Explore five decades of feminist thought with the Ms. Magazine Archive

ProQuest^™, part of Clarivate^™, has teamed with the Feminist Majority Foundation to digitize the archive of the pioneering feminist publication Ms., providing unprecedented digital access to every issue from its launch in 1972 to the present. The Ms. Magazine Archive will launch in 2025, making more than fifty years of influential content accessible in a high-resolution, fully searchable format. This initiative promises to revolutionize how students and scholars engage with feminist history, literature, advocacy and thought.

The Genesis of Ms.: A Visionary Beginning

Ms. magazine launched at a time when a woman couldn’t get a credit card without a man; when she had few legal rights, especially regarding divorce and reproduction; and when she was expected to prioritize marriage and motherhood. The magazine’s founders — Gloria Steinem, Joanne Edgar, Letty Cottin Pogrebin, Mary Peacock, and Nina Finkelstein, soon joined by Suzanne Braun Levine as executive editor and Pat Carbine as publisher — recognized that as the feminist movement was gaining momentum, there was a need for a publication where women could read about and debate the obstacles to their freedom. “The idea of a full-fledged national magazine came up; a publication created by and controlled by women that could be as serious, outrageous, satisfying, sad, funky, intimate, global, compassionate, and full of change as women’s lives really are” (Ms., July 1972).

More Than A Magazine—A Movement

By bringing attention to and reporting on issues impacting women through a feminist lens, Ms. spurred change — shaping the events and movements that have remade our society and our world.

• • “We Have Had Abortions” (1972): The year before the Supreme Court’s decision in Roe v. Wade made abortion legal nationwide, 53 prominent American women declared in the preview issue of Ms. that they had an abortion and demanded “the repeal of all laws that restrict our reproductive freedom.”
  • “The Truth About Battered Wives” (1976): Ms. was the first national magazine to discuss domestic violence. The author of this cover story noted, “In every state, it’s illegal to physically attack another person, but if the assailant is married to his victim, the law is unlikely to be enforced.” It would take nearly two decades for Congress to pass the first meaningful federal reform with the Violence Against Women Act.
  • “The International Crime of Genital Mutilation” (1980): A landmark report produced by Ms. made readers aware of the prevalence of FGM — the World Health Organization took up the issue for the first time later that same year.
  • “Date Rape: The Story of an Epidemic and Those Who Deny It” (1985): Ms. commissioned a groundbreaking national study of more than 7,000 students at 35 colleges. The survey uncovered not only the prevalence of sexual assault against college women, but also that nearly 90 percent of survivors knew their assailants. But because of a lack of awareness of the existence of date rape, three-quarters of women who were raped did not identify what they experienced as rape.
  • “The Women of #BlackLivesMatter” (2015): For her feature for Ms., scholar-activist Brittney Cooper travelled with the Black Lives Matter national organizing network to tell the stories of — and give credit to — the women behind the movement.
  • “ERA Yes” (2020): As it has since the beginning, Ms. tracked efforts by feminists to secure women’s fundamental rights in the U.S. Constitution, celebrating Virginia becoming the 38th and final state needed to ratify the amendment, though the Trump administration blocked its certification. Ms. continues to report on efforts by feminists in Congress to see the ERA recognized as the 28th Amendment.

A Comprehensive Digital Resource

The upcoming Ms. Magazine Archive will be revolutionary for researchers, educators and activists. With its high-resolution, color digitization and fully searchable text, this archive will offer the ability to better access and analyze the magazine’s rich content. Each issue will be preserved in its original format, allowing users to explore the magazine’s visual and editorial evolution over the decades.

For scholars committed to studying gender issues, social justice and feminist thought, the archive will be an invaluable primary source. It will provide detailed insights into how Ms. was able to bring national attention to and spur change on a wide range of women’s issues, offering a comprehensive view of feminist discourse and its impact on public policy and societal attitudes.

Educational and Advocacy Opportunities

Educators will find the archive an essential tool for bringing feminist history into the classroom and it can easily be added to curricula. It will provide students with direct access to primary source materials, fostering a deeper understanding of feminist activism and media. The archive’s rich content will also support research projects and discussions on gender equality, social justice and media studies.

For activists and advocates, the archive will serve as a powerful resource for learning from past strategies, successes and setbacks. By studying the magazine’s coverage of historical movements and contemporary issues, current advocates can gain valuable insights into effective advocacy and policy change.

Research and Learning That Paves the Road For the Future

Katherine Spillar, Executive Editor, Ms. Magazine said: “The digitization of Ms. represents more than just preserving past issues - this project will amplify the pioneering voices of Ms. so that they continue to resonate, inspire, and inform future generations taking up the cause of women’s equality.”

Susan Bokern, Vice President, Product Development, Academia and Government at Clarivate said: “As we look forward to the launch of The Ms. Magazine Archive in 2025, we are excited about the new possibilities this resource will open for research, teaching and learning. Stay tuned for more updates as we prepare to celebrate and share this significant addition to feminist history and scholarship.”

Learn more.