ShareThisBy SAM MCMANIS
Tuesday, November 07, 2006
In this media age, when glossy magazines seemingly can make a splash only by running celebrity baby photos or having "exclusive" interviews with stars, Ms. magazine made headlines this week with a throwback idea.
The feminist journal's cover screams in all-caps type: "We Had Abortions." And inside, 1,016 women signed a petition _ 5,000 an online version _ declaring that they are not ashamed of their choice to terminate a pregnancy.
It's an homage, the magazine's editors say, to the debut issue of Ms. in 1972, in which 53 prominent women declared that they had undergone then-illegal abortions.
Naturally, the provocative piece has caused a stir in the always-roiling reproductive-rights debate and divided people among ideological lines. It has drawn the attention of Fox News commentator Bill O'Reilly and bloggers, left and right.
But the biggest reaction, at least from some, might be: Ms. magazine? Is that still around?
"It's true that Ms. no longer has the influence it used to among women," says Samir Husni, a University of Mississippi journalism professor who specializes in magazine analysis. "Ms. was this candle that led the way for women. They read its pages and it held sway over the debate.
"Now, it's just what I call a magazine with cult following, very marginalized. This might be the most people have talked about it in years."
But, Husni adds, the influence of Ms. can be found in many of the popular women's periodicals today, such as More, Oprah and Jane.
"But (feminism) is not their main concern," he says.
Indeed, the Ms. brand of serious feminist journalism has lost cachet since its '70s heyday. Ms. even ceased publication for a while in 1998 before being sold to the nonprofit Feminist Majority Foundation in 2001. Its circulation of 110,000 these days pales compared with a readership of 500,000 it had in 1976.
The magazine's idea, both in 1972 and in the current issue, is that "real women" proclaim their unashamed support of abortion rights by telling their stories. Among the "celebrities" who signed in 1972: tennis star Billie Jean King and writer Susan Sontag. Notables this time include actresses Amy Brenneman and Kathy Najimy. But the majority of those who signed are not famous.
One outside observer, Christine Craft, a left-leaning talk-radio host in Sacramento, Calif., agrees that the cover will not have nearly as big an impact as the first time.
"I still think it's a pretty gutsy thing to do," Craft says. "But you can be a liberal and pro-choice and still think that those kinds of things are private business. Not everyone should feel compelled to reveal to the world their reproductive history."
Katharyn McLearan, spokeswoman for Planned Parenthood in the Sacramento region, counters: "It's so easy to criticize Ms. for the way they've done it, but how else can women reach out to other women and have open dialogue about their reproductive-health rights?"
National anti-abortion groups have condemned the magazine for "celebrating an act of violence," according to Judie Brown of the American Life League. But Colleen Branagan, executive director of the nonprofit California Life Center, does not begrudge Ms. its viewpoint.
"However," she adds, "for every woman who signs a petition saying they don't feel stigma or guilt, there are a lot of women we deal with for whom it was a pivotal moment they are still dealing with years later."
(Sam McManis can be reached at smcmanis(at)sacbee.com)
