Ms. Magazine

For decades, Democratic and Republican administrations alike presided over a medical research system that routinely excluded women. The result? Modern medicine was built on incomplete science—and women are still paying the price. It wasn’t until the NIH Revitalization Act of 1993 that federally funded clinical trials were required to include women. Yet changing who participates in research does not rewrite decades of medical knowledge overnight. By then, physicians had already been trained using male-centered evidence, diagnostic standards had been established, and countless drugs had already been dosed using evidence derived solely from men. In 2025, the Trump administration has proposed cutting the NIH’s budget by roughly 43 percent (equivalent to $20 billion per year). Its broader HHS budget proposal called for eliminating or consolidating several programs supporting family planning and maternal and child health. Federal agencies also came under pressure to scrutinize or reject grant proposals containing terms such as women, leading to paused or cancelled fellowships and research on conditions such as uterine fibroids and pregnancy. There are signs, however, that Congress may finally be beginning to treat women’s health across the lifespan as a serious policy issue. On Sept. 16, the Senate Special Committee on Aging will hold Congress’ first-ever hearing devoted to menopause. Led by ranking member Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), “Half the Country, Zero Hearings: Meeting the Moment to End the Menopause Care Gap in America” will examine the nation’s lack of menopause research, informed medical care and provider training—and make the case for greater federal investment. The hearing represents an overdue step forward. But women’s health cannot remain vulnerable to political cycles. Regardless of which party holds power, it must become a permanent priority within American policy and medicine. The post Half the Country, a Fraction of the Research appeared first on Ms. Magazine.

“I’ve prepared a lot. I’m taking this very seriously, because it’s still very rare for women to get Netflix specials. I had to have sex with so many executives over there.” So begins comedian Mary Beth Barone’s new Netflix special, Galaxy Brain, with a joke about just how exceptional a woman apparently has to be to reach one of comedy’s biggest platforms. A recent New York Times article, “Feminist Stand-Up Was Once Ascendant. Can Mary Beth Barone Revive It?” paints a picture of a stand-up scene that’s left women behind: one dominated by deliberately confrontational, anti-“politically correct” comedy and Netflix Top 10 lists littered with right-wing darlings like Tony Hinchcliffe and Andrew Schulz. Barone’s joke points to a real disparity in who receives the industry’s most visible opportunities. Women account for only a quarter of Netflix’s stand-up specials in 2026. And among 2025’s 10 highest-grossing comedy tours, Nikki Glaser’s Alive and Unwell was the only one headlined by a woman. But asking whether Barone can “revive” feminist stand-up mistakes limited mainstream visibility for an absence of feminist comedy. Women—particularly Black women, queer women and other performers pushed outside the industry’s center—have helped shape stand-up from its beginnings. The post ‘Galaxy Brain,’ Feminist Stand-Up and Looking Beyond the Netflix Algorithm appeared first on Ms. Magazine.

Nasrin Sotoudeh is an Iranian human rights lawyer and activist who, along with her husband Reza Khandan, has been repeatedly arrested for her women's rights activism and spent six years in prison. In the wake of Gloria Steinem's passing on Sept. 2, Soutoudeh shared these words with Ms. "Gloria Steinem’s extraordinary life and activism has touched, elevated and inspired women all over the world. "I can attest to her deep influence on me and countless other women’s rights activists here in Iran, including my husband, Reza Khandan. "As women, we know that whether we are in America or India, Europe or Africa, Iran or Afghanistan, our fate and fortune is tied together. The rights that we achieve or lose in one corner of the world have a direct bearing on another. In a very real sense, when it comes to persecution or emancipation, our minds, bodies and spirits are one." The post Iranian Women’s Rights Activist Nasrin Sotoudeh Remembers Gloria Steinem: ‘Our Fate and Fortune Is Tied Together’ appeared first on Ms. Magazine.

Attorney General Todd Blanche came to Dallas this week to deliver a “law and order” message at Trump’s midterm rally, where he praised the president and promised accountability for people who break the law. His central line was: “To evil men and women in this country, know this: President Trump will hold you accountable.” A few miles away, survivors of Jeffrey Epstein’s abuse and their family were asking why that commitment to accountability had not extended to them. They gathered inside the Donald J. Trump and Jeffrey Epstein Memorial Reading Room, surrounded by 3,437 bound volumes containing nearly 3.5 million pages released by the Justice Department. The books weigh about 17,000 pounds and stretch across hundreds of feet of shelving, turning a sprawling digital archive into something visitors can see, walk through and begin to comprehend. The scale of the files is staggering, but survivors said releasing millions of pages is not the same as delivering justice. They are still waiting for the Justice Department to release the remaining records, protect their identities and investigate viable leads involving alleged co-conspirators and enablers. “Justice that stops when it reaches power is not justice,” survivor Sharlene Rochard said. The thousands of bound volumes make that unfinished work impossible to ignore. The post ‘Survivors Have Answered Enough’: The Epstein Reading Room Takes Survivors’ Fight on the Road appeared first on Ms. Magazine.

Ms. has created a new digital tribute to Gloria Steinem, bringing together memories and reflections from friends, colleagues, fellow activists and readers around the world. We invite you to add your voice by answering one question: What did Gloria mean to you? Gloria was the people’s feminist. She made people feel seen, heard and capable of changing the world. She famously reminded us, “The Constitution does not begin with ‘I, the president.’ It begins with ‘We, the people.’” So we invite you—the people—to help tell the story of her extraordinary feminist legacy. Perhaps you met Gloria at a march, lecture or organizing meeting. Perhaps you grew up reading Ms. or discovered her writing decades later. Maybe her words helped you recognize an injustice, leave a harmful situation, find your voice, raise a feminist child, begin organizing or imagine a life beyond the limits prescribed for you. Your tribute does not need to capture the whole of Gloria’s life or legacy. It only needs to tell your part of the story. Share your memory, reflection or story about Gloria Steinem. The post What Did Gloria Steinem Mean to You? Share Your Story With Ms. appeared first on Ms. Magazine.