1970–1979: Movement Vanguard
Ms. Magazine Launch & Preview in New York Magazine
Published December 20, 1971 / Spring 1972 standalone launch · New York City, NY
"We are writing for women who are doing things, thinking things, and hoping things that they haven't seen in the media before... We are not here to offer recipes or beauty regimes, but to explore what it means to be fully human."
— Gloria Steinem, Ms. Inaugural Mission Declaration
Historical Movement Context & Significance
Co-founded by Gloria Steinem, Dorothy Pitman Hughes, Patricia Carbine, and Letty Cottin Pogrebin, Ms. was the first national women's publication controlled, written, and owned by women. The initial 300,000 test copies distributed nationwide sold out in eight days, generating 26,000 subscription requests and demonstrating an unprecedented hunger for uncompromised feminist journalism outside commercial advertising dictates.
Coalition Network & Allies
Dorothy Pitman Hughes, Shirley Chisholm, Flo Kennedy, Alice Walker, Patricia Carbine.
Policy & Structural Impact
Pioneered public discussion of domestic violence, equal pay audits, and reproductive autonomy; refused cosmetic ads that compromised editorial integrity.
Archival Reference: Steinem Papers, Sophia Smith Collection of Women's History, Smith College (Box 42, Folders 1–18).