Ms. Magazine: The Feminist Blueprint for Modern Media

As Women’s History Month comes to a close, we are celebrating Ms. Magazine — the feminist blueprint for modern media. Founded over 50 years ago by trailblazers Gloria Steinem and Dorothy Pitman Hughes, Ms. broke barriers, challenged taboos, and made feminist discourse accessible to all.

**What is Ms. Magazine?**

Ms. Magazine is a pioneering source of feminist news and information, credited as the first mass-market feminist publication. Founded by activists Gloria Steineim and Dorothy Pitman Hughes, the magazine’s origins took root during the 1970s, a time when mainstream media confined women’s issues to subject matter like securing a man, adhering to beauty standards, and sharing homemaking tips.

Ms. broadened this scope by bringing taboo topics to the forefront of conversation, putting women’s rights issues on newsstands across the country. This increased accessibility to important discussions, emerging at a critical time when women were gaining more of a political voice.

*Gloria Steinem and the all-female Ms. staff in 1972*
*Photo Credit: Nancy Crampton*

The First Issue

Ms. first emerged as a special insert in a December 1971 issue of New York Magazine, later taking shape as its own publication in 1972. Steinem and Hughes aimed to release a feminist news source that platformed women’s issues in ways that they were conventionally not. The first issue sold out in nearly a week, proving that there was a demand for this kind of content.

Ms. made an impactful debut with the release of its first stand-alone issue in July of 1972, which featured Wonder Woman on the cover. This decision was in response to DC Comics’ controversial removal of the long-running character’s superpowers in an attempt to make her appear more relatable; a reflection of the “modern” woman. Instead, many saw this as a way to depose Wonder Woman as a symbol of female strength, as she was one of the only depictions of a powerful and independent woman in popular culture at the time.

The Ms. cover helped to emphasize the value of Wonder Woman’s presence in mainstream media, resolidifying the character’s place as a feminist icon. Eventually, Wonder Woman’s powers were restored in the superhero universe, due to a combination of factors. However, the influence Ms. had in drawing attention to this conversation cannot be overlooked, showing the publication’s early impact on society and culture.

*Photo Credit: Ms. Magazine, National Museum of American History/Cover Artist: Miriam Wosk*

Steinem and Pitman Hughes

Gloria Steinem and Dorothy Pitman Hughes initially met in 1968, when Steinem’s work in journalism led her to write a story on Pitman Hughes’ community service efforts for The New York Times.

In the years following, they traveled across the United States to speak to audiences about their shared beliefs on social justice initiatives. Their friendship and collaborative efforts were reflected in Ms. Magazine’s mission to focus on inclusivity for all women. This dynamic alliance placed a powerful image of sisterhood on the feminist movement.

Steinem embodied–and continues to embody–the power of using your privilege in a positive way. Already well-established as one of the foremost feminists at the time, she used her celebrity to help Ms. reach a mainstream audience.

In the Spring 1972 issue, one year before the landmark Roe v. Wade decision, Ms. ran a “We Have Had Abortions" petition, which featured the signatures of 53 prominent American women, including Steinem.

*Photo Credit: Danny Kim/New York Magazine*

**While Steinem helped ensure that Ms. reached every woman, Pitman Hughes helped ensure that Ms. was for every woman.**

Pitman Hughes brought a critical lens to Ms., ensuring that they addressed the interconnectivity of race, class, and gender. Her activism was rooted within the community, with a focus on fundamental needs such as safety, food, shelter, and child care. She wasn’t afraid to call out racism within the feminist movement and is credited with broadening the movement's mission to create an inclusive feminism before the term "intersectionality" was widely used.

While Hughes was outspoken about exclusionary white feminism, she also offered her friendship with Steinem as proof that this obstacle could be overcome.

In 1971, the iconic photograph of Hughes and Steinem standing side by side with raised fists was captured, symbolizing their unified stand against racial and gender inequality. To this day, over fifty years later, this photo continues to be an enduring emblem of the feminist movement.

Ms. Tackled Taboo Issues That No One Else Would

Ms. took big swings from the beginning, aiming to reflect the experiences of womanhood that were often underrepresented in media. The magazine platformed topics like abortion, wage inequality, and sexual violence, streamling core feminist issues into public discourse. The magazine also introduced an investigative journalism arm, covering tough subject matter including sex trafficking, sexual harassment, and domestic violence.

Ms. was extremely influential in destigmatizing these issues while empowering and educating women everywhere, evidenced by the thousands of letters the magazine got weekly from the public who were impacted by what they read.

The Legacy of Ms. Magazine

Ms. Magazine created the blueprint for using media as a tool for mass education and collective action in the women’s movement. It paved the way for modern day platforms that share women’s stories with the goal of normalizing women’s experiences and finding connectivity and community. Its impact is echoed in modern movements like #MeToo and #TimesUp.

Ms. still publishes an issue quarterly, which includes investigative work, feminist political analysis, and highlights pressing problems women and girls continue to face globally. Ms. has been instrumental in sparking legislative and judicial changes, influencing policy, and generating new vocabulary to address issues previously overlooked.

Despite ongoing political and social pushback, Ms. continues to provide a steadfast voice for equality and social justice.

Ms. is more than a magazine. Ms. is a movement.

*Photo Credit: (Ted Eytan / Creative Commons*)

To learn more about Dorothy Pitman Hughes, click here.

To learn more about Gloria Steinem, click here.

Resources (referenced in this article):

First standalone issue of “Ms.” Magazine is published (2025)
(https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/ms-magazine-debuts)

Gloria Steinem on the trailblazing magazine 'for women in all their diversity' (2024)
(https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20240322-gloria-steinem-trailblazing-magazine-for-women)

Ms. Vol 1, No.1 - Smithsonian
(https://www.si.edu/object/ms-vol-1-no-1%3Anmah_1803345#:~:text=This%20first%20issue%20of%20Ms,of%20New%20York%20Magazine%2C%20Ms.)

Rest in Power: Dorothy Pitman Hughes, Icon and Activist (2022)
(https://msmagazine.com/2022/12/14/dorothy-pitman-hughes/)

Remembering Dorothy Pitman Hughes (2023)
(https://www.mcny.org/story/remembering-dorothy-pitman-hughes)

The Story of Iconic Feminist Dorothy Pitman Hughes: ‘With Her Fist Raised’ (2021)
(https://msmagazine.com/2021/09/09/dorothy-pitman-hughes-feminist-gloria-steinem-who-founded-ms-magazine/)

The pioneering Black feminist Dorothy Pitman Hughes has died at 84 (2002)(https://www.npr.org/2022/12/11/1142118390/the-pioneering-black-feminist-dorothy-pitman-hughes-has-died-at-aged-84)

We Are Not Alone: 50 Years of Ms. Magazine (2023)
(https://lithub.com/we-are-not-alone-50-years-of-ms-magazine/)

With Her Fist Raised: Dorothy Pitman Hughes and the Transformative Power of Black Community Activism - University of Pittsburgh
(http://history.pitt.edu/publication/her-fist-raised-dorothy-pitman-hughes-and-transformative-power-black-community-activism)