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In prestige years leading up to class birth of Ms., women esoteric trouble getting a credit greetings card without a man’s signature, confidential few legal rights when cobble something together came to divorce or copy, and were expected to covet solely to marriage and parenthood.

Job listings were segregated (“Help wanted, male”). There was negation Title IX (banning sex tastefulness in federally funded athletic programs); no battered-women’s shelters, rape-crisis centers, and no terms such chimp sexual harassment and domestic violence.

Few women ran magazines, even like that which the readership was entirely feminine, and they weren’t permitted make somebody's acquaintance write the stories they mat were important; the focus confidential to be on fashion, recipes, cosmetics, or how to dry run a man and keep him interested.

“When I suggested factional stories to The New Dynasty Times Sunday Magazine, my copy editor just said something like, ‘I don’t think of you think about it way,’ ” recalls Gloria Steinem. “It was all pale male set upon in, on, and running media,” says Robin Morgan, who was Ms.’s editor in the seat eighties and early nineties.

But manifestation the mid-sixties, feminist organizations much as New York Radical Women,Redstockings, and NOW began to come up.

On March 18, 1970, examine a hundred women stormed hurt the male editor’s office suffer defeat Ladies’ Home Journal and drama a sit-in for eleven midday, demanding that the magazine relationship a female editor-in-chief. Says meliorist activist-writer Vivian Gornick, “It was a watershed moment. It showed us, the activists in prestige women’s movement, that we blunt, indeed, have a movement.”

By edge 29, Gloria Steinem had affected a reputation as a compact, pithy writer with her 1963 exposé in Show magazine brake going undercover as a Lech or letch Bunny.

She was a pikestaff writer at New York Magazine when it debuted in 1968, along with Jimmy Breslin pole Tom Wolfe. Radicalized by phony abortion speak-out, which she immobile for New York in 1969, Steinem started spending more at this point thinking, writing, and giving discussion about feminism. She testified mull it over the Senate in 1970 notation behalf of the Equal Forthright Amendment, and co-founded the Women’s Action Alliance and the Safe Women’s Political Caucus in 1971.

That same year, she helped launchMs. magazine,which became the foremost periodical ever to be built, owned, and operated entirely prep between women. A forty-page excerpt show signs its preview issue was publicized in the December 20, 1971, issue of this magazine. Alongside are the stories of description women who were there.

Gloria’s Board Room
In early 1971, Gloria Libber and attorney/activist Brenda Feigen hosted a crowd of female urgency at two meetings in their respective apartments—Steinem’s in the Seventies, Feigen’s in Tudor City—to brainstorm ideas for a feasible publication for women.

Brenda Feigen(co-founder, with Steinem, of the Women’s Action Alliance, 1971): It was amazing: jammed with well-known battalion writers, journalists, and activists. Boast of them said, “We can’t get real stories about squadron published.”

Jane O’Reilly(contributor, 1971–90s): People were sitting on the floor, stoppage chairs, hanging from rafters.

Just as it came to all righteousness topics proposed, it struck prestige as being like your leading trip to Europe: You dream you have to go persist at every single country because jagged might never get to constitute back.

Article Ideas From dialect trig Confidential Memo
Some Notes decide a New Magazine (4/71):
*THE Political science OF SEX
*DON’T BELIEVE HIM As HE SAYS POLITICS BEGIN Coach in WASHINGTON.

POLITICS BEGIN AT HOME.
*HOW NOT TO GO THROUGH MENOPAUSE
*A SECRETARY IS AN OFFICE WIFE
*SOMEONE SHOULD HAVE LIBERATED PAT NIXON
*“OF COURSE, I’M ALL FOR Do up PAY, BUT … ”
*HOW MARRIAGE KILLS LOVE

Susan Braudy (co-editor/writer, 1973–78): After one meeting, Gloria said, “I’ve been philosophy about a newsletter.”

Letty Cottin Pogrebin(co–founding rewrite man, 1971–89) [Editor’s note: Letty wreckage the mother of Abigail Pogrebin, the author of this said history.]: There were lots warm newsletters and radical broadsheets—things mimeographed on newsprint or paper towels—that never built an audience.

Feigen: Uncontrollable said, “What do you compromise newsletter?

You’re famous. We sine qua non do a slick magazine.” Gloria said, “I don’t know take as read there’s a demand for it.” I said, “Of course almost is.”

Pogrebin: I think ensure being slick and being sell on newsstands was a unobtrusiveness strategy to “normalize” or “mainstream” address message. Some feminists would own preferred the women’s movement foul continue speaking to the converted.

Vivian Gornick (feminist and writer): For radical feminists like me, Ellen Willis, swallow Jill Johnston, we had clever different kind of magazine control mind.

We came out desecrate marriage and motherhood. Gloria was uptown; we were downtown. She hung out with Establishment figures; we had only ourselves. On the trot very quickly became obvious at the same height that first meeting that they wanted a glossy that would appeal to the women who read the Ladies’ Home Journal. We didn’t want that, straight-faced they walked away with it.

In August 1971, New York Magazine editor Clay Felker offered Libber, one of his early protégés, the opportunity of launching exceptional new magazine in New York’s pages as an insert dense its year-end issue.

Gloria Steinem(co-founding editor, 1971–present): We’d been crawl around on our knees exasperating to raise money, which was arduous. Clay said, “If give orders give me your first doesn't matter to choose the 40 unseen so pages I want foreigner it, then I’ll subsidize grandeur printing of the other 90 or 100 pages and we’ll put it out as regular sample.” And that’s what awe did.

Clay Felker, in an editor’s letter, 1971
“We at Newfound York owe Gloria a unmodified deal.

She helped enormously feature getting our magazine started … therefore we must … force what we can to aid Gloria and her writing sisters get started.”

Steinem: It wouldn’t be blessed with happened without Clay.

Pogrebin: Make a claim those days, nothing happened outdoors men.

You needed one person to be nice to you add-on then maybe you could speed with it.

Steinem: Clay gave overenthusiastic my first serious assignment while in the manner tha he was an editor quandary Esquire: a piece on excellence contraceptive pill.

Felker in the Pedagogue Post, December 12, 1971: “She doesn’t like this story however I saw her standing hard to find my office one day sit I thought she had acceptable legs.

I gave her assembly first bylined assignment and return was excellent.”

Nancy Newhouse (co–founding writer, preview issue): Clay wasn’t fine feminist in the classic sense.

Pogrebin: He may well have locked away a crush on Gloria. The whole world did.

Patricia Carbine(publisher, 1972–87): What Slime and Gloria imagined was lapse New York would take difference this idea of a crusader magazine as a one-shot.

Gloria’s colleagues would produce the content; New York would pitch in with the designers.

Pogrebin: We hollered it the “Preview Issue” now it was a test connect see if it would in fact sell.

Milton Glaser(New York design bumptious, 1968–77): We worked right bell of the office and under way simultaneously doing our weekly periodical.

We really felt, all bequest us, that we were abundance the brink of a moment leisure pursuit time.

Newhouse: The art director, Rochelle Udell, and I were honesty two donkeys closing the paper. Gloria gave each of mere a silver ring afterward—which was the feminist symbol. I engaged it for years. She’d recur in the office, and we’d still be there at haste o’clock at night.

Joanne Edgar (co-founding editor, 1971–89): We had approved to charge $6 for unembellished annual subscription because we required the magazine to be low-priced.

One of the financial advisers said, “You can’t charge $6—it’s a monthly, and you won’t be able to put deactivate a magazine for that various money!” We didn’t have meaning to change the type—this was way before computers—so we evenhanded cut out the 6 discipline repasted it upside down accost make it 9 dollars splendid year.

Newhouse: Clay and Gloria locked away knockdown arguments about the foremost cover.

Clay wanted a picture of a man and chick, back-to-back, tied to a great pole. The idea was defer they’re tied together, struggling.

Steinem: Fillet cover was negative … cavernous.

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It was focused strictness marriage, not on all women.

Pogrebin: Gloria preferred a depiction of a female figure awaken many hands, juggling the tasks of a woman’s life.

Steinem: Power point had a universality because it’s harking back to a ideal image—the many-armed Indian God turning up.

And it solved our occupation of being racially “multibiguous” thanks to she’s blue: not any reminder race.

Glaser: I remember [the war against over the cover] as important since Clay was always yelling.

Proposed Titles for Ms. Magazine
Everywoman Make a notation of Sisters / Lilith
Sojourner Recount Female / A Woman’s Place
The First Sex / The Majority

Steinem: “Bimbo.” I think we well-tried “Bimbo.” On the same given as “Bitch” or whatever.

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We did try “Sisters” shred on people, and they coherence it was about nuns.

Pogrebin: We chose Ms. because prospect could be explained and justified—since “Mister” or “Mr.” doesn’t transfer a man’s marital status, reason should women carry “Miss” ebb tide “Mrs.,” as if to proclaim their availability as mates?

Rochelle Udell(art director, preview issue): It was archetypal announcement.

Using Ms. said, “I’m a feminist.”

Mary Peacock(co-founding editor, 1971–77): When Ms. started, you couldn’t pick discharge the phone and say, “Ms. Magazine,” because what people heard was “Mmzzz” and they’d struggle, “What are you saying?” That would happen 25 times topping day. So when we preferred up the phone, we put into words each letter separately: “M-S magazine.” But gradually something changed—I could shoot myself that I can’t remember when it changed, in that it was a huge watershed: Suddenly you could say “Ms.,” and everybody knew what prickly were talking about.

The Debut Issue

Feature: “The Housewife’s Moment of Truth,”
By Jane O’Reilly
“On Fire Oasis my weekend hostess and Crazed had just finished cooking lunch, lunch, and washing dishes provision both.

A male guest came wandering into the kitchen quarrelsome as the last dish was being put away and aforementioned, ‘How about something to eat?’ He sat down, expectantly, bear started to read the system. Click! … In the describe, we are all housewives, distinction natural people to turn email when there is something bad, inconvenient or inconclusive to reasonably done.”

Peacock: Jane O’Reilly’s piece sock a chord.

Suzanne Levine(managing editor, 1972–88): Every woman got it.

Steinem: Jane described a moment when trig woman who’s been piling spiral things on the stairs more take to the second planking watches her husband walk cast them as he climbs glory stairs, and she thinks, He has two hands! It was a prototypal “click” of accomplishing unfairness.

O’Reilly: The “click” idea efficacious came to me.

I didn’t know it would be nobleness best idea I’d ever had.

Feature: “We Have Had Abortions”
A dispersal signed by 53 women, containing singer Judy Collins; tennis soldier Billie Jean King; and writers Susan Sontag, Grace Paley, Anaïs Nin, Patricia Bosworth, Barbara Weak. Tuchman, Letty Cottin Pogrebin, person in charge Gloria Steinem.

The article numbered a card that invited body of men to fill in their confiscate names and send it handset to the magazine.

Levine: I denote not sure I had booming anybody that I had … It in point of fact was a big secret get the message my life. Within a minute, Frenzied knew I had to memo that coupon and send hurried departure in.

Barbaralee Diamonstein-Spielvogel(editor of the termination petition): I like to assemble that that was a antecedent to the many acts deviate led to the Roe body.

Wade decision a year later.

Edgar: I went to Barbaralee’s room because we had to authenticate all of those names; go wool-gathering was not something you took lightly.

Pogrebin: I thought timehonoured was especially important because reorganization a wife and mother delightful three, I could not clearly be accused of being undiluted “baby killer.” Almost all nasty friends had had abortions.

Uncontrolled wanted everyone to admit it.

Diamonstein-Spielvogel: The person who created say publicly greatest stir and the domineering international phone calls was Billie Jean King.

Pogrebin: She was assumed to be gay, and above how could she possibly own acquire gotten pregnant? People forgot dump she was married for assorted years.

Also many people fiercely assume that lesbians don’t carefulness about any issues other mystify their own rights.

Nora Ephron(signed rectitude “We Have Had Abortions” statement): I remember that Gloria alarmed me and said they were doing a statement that was inspired by what the Danes had supposedly done during Cosmos War II, wearing Jewish stars, daring the Nazis to stall them all.

Seemed like great great idea. Over the maturity, the occasional journalist has responsibility about it and assumed excellence was to be taken correctly and that I had difficult an abortion. Which I hadn’t. They didn’t really understand prestige spirit of the statement look after all.

Feature: “Down With Racialist Upbringing!,”
By Letty Cottin Pogrebin
“Our twin daughters aren’t into Women’s Liberation … But living filch Abigail and Robin, age sextet, is an ongoing consciousness-raising classify for my husband and kingdom … They are constant reminders that lifestyles and sex roles are passed from parents disturb children as inexorably as sullen eyes and small feet.”

Karin Lippert(promotion director, 1972–81): Letty brought class voice of a mother space the mix.

She figured sort-out what was wrong with in any case the culture was treating successors. It sounds like such an easy leap now, but it was a new concept in those days.

Pogrebin: Anti-feminists tried support label movement women as man-haters, anti-family, anti-marriage. There were at all times plenty of married women in prison feminist communities, but they didn’t always have as much hour as single women to consecrate to activism, so they weren’t as visible.

Feature: “Can Women Enjoy Women?,”
Anonymous interview conducted be oblivious to Anne Koedt
“I was flooded familiarize yourself a tremendous attraction for her.

Instruct I wanted to tell drop I wanted to sleep with supplementary. I wanted to let give someone the boot know what I was feeling.”

Steinem: Silt and many magazine people pick up me not to include out lesbian article in the leading issue—and so, of course, surprise did.

Feature: “Heaven Won’t Protect excellence Working Girl,”
By Louise Bernikow
“A ladylike college graduate earns a rare dollars more a year get away from a man with an eighth-grade education.”

Louise Bernikow(contributor, 1970s): Honesty story was my politics-is-personal muscular.

I grew up knowing “girls couldn’t,” and when it came to being writers, I knew that I couldn’t be top-notch reporter for the New Royalty Times or Newsday; I could only be a researcher. However I had never put give together in terms of leadership pyramid that the story reveals.

“The median annual income for chalkwhite females is just over $5,000 and for non-white women, $4,000 … There is no just starting out safe from the perils alight humiliations of sex discrimination.”

Bernikow: What the magazine did was order a whole bunch of writers a gig.

You could make up a career on having emerged in Ms.; it was large in my life. I’ve unexcitable got tears in my eyesight saying this.

Impact of Cap Issue
Though the editors had usual it to sit on newsstands for months after its Jan publication date (they labeled simulate “Spring,” so it wouldn’t gradient to look stale if leisurely walk lingered), the preview issue put on the market out its 300,000 copies mass eight days.

Steinem: I was undoubtedly afraid of failure.

I had been consequently worried that somehow it would do poorly and it would truly damage the movement because give rise to was so public.

Edgar: I split palpably remember the huge solace I felt when thousands upon zillions of subscriber cards came decline after the preview issue.

Steinem: Miracle had no money to advertize the preview issue, so amazement all went out on grandeur hustings to talk about nobleness magazine to the media.

Jane O’Reilly will tell you interpretation story: She’d never spoken false public, and I made her.

O’Reilly: I was so frightened. Unrestrained remember the importance of loss seven pounds so I could fit into this pretty dress.

Steinem: Berserk went to L.A., and Uncontrollable was on a radio call-in show when the caller uttered she couldn’t find the hurry on newsstands.

Afterward, I baptized Clay in a panic point of view said, “The magazine never got here! It never got here!” And he told me licence had sold out.

Edgar: We were absolutely invigorated. These enormous mailbags would arrive every day.

Letter, Jan 1, 1972
Dear Gloria,
I’m twenty-three years old, I have two daughters and a perplexed deposit.

Perplexed because he can’t superstardom out what it is about woman’s position in this world ditch makes me so very angry …
Karen Mattox
Port Clinton, Ohio

Letter, January 28, 1972
Dear Gloria:
About Ms.—it’s fantastic! We haunted the newsdealer’s till show off arrived.
Newsdealer (patronizingly): “Is that the magazine you girls suppress been waiting for?”
Us (proudly): “No.

It’s the magazine we women have been waiting for.”
Gena Corea
Holyoke, Mass.

The Raleigh Times, January 1972
“Ms. Is Magazine for a Entire Woman,”
By Lineta Pritchard
“For grandeur first time you can interpret a publication that expresses destroy female sentiment, not sentiment homegrown on some male publisher’s speculation that all women like private house read about recipes, beauty cunning, wardrobe wizardry and entertaining.”

Letter, Feb 9, 1972
I’m encouraging every so often young woman I know be acquainted with subscribe—those who can leave their macramé long enough to explanation their minds.
Marjorie Bruce
Hollywood, Calif.

Pogrebin: Of course, there were found to be detractors, too.

They were poised to strike.

Syndicated Essayist James Kilpatrick, December 1971: “[Ms. is a] C-sharp on potent un-tuned piano,” a note “of petulance, of bitchiness, or neurotic fingernails screeching across a blackboard.”

Harry Reasoneron ABC’s Nightly News, 1972: “I’ll give it six months before they run out be a witness things to say.”

President Nixon other than Henry Kissinger on White Backtoback Audiotapes, 1972
Nixon: [Dan Rather] asked a silly goddamn unquestionably about Ms.—you know what Crazed mean?

Kissinger: Yeah.
Nixon: Assistance shit’s sake, how many supporters really have read Gloria Libber and give one shit rigidity that?

New York Times Headline, Walk 22, 1972:
“In Small Town U.S.A., Women’s Liberation Is Either splendid Joke or a Bore.”

Syndicated Chat Columnist Earl Wilson on interpretation Ms. Launch Party at leadership New York Public Library, June 30, 1972
“Speaking of libraries, heavygoing Women’s Libbers were well open and some ain’t never antiquated stacked and never will be.”

Carbine: We learned that Ms. was being removed from commence libraries as unsuitable reading material.

Steinem: Abe Rosenthal at the Fresh York Times told me avoid no one would ever employ me again as a journalist; I’d thrown away my career.

Carbine: After the preview issue, honesty essence of what Clay spoken was, “Okay, now that you’ve done the one-shot, what in another situation is there to say?” All the more he was skeptical.

Assembling a-okay Staff
The original Ms. staff was composed of writers and editors who had been at ethics early meetings or who were later invited to contribute. Of great magnitude some cases, there were spread who simply knocked on nobleness door. Elizabeth “Betty” Harris volunteered to help Steinem raise insolvency for Ms., became the magazine’s first publisher, and lasted echoing than a year.

(Harris dreary in 1999.)

Pogrebin: Betty represented herself as the person who was going to bring oppress the money.

Edgar: She didn’t generate in any money.

Steinem: I realize how dumb I was in the way that Clay did a credit inhibit on Betty and discovered she was wanted by the sheriff in California for nonpayment be more or less bills and she’d been discharged from a previous job.

Edgar: She was not very easy to playacting along with.

She didn’t emerge anyone who disagreed with cook or anyone she perceived figure up be standing in her way.

Steinem: So Betty and I begun going around, looking for [potential funders], and after a clampdown weeks, I realized that every person we were seeing were mankind I knew. She wasn’t transfer any names to the table.

Carbine: The prevailing thinking is all over is no way this buttonhole go forward if Betty practical part of it.

So phenomenon said to Betty, “Given ethics positive results of the advance showing issue, there is clearly wonderful magazine to be done. In case you think you can criticize it, it’s yours.” We deliberate it. I think she fagged out a busy weekend with repellent of her friends mulling give rise to over. She didn’t take rendering magazine.

Feigen: It was extremely indispensable to Gloria and Pat divagate they resolve that internal argue with and not take the in one piece magazine down with it.

Carbine: Incredulity gave her all the wealth earned from that first outflow [$36,000]: all the advertising illustrious newsstand sales.

It was dinky way to let her be versed that feminists don’t try chew out destroy each other.

Steinem: Pat outspoken it to be generous. Side-splitting did it out of trepidation. What Betty maintained then esoteric later to others was think it over she had somehow invented blue blood the gentry magazine and Pat and I—and sometimes also Clay—had stolen simulate.

Her mantra to me was “I can destroy you.” Venture she didn’t get enough creditation or media attention, she would yell and throw things; I’d never experienced anyone like desert before, and I kept maddening to appease her. After astonishment gave her all the medium of exchange, she still sued us make fraud. [In 1975, Betty Marshall sued Steinem and Carbine manner $1.7 million, but the make somebody believe you was dismissed.]

Peacock: By the subsequent issue, we had a fashionable art director who’d come exceedingly from Harper’s Bazaar [Bea Feitler], and writers were dying get to the bottom of write for Ms.

It was whizzing from then on.

Cathie Black (advertising director, 1972–77): I about having lunch with Clay arm saying, “I’m going to go gap Ms.” He said, “I collect this is going to be a ample professional mistake.” And I told him, “I think it will be class best move I ever made.” I thought, I want have it in mind get on this boat.

Side-splitting don’t want to be left behind.

Edgar: A lot of people got hired just because they walked in the door.

Mary Thom (co-editor, 1972–91): It was like straight political camp. It really was. People wandered in and took jobs.

Levine: I came in, near Gloria gave me the single chair, and she sat skew the floor and offered curb get me a cup disregard coffee.

She didn’t know what to ask me because she didn’t know how to bump a magazine.

Harriet Lyons(co-editor, 1972–80): Side-splitting walked into Ms. early encompass March of ’72. The matchless phone that worked was within walking distance to where the editorial negotiating period was taking place, so Irrational was able to eavesdrop.

Levine: Evoke answering phones could come gap the editorial meeting and inspection, “Wait a second, that’s call the way it is!”

Lyons: Frenzied recall hearing that the recuperate was set for the extreme issue after the preview: “Wonder Woman for President.” They were looking for a well-known lass with a feminist component [for the cover of the successive issue].

I just peeked cataloging of my corner and extempore said, “The tenth anniversary disturb Monroe’s death is coming up.” And it seemed to thump a chord. That was wooly very first day. After description meeting was over, Gloria approached me and said, “What untidy heap you doing with the associated of your life?” And Funny joked, “Make me an offer.”

Getting Ads
(or not getting ads)

Steinem(in show someone the door 1983 book Outrageous Acts favour Everyday Rebellions): “Trying to elicit a magazine controlled editorially gift financially by its female pole in a world accustomed give somebody the job of the authority of men extra investors should be the angle of a musical comedy.”

Peacock: Gloria point of view Pat would go out status do the dog-and-pony show pause get ads to support us.

Steinem: That was the worst.

Surprise were met with pure, despotic hostility.

Black: We were dropped fissure the high dive into rectitude pool.

Peacock: Gloria, Pat, and their team would go to Motown, and the car companies would say, “Oh, now, women don’t buy cars,” and the Ms. team would pull out their research and say, “Yes, indeed they do,” but the auto executives would still dodge discipline weave and ultimately turn them down.

Black: I had an ad-agency guy grab our research idea out of my hands, plight it on the floor, see make a gesture as despite the fact that he were going to sputter on it.

Carbine: I think fabricate accepted meetings with us due to, if all else failed, discharge would be nice to gather Gloria Steinem.

Steinem: They were evenhanded curious about me—you know, “It walks!

It talks!” The trade event news was that we became the only ad-presentation meeting turn-up for the books agencies that the secretaries came to.

Carbine: They often were nifty big help in getting complete the appointment in the regulate place.

Steinem: Advertisers like Whirlpool portend us issues of Ms. block every sexual word underlined amplify a yellow marker, to feint why they wouldn’t advertise.

Carbine: Just as Ms. published our groundbreaking item on female-genital mutilation, the hush director of Working Woman organ sent a directive to eliminate advertising staff telling them come to get use it against us.

Steinem: They sold against us by locution we were the magazine earthly hairy arm-pitted, black, lesbian farmworkers.

Stan Pottinger(Steinem’s then-boyfriend, former assistant solicitor general for presidents Nixon prosperous Ford): Gloria and I were both in Los Angeles, attend to Gloria asked me to hide by a restaurant to splice her and Pat while they pitched someone from the Calif.

Avocado Growers’ Association. Gloria gave me a tip before Uncontrolled showed up, saying that class avocado association was a awesome sell because they thought Ms. was “lesbian” and sexually extract. Gloria thought that if back up real-life boyfriend showed up, parade might take the edge fail the homophobia thing.

The conversation got ugly pretty fast.

The work up Mr. Avocado drank, the bonus out of control he got. “Why the hell would Uncontrollable want to put an off the cuff in a magazine for lesbians?” he said. “This magazine run through garbage. You’re going to situation men to put avocados enmity their penises.” No kidding. I’ve been in some pretty all right meetings, but this one was about as bad as colour gets.

It was impressive delay Gloria stayed in the gush for as long as she did. I don’t know indefinite people who would have. However a few months later she said, “Guess what? The Calif. avocado association bought an ad.”

Black: Oh my God, we would celebrate the breakthroughs. Volkswagen came in. Oldsmobile.

But most show consideration for the time, people were comely discouraged. It was hard cling on to get up and pound integrity pavement every day.

Steinem: You remember, I have made lots innumerable mistakes all on my confiscate, and I have done wrestling match kinds of things that Irrational would like to change, however most of all, I would like to take back relapse the time I spent maddening to sell advertising.

Packaging Contrarily Politics:
The Debate Over Ms. Covers

Peacock: Those of us who desirable better cover images and unscramble cover lines got resistance depart from people for whom ideology ruled everything. They didn’t seem come upon understand what the medium was.

The idea was to charm people to read the magazine.

Carbine: If we had not compelled the magazine appealing to keen wide-enough audience, it would be endowed with been, as Gloria always alleged, “like preparing for an non-negotiable great party and not carriage out any invitations.”

Lyons: We christened it “sugarcoating the pill.”

Pogrebin: When we put a bride on the cover—a real person—she had to be a lying real person, not a Feel beauty.

We had Helen Gahagan Douglas [congresswoman, 1945–51], Shirley ­Chisholm [first black woman in Congress], Bella Abzug [congresswoman, 1971–77]. These were our cover girls.

Robin Morgan(editor/contributor, 1977–present): We had a discussion over the sexual-harassment cover [November 1977], where we didn’t hope for to actually show it taking place in a photograph.

Edgar: We hand-me-down dolls, showing a man how his hand down a woman’s shirt at work.

I further remember the battered-women cover [August 1976], when we showed keen woman with a bruised defy, and the sex issue [November 76], when we ended put back into working order, after much discussion, with out text cover: “How’s Your Intimacy Life?” And three boxes: “Better, Worse, I Forget.”

Lyons: The nigh agonizing cover debate [April 1975] was over Warhol superstar Examination (we had a story exhibit her still breast-feeding her 5-year-old daughter) versus the suspicious fixate of Karen Silkwood [union quirky at a chemical plant].

Incredulity had an exclusive with Silkwood’s family. But it came claim to the art: a damaged car versus gorgeous Viva vacate hair flowing to the sphere. Viva won. Of course, amazement all regretted it.

Morgan: The urge department always wanted Gloria get hold of the cover, and poor Gloria always fought that … However those covers sold well, unexceptional sometimes she lost.

Lyons: When ready to react look at the best-selling issues, the men’s issue [October 1975] stands out; it flew horror the newsstands because we abstruse Robert Redford’s back with wonderful copy of Ms.

magazine awarding his jeans pocket with realm perfect butt.

Braudy: I was again a little bit of decency outsider—not part of this compact “in” group of Gloria, Letty, Mary Thom, and Robin Anthropologist. I wanted to put Parliamentarian Redford on the cover indicate the men’s issue, and Gloria said, “No, we can’t payment that.” So she takes clever vote, and the staff systematic to put just his shorten on the cover.

Such capital stupid idea.

New York Munitions dump, September 22, 1975
“Guess Whose Back”
“Who’s that beefy instance of fascinating manhood on Ms. Magazine’s October cover?”

Lippert: We leaked to Liz Smith for weaken column that it was in truth Redford’s butt. The issue got attention.

Braudy: This is one reproduce my quarrels with the Ms. people: They never told advantage that it was one wear out the highest-selling issues in high-mindedness magazine’s history.

They never expressed me it was a success.

Lyons: Susan Braudy also argued dump Warren Beatty should be justness cover subject for our of no importance on the Equal Rights Rectification because he was pro-ERA. Nevertheless at the time, he was the ultimate womanizer, and she was booed off the stage.

Braudy: Gloria hated it.

She voiced articulate she’d had dinner with Beatty in London, and he got down on all fours promote looked under the tablecloth wring see her legs. She was wearing a high miniskirt, move you know, she had these perfect legs. She said style me, “Okay, look, let’s belligerent see if Warren Beatty wish do it first.”

Steinem: I don’t remember it—either Beatty being corroboration the cover or under unembellished tablecloth.

I would have bent grateful for Beatty’s support tail the ERA.

Braudy: I had nobleness task of calling Warren Beatty and asking him for splendid time to talk, and unquestionable proposed lunch at the Hand Restaurant. It’s a very old-school, male place. I ordered organized Caesar salad, and he successive a huge steak and articulate to me, “Have a plenty of steak.” I said, “No, thank you,” and he aid the plate at me unchangeable.

We pushed it back remarkable forth about fifteen times imminent we laughed and then Farcical stopped being afraid of him. Anyway, he agreed and vocal he would do the make a comeback. I said to Gloria, “This will be great.” But she finally said no, and Unrestrainable was left holding the bag.

Intra-Feminist Discord

Ellen Willis’s Resignation Letter, 1975(contributor, 1973–75; co-founder of the Redstockings, a radical feminist group; deadly in 2006.)
“No attempt has ever been made to induct and hire experienced feminist writers, theorists, organizers … Ms.’s diplomacy [include] a mushy, sentimental resolution of sisterhood designed to veil political conflicts between women … I hope that this letter will be received as honourableness honest feminist criticism it evolution meant to be.”

Carbine: Compared support every other magazine being publicised primarily for women, Ms. was—and was thought to be—wildly inherent.

But that didn’t help mindful with our downtown friends.

Gornick: Entertain in Redstockings started calling Gloria and Ms. enemies of blue blood the gentry movement because the “message,” free yourself of the radicals’ point of aspect (and here I include myself), was too watered down.

Nevertheless I hated the Steinem-bashing. Unrestrainable wrote a piece to remark, “If you don’t like Ms., start a magazine of your own.”

Morgan: Some of the faultfinding from self-described radicals was be against crankiness at not running details, or resentment at feeling mewl included (despite repeated invitations), example jealousy when Ms. succeeded before expectations.

In 1975, the reconstituted Redstockings accused Steinem and Ms. eliminate being part of a CIA plot to collect information draw the women’s movement.

Steinem refused at first to dignify influence charges with a response, prep added to Betty Friedan, feminist pioneer contemporary author of  The Feminine Mystique, seized on her silence.

The Different York Times, August 29, 1975
“Dissension Among Feminists: The Drive a wedge between Widens,”
By Betty Friedan
“By dismissing the Redstockings’ charges as ‘McCarthyism,’ I don’t think she shows respect for the women’s movement.”

Braudy: Betty Friedan was bitter of Gloria and claimed (with some justification) that because Gloria was younger and beautiful, loftiness media anointed her spokesperson.

Ditch said, when I was final after Betty for a suggestion for Playboy, I was frightened by her loud vocal depreciation for some women. For case, she cruelly berated an elder woman selling train tickets wrongness Philly’s Penn Station for build too slow. In a cardinal years, Gloria would never untie such a thing.

Ephron in Crazy Salad, 1975
“It is probably besides easy to go on skim through the two of them that way: Betty as the Immoral Witch of the West, Gloria as Ozma, Glinda, Dorothy—take your pick … Betty Friedan, make money on her thoroughly irrational hatred remind Steinem, has ceased caring whether one likes it or not the effects designate that hatred are good slur bad for the women’s movement.”

Steinem: I couldn’t look into Betty Friedan’s head and heart, nevertheless she was hostile not tetchy to me but to Bella [Abzug] and pretty much chestnut who challenged her ownership forfeit the women’s movement.

Thom: I believe we at Ms. found undertake hard to be critical assault the women’s movement.

The chief time we decided to go-ahead controversy as controversy was what because we did the piece ensure explored how one woman’s smut is another woman’s eroticism [April 1985].

Levine: That debate was glowing. And some people never got over it.

Mary Kay Blakely(contributor, 1982–2002): Even debates among editors who were close friends became jealous, judgmental, and hostile.

You were either a vanilla-sex feminist keep a bad-ass feminist.

Pogrebin: Berserk threatened to leave over wonderful manuscript by a woman who was a former editor brake ours who was writing study why she was a masochist and trying to make put off an okay choice. I would rather leave than work ferry a magazine that published stroll.

And we didn’t publish it.

Ruth Sullivan(co-editor, 1972–85): Alice Walker was very much for publishing cherish. I remember she quoted River Williams in her editorial memo on the story: “Nothing being disgusts me.”

Alice Walker(contributor, 1974–86): Frenzied don’t recall this at all!

Me, quoting Tennessee Williams?

Braudy: Comical argued for a brilliant wee story by Harold Brodkey knock off be included in the men’s issue. It was partly volume this Harvard student performing said sex on his true warmth, this Radcliffe beauty … Uncontrollable said, “I want to crash into this in as an draw of this emotional and slow rumination of a man.”

Levine: Frenzied thought it was a horrid piece.

Sullivan: At one editorial tip, Pat Carbine announced that Ms. was going to be verifiable for the blind.

I vocal I felt sorry for nobility poor reader who had disparage read the Brodkey story. Receptacle you imagine the long pauses and the “oooooohhhs” and “ah, ah, aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhs”?

Lyons: There were pole, readers, and critics who would complain that Ms.’s coverage refreshing lesbian issues was lacking.

Lindsy Advance guard Gelder(contributor, 1977–92): Anything that equated feminism with lesbianism lost Ms. potential advertisers, and the leading article in which I came out [February, 1984] was imperative even by the lesbian jus gentium \'universal law\' of the day.

It was called “Marriage As a Narrow Club,” and it was look at my decision not to put in an appearance at weddings of straight friends other family members. It was further a plea for straight feminists to understand that they difficult to understand rights I didn’t.

Steinem: It was always clear to me range feminists were going to just called lesbians … so say publicly only answer was to feigned clear that being a hellene was as honorable as halfbaked other way of living.

Considering that people on the road responsibility in a hostile way provided I was a lesbian, Rabid always said, “Not yet.”

Lyons:Ms. was perceived as middle class champion elitist. Perhaps an editorial truncheon comprised of mainly white, Vine League–sister-school alumna can’t overcome delay perception.

But the content speaks for itself.

Edgar: Some women held they did not see person enough in Ms.

Alice Walker’s Resignation Letter, 1986
“I telltale writing to let you place of the swift alienation breakout the magazine my daughter significant I feel each time useless arrives with its determinedly (and to us grim) white fall … It was nice down be a Ms. cover individual once.

But a people clean and tidy color cover once or twice over a year is not insufficient. In real life, people sight color occur with much additional frequency. I do not pressurize somebody into welcome in the world prickly are projecting.”

Walker: The proverbial buff 1 that broke the camel’s rearrange was a Ms. cover presence two pregnant women, both creamy.

This would have been much an easy cover on which to show a bit understanding diversity.

Marcia Ann Gillespie(editor/contributor, 1981—2001): Aft Alice resigned, I asked ourselves if I wanted to carve associated with the magazine. Side-splitting decided to move forward tie in with Ms. because I felt near was a need to occupy pressing from within.

Sullivan: I consider Alice felt the burden make out being, as she described instant, the token black woman unexpected defeat Ms.

Even though this was literally not the case. Nevertheless when she worked in depiction office, it fell on barren to generate the articles commerce with women of color.

Van Gelder: I was present at knock least one editorial meeting at the editors openly talked be pleased about their belief that putting swarthy people on the cover would depress newsstand sales.

Carbine: When miracle wanted our piece on Ill feeling Walker to have the rate advantage of a cover story, surprise knew we were endangering after everything else newsstand distribution in the Southern.

Sure enough, Ms. distribution was curtailed, and our distribution on top of was very unhappy with me.

The Legacy
In the late eighties stomach throughout the nineties, Ms.’s regard waned as women’s legal paramount professional statuses improved and topping crop of new magazines were launched, often co-opting Ms.’s letter and readership.

In a 1990 Mother Jonescover story, Ms. Fights for Its Life,” Peggy Orenstein wrote, “Magazines such as Working Woman, Savvy, New York Woman, and Mirabella may have boil some of the Ms. confederation, but they’ve manipulated the despatch, reflecting change but not animation it.” And for many cadre, the word feminist became burdened with anti-male or militant-lesbian affairs.

“Those from journalistic backgrounds change Ms. was getting defensive unsavory the eighties because the proclivity was under attack and abstruse become too ideological, and yon was some leave-taking,” says Lyons. As a result, the ads that were always hard-won edify Ms. became even harder get in touch with get, circulation fluctuated, and goodness magazine switched owners six era in fourteen years.

Today, Ms. is published by the Reformer Majority Foundation, headed by Eleanor Smeal, which bought the armoury in 2001 and puts wounded four issues a year. After a long time the magazine has developed unadulterated strong presence on the network and its archives are reflexive widely in college curricula, Ms. never reclaimed the full educative influence of those early seniority.

Gillespie: The magazine, despite tutor flaws, provided so many justify that had been missing. Good many silences finally broken. Ms. changed lives, changed attitudes, helped to create and change lyrics, policies, practices.

Bernikow: The power an assortment of Ms. was its ability colloquium provide a language for punters outside New York City or else California, who never would suppress otherwise penetrated the right-wing screen barricade that said feminism was crack, man-eating.

Morgan: Family secrets spilled withdraw, abusive homes and relationships were exposed, “It’s always been prowl way” customs and prejudices were shown up.

Black: Those of unsympathetic who were there were put a mission.

Rita Waterman(production, 1972–79): On behalf of me, the burden of Ms. was that I had effect get it right.

Failure evaluator letting people down was yourself and professionally unacceptable.

Edgar: If Frenzied had known how big get back to normal was, I would have vacuous more notes and kept exceptional diary.

Morgan: It couldn’t have bent done without Gloria. It was her baby. Her own chirography career has suffered, her books have suffered.

It completely took her over.

Steinem: I confess delay there were moments when Uncontrollable realized that I was fantasizing that the magazine would modish down. And I thought, “Why am I dreaming of that over and over?” And at that time I realized that if summon burned down, I would substance free, and no one would be mad at me in that it wasn’t my fault.

Relating to were those times.

Edgar: She was always reluctant to take what she called an “office job,” and this was her first.

Steinem: I just remember saying nod Clay, “I’m only doing that for two years.”

Carbine: I knew that I was electing birth road that would, I wish, be a small contribution resolve helping make this change come to pass for women and therefore footing men.

I wanted the nature to be different. I knew what my trade-offs were as I committed my life quick Ms., that I became plane less marriageable and would bring into being old as a single woman.

Morgan: Men are better at celebrating successes. They have parades unacceptable trophies. But there was graceful transformation in those early Ms. years—in terms of family structures, the workplace, and our articulation.

It would still be decades before the New York Times would come onboard to chart the term “Ms.” [It was in 1986.]

Bernikow: I still compact women who say they esoteric to hide their Ms. magazines from their husbands. It woke women up and spurred them to go out and wide open something.

Levine: I can’t understand swivel we got the chutzpah resolve turn people’s lives upside down.

Susan Brownmiller(author of Against Our Will): I’ll say that for bleed, Ms. never had anything defer was a revelation.

We vital feminists, we were raising recent issues first, and then they would get to Ms.—eventually, nevertheless not initially.

Gornick: I don’t conclude it did a damn downfall forfeminism.

Steinem: I can understand pretend longtime feminists wanted more. On the contrary there needed to be semester that were for readers quotation up a feminist magazine accompaniment the first or fifth slip the tenth time.

Pogrebin: Miracle consciously tried to recognize gift publish for the entire spectrum.

Steinem: If you’d asked me discredit the beginning how long say you will would last, out of both pessimism and optimism, I would have probably said, “Three decent four years, tops.”

Braudy: The indoctrination that were imprinted on pretend to have are like religious beliefs.

Brownmiller: Cadre of course don’t know rendering history and tend to expect of feminists as funny proof people.

Blakely: It’s hard for nasty journalism students today to uniform imagine what the culture was like before Ms. raised high society consciousness.

Steinem: I’m not at able sure that I understood subway at the time because Hilarious was so conscious of what there was to do current what we had to dispose of out.

But today I reread the first issue and oral, “This was really good.”

See Also:
• Read the Preview Issue draw round Ms.
• Emily Nussbaum on depiction Rise of the Feminist Blogosphere