Mary Thom
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By: Henry Holt & Co
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Subjects -> Entertainment -> Pop Culture -> Magazines
Subjects -> History -> Americas -> United States -> General
Subjects -> History -> Americas -> United States -> General AAS
Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 3
Average rating: 5.0 of 5
The magazine that started a revolution, one reader at a time 5 out of 5 stars.
3 of 3 people found this review helpful.
When it first debuted in 1972, Ms. was assailed by conservatives for being too radical and other feminists for being too moderate and accomodating. Yet, the magazine has survived many incarnations and near death experiences (especially in the late 1980's with Anne Summers at the helm)to advocate for women's full equality.In the process, the magazine started a revolution whose reverberations continue to be felt even in today's supposedly post-feminist generation. Ms. has become such an integral part of the American vocabulary (feminist and non-feminist alike) that it is impossible to imagine a time when advertisers were not aware of the word (this happened for the first couple of issues)and nobody was sure how to pronounce it.
Never enjoying circulation equivalent to Time, Life or other mainstream publications, Ms. magazine had an undeniable impact on the psyche of American society. Defying conventional wisdom which held innagural issues were especially supposed to be devoid of controversy, the magazine published a list of prominent American women who had undergone illegal abortions and wanted repeal of laws restricting women's reproductive rights.
Even though the magazine itself had several writers with extensive prior experience, it was committed (especially in the early days) to non-hierarchial management and production. While this ethos would later become modified and refined, it proved these people were dedicated to practicing the equality they preached about. Ms. was also one of the first magazines to offer day care for the children of its employees.
Certainly, most people will think of Gloria Steinem, but she would be the first to downplay her role in publicizing the magazine. While Steinem admired the politics of the women's liberation movement, she also knew society would not change unless there was some kind of way to bring the "movement" to areas where it was not particulary active yet.
She realized that there were people who were feminists, but did not have ready access to the limited production mimeographs of the movement or would not neccesarily know how to obtain them (women's studies was not yet a particularly large book market). By looking "mainstream" the magazine could bring numerous converts to feminism.
Although Steinem's modesty was undebatable by those who knew her well, others (who wanted the publicity) brought elaborate but false charges against her in the mid 1970's. It is worth noting that both Ms.'s former employee Betty Harris and the radical group Redstockings have disappeared off of the face of the earth while Steinem and Ms. continue to be advocates for sisterhood and women's empowerment.
Editorial Review:
Ms., the American magazine that has reflected and whipped up feminist sentiment for a quarter of a century, is the subject of this absorbing insider account by Mary Thom, who worked her way up from researcher to executive editor. Thom dips into the feminist movement, focusing on events or trends that overlapped with the politics and interests of Ms. staffers. The magazine illuminated domestic abuse, sexual harassment, and violence against women and sparked acrimonious debates on issues where feminists disagreed, such as pornography, child rearing, and making the mainstream movement more palatable by cutting out certain groups. An undeniable partisan, Thom glosses over many fights, mistakes, and thick-headed actions, but turns in an engaging portrait of the personalities and times that shaped the magazine.
