover of their magazine in 1972 with the title "Wonder Woman For President".<ref name=":7" /> Steinem wanted to lobby DC comics to display Wonder Woman as a feminist hero because she felt that new images of Wonder Woman in the 1960s objectified her. By including Wonder Woman on the cover of ''Ms.'', Steinem was able to encourage [[Dick Giordano]] to reinstate Wonder Woman's truth lasso, bracelets, and her origin story.<ref name=":7" />

The ''Ms.'' cover wanted to embrace the traits of compassion that Wonder Woman had as well as her belief in justice. Tim Hanley, a comic historian, commented on how the ''Ms.'' cover, emphasized unity and "sisterhood".<ref name="Pacific Standard" /> While some women were in support of Wonder Woman being an icon of second-wave feminism, others critiqued ''Ms.'' for displaying a woman with "superhuman" or unachievable qualities. However, the ''Ms.'' editors were worried about featuring actual female public figures on their covers early on due to their worry of tokenizing them as the symbol of the feminist movement.<ref name="Pacific Standard" />

Jill Lepore reflected on ''Ms.'' magazine's cover with Wonder Woman by calling it the connection between first-wave feminism and second-wave feminism. Wonder Woman was inspired by the efforts of the women's suffrage movement and by the work of women in the Great Depression.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Pollitt|first=Katha|date=2014-10-14|title=Wonder Woman's Kinky Feminist Roots|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2014/11/wonder-womans-kinky-feminist-roots/380788/|access-date=2020-12-16|website=The Atlantic|language=en-US}}</ref>

===Editorial content===
[[File:Ms. magazine Cover - Spring 1972.jpg|thumb|''Ms.'' magazine cover, 1972]]
"The Housewife's Moment of Truth", the first cover story for ''Ms.'' magazine, was written by [[Jane O'Reilly]]. O'Reilly's article spoke for feminist strength and the opposition against the repression of wives in society and the home. The article also helped introduce the idea of "click!", or the realization a woman acquires when she realizes the demands being pushed upon her to act, work and behave in a certain way can be fought against.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.thecrimson.com/article/2008/6/1/jane-oreilly-in-her-senior-year/|title=Jane O'Reilly {{!}} News {{!}} The Harvard Crimson|website=www.thecrimson.com|language=en|access-date=2017-12-06}}</ref>

In 1972, ''Ms.'' published the names of 53 women who admitted to having had [[abortion]]s when the procedure was illegal in most states of the country.<ref>{{cite book|last=Willis|first=Jim|title=100 media moments that changed America|url=https://archive.org/details/mediamomentsthat00will|url-access=limited|year=2010|publisher=Greenwood Press|location=Santa Barbara, Calif.|isbn=978-0-313-35517-2|pages=[https://archive.org/details/mediamomentsthat00will/page/n143 121]–122}}</ref> The ''Ms.'' petition included a tear-out section for women to remove, sign and send back to the magazine. The tear-out section stated:
{{Quote
|text=The attitudes and laws against abortion in this country are causing untold suffering. Approximately one million American women had "illegal" abortions in 1971 — many of them self-induced or performed by the unqualified, some of them fatal. I have had an abortion. I publicly join millions of other American women in demanding a repeal of all laws that restrict our reproductive freedom.}}
Signatories included [[Billie Jean King]], [[Judy Collins]], [[Anaïs Nin]], [[Gloria Steinem]], [[Susan Sontag]], and [[Nora Ephron]].<ref name="WeHaveHadAbortions" /> The petition drew on evidence that around 25% of American women had chosen to have an abortion, despite its variable legal status.<ref name="WeHaveHadAbortions" /> Called the American Women's Petition, the ''Ms.'' petition was inspired by the [[Manifesto of the 343]] that had been published the previous year in which 343 French women publicly declared that they had had an abortion, which was also illegal in France at the time.<ref name="WeHaveHadAbortions">{{Cite web |url=http://images.nymag.com/images/2/promotional/11/11/week1/mrs-abortionsb.pdf |title=We have had Abortions |date=1972}}</ref> In 1973,  the ''[[Roe v. Wade]]'' decision by the [[Supreme Court of the United States]] would legalize abortion throughout the country.

The petition was the inspiration for a similar campaign by ''Ms.'' in 2006, as well as an amicus brief signed by more than 100 American lawyers in support of overturning the abortion regulations at issue in [[Whole Woman's Health v. Hellerstedt]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://msmagazine.com/2016/01/13/wewontgoback-why-abortion-must-remain-safe-and-legal/ |title=#WeWontGoBack: Why Abortion Must Remain Safe and Legal |date=January 13, 2016}}</ref>

The January 1973 edition featured [[Shirley Chisholm]] and [[Frances Farenthold|Sissy Farenthold]] on the cover with the title: "The Ticket That Might Have Been."<ref>{{Cite news|date=January 1973|title=Ms. Magazine}}</ref>[[File:Ms. magazine Cover - Fall 2006.jpg|thumbnail|Fall 2006 issue of ''Ms. magazine'' for "We Had Abortions"]]From 1974 to 1977, ''Ms.'' collaborated with public broadcasting and, with the help of a grant from the Corporation for Public Funding, produced the television series ''[[Woman Alive!]]''.<ref name="Schlesinger">[https://id.lib.harvard.edu/ead/sch00977/catalog Woman Alive! Collection, 1974-1977: A Finding Aid.] MC 421. Schlesinger Library, Radcliffe Institute, Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass. Accessed May 18, 2020.</ref> The show was formatted to reflect the magazine, and consisted of short documentaries made by independent women filmmakers, interviews, and entertainment segments.<ref name="Schlesinger" />

A 1976 cover story on battered women made ''Ms.'' the first national magazine to address the issue of [[domestic violence]]. The cover photo featured a woman with a bruised face.

From 1972 until 1988, [[Suzanne Braun Levine]] served as editor of ''Ms.''<ref>{{cite web|title=Suzanne Braun Levine - The Clayman Institute for Gender Research|url=http://gender.stanford.edu/people/suzanne-braun-levine|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131004220142/http://gender.stanford.edu/people/suzanne-braun-levine|archive-date=2013-10-04|access-date=2013-05-01}}</ref>

In conjunction with other efforts towards [[feminist language reform]], ''Ms.'' challenged the common holiday phrase "Peace on earth, good will to men" by changing the salutation to "Peace on earth, good will to people." In its earliest years, the magazine's December cover proclaimed this altered holiday message in bold, colorful designs by Brazilian designer [[Bea Feitler]], as well as in editorial addresses from Steinem.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.auswhn.org.au/blog/peace-earth-good-will-people/|title="Peace on earth good will to people": Holiday reflections on Ms. Magazine|last=Stevenson|first=Ana|date=2016-12-18|website=Australian Women's History Network|language=en-US|access-date=2019-03-01}}</ref>

Over its long history, the magazine has featured articles written by and about many women and men at the forefront of business, politics, activism, and journalism. The magazine's investigative journalism broke several landmark stories on topics including overseas [[sweatshop]]s, [[Trafficking in human beings|sex trafficking]], the [[Gender pay gap|wage gap]], the [[glass ceiling]], [[date rape]], and [[domestic violence]].

The type of feminist that ''Ms.'' attracted is most often labeled as a "cultural" feminist, those interested in changing the deep rooted gender norms within American culture.<ref name=":3" /> ''Ms.'' magazine editors represented this background as they did not identify as women in politics or political feminists; rather, they were activists, writers, and graduates of all women's colleges.<ref name=":3" /> Though the editors represented a small fraction of feminists in the 1970s, ''Ms.'' strove to represent the term "female universality", a phrase that encompassed representation of all women no matter their socio-economic status, race, religion, or political beliefs.<ref name=":3" />