Wherever one stands on the controversial issues addressed in these pieces, they helped to shape and continue to affect the lives of all women, including “women of change” like ourselves who came of age in the tumultuous 1970s. The views, of course, are those of the authors. “A magazine that ignited a revolution,” Ms. first appeared in our sophomore year; the first issue sold out in 8 days. It brought women’s concerns to national attention long before they were covered in mainstream news sources. Its founders included Smith alumna Gloria Steinem ’56, whose papers and a Ms. archive now reside in the Sophia Smith Collection of Women’s History in Neilson Library. Dip into any pieces below that interest you, stop by Special Collections in Neilson to see some highlights of the Ms. archive, and join Smith professor and Ms. contributor Carrie Baker on Saturday afternoon at 2:30 pm to discuss the magazine’s role in defining women’s issues then and today.

THEN

1. Housewives awakening, 1972: “Click! The Housewife’s Moment of Truth” by Jane O’Reilly
2. Illegal abortions, 1973: “Never Again” by Roberta Brandes Gratz
3. Sexual assault and race, 1975: “Joan Little: The Dialectics of Rape” by Angela Davis

NOW

4. Equality in the workplace, 2018: “Nine Ways Feminists Are Fighting Back Against Sexual Harassment and Workplace Discrimination,” by Carrie Baker
5. The need for women in national politics, 2023: “It’s Past Time for a Woman President,” by Laura Carns and Cynthia Richie Terrell
6. Abortion, again, 2024: “Will SCOTUS Allow Pregnant Women to Die?” by Carrie Baker