ANDra 1972 when Ms. Magazine He arrived officially on newsstands with Wonder Woman on the cover and the ambition – then unthinkable – of being the voice of the feminist movement in the United States. Founded by Gloria Steinem And directed by an entirely feminine team, the magazine had made its debut months earlier as special insert of New York Magazine. In a few days the 300 thousand printed copies went out: women finally recognized themselves in words that broke the silence on abortion, linguistic sexism, maternity imposed And repressed desires. Today it comes to tell this revolution on paper The documentary HBO Dear MS.: A Revolution in Printpresented to Tribeca Film Festival and divided into three direct episodes from Salima Koroma, Alice Gu And Cecilia Aldarondo.
Ms. Magazine: an imperfect place, but necessary
The documentary is not only a celebration of the magazine, but a complex and honest portrait of a editorial staff that made history, even wrong. Ms. Magazine he gave space to until then unthinkable, but but often stumbled on the racial issue and inclusion. Black women as Dorothy Pitman Hughes And Alice Walkerdespite having contributed to the project, they denounced the absence of a true spirit of inclusion and sisterhood. “I was not comfortable in feeling white women talk for me”tells the The Guardian The black writer and activist Michele Wallace. A cutting -edge editorial staff, but still daughter of her time. “The work is not over”admitted the director Salima Koromainterviewed together with Wallace. «But it is precisely this sense of self -criticism that makes MS. A lively experience, and not a sterile icon “.
Episode 1: the birth of Ms.magazine
Before MS. saw the light, terms like “domestic violence” And “sexual harassment“They were not part of the common vocabulary. Women’s legal rights were reduced to a minimum and journalists were relegated, mostly, to the fashion or domestic economy pages. But something was changing. In those years the first feminist movements were born as Redstockingsthe National Organization for Women and the New York Radical Women. In the First episode of the documentary (A Magazine for All Womensigned by Salima Koroma), Steinem recalls that she has participated in a female liberation meeting on behalf of New York Magazine. Archive images show the intense climate of those moments.
Episode 2: give a name to things
The second episode of the documentary Dear MS It is titled “A Portable Friend” and is directed by Alice Gu. This episode focuses above all on the role of the magazine Ms in facing taboo themes and still not very recognized. It was a editor, Lindsy van gelderto tell for the first time of a partner who had abused her. These testimonies contributed to the birth of the first anti -violence centersto one widespread political consciousness and even a bills. As the former senator Barbara Mikulski told the press years later: «The first law he proposed concerned the abused women, just after reading an article on MS.».
Episode 3: the fight against pornography
In the third episode Of Dear MS – No comment – the debate on pornography It emerges as one of the most delicate knots in the history of Ms. The magazine took a critical position, distinguishing theeroticism from the pornographyconsidered violent and sexist. Many Sex worker of time, like Annie Sprinklewere portrayed like women “Lost“Or“falls“, Sucked into aMale and capitalist pornographic industry. Their voice remained out of the comparison with the magazine And this led to one symbolic protest in front of the editorial staff. The failed attempt to MS. to open a pluralist space – also publishing positions opposed to the text of the Antipornography law of Dworkin and Mackinnon from 1983 – marked one internal fracture which still invites us to reflect on freedom, inclusiveness And feminism.
A less current lesson
In today’s reality, in which the IL feminism Travel between Social, Podcast and online activismthe message of Dear MS. It remains more current than ever: network, recognize errors, listen to those who preceded us. “Talk to your mothers, aunts, grandmothers,” he concluded Koroma in the interview. “If today we have the right to choose, to work, to speak, it is also thanks to them.” The documentary is a act of love and gratitude Towards those who opened the road with a pen, a lot of courage and many letters of the readers. Perhaps MS. It was not perfect, but it was necessary for time and probably even today.
I woman © RESERVED REPRODUCTION