The cover, illustrated by Miriam Wosk, depicts a pregnant version of the Hindu goddess Kali using eight arms to hold a clock, skillet, typewriter, rake, mirror, telephone, steering wheel, and an iron.

Patricia Carbine thought a magazine was better because of the money from advertisers and that it could reach their audience with its portable, visually pleasing, easy format.

[16] At this time, the honorific "Ms.", an alternative to "Miss" or "Mrs." that neutralizes a women's marital status, was being promoted by Sheila Michaels but not yet well known or defined by the media.

[18] Gloria Steinem placed Wonder Woman, in costume, on the cover of the first independently published issue of Ms. v1 #1, July 1972 (Warner Communications, DC Comics' owner, was an investor), which also contained an appreciative essay about the character.

The progressive author Samuel R. Delany wrote two issues of the Wonder Woman comic book in 1972, during this controversial period in the publication's history when the lead character abandoned her superpowers and became a secret agent.

She described her personal relationship with comic books and applied issues women were facing such as power dynamics and gender discrimination at the work place to the character.

I publicly join millions of other American women in demanding a repeal of all laws that restrict our reproductive freedom.Signatories included Billie Jean King, Judy Collins, Anaïs Nin, Gloria Steinem, Susan Sontag, and Nora Ephron.

The petition was the inspiration for a similar campaign by Ms. in 2006, as well as an amicus brief signed by more than 100 American lawyers in support of overturning the abortion regulations at issue in Whole Woman's Health v.

[29] The show was formatted to reflect the magazine, and consisted of short documentaries made by independent women filmmakers, interviews, and entertainment segments.

[31] Over its long history, the magazine has featured articles written by and about many women and men at the forefront of business, politics, activism, and journalism.

The magazine's investigative journalism broke several landmark stories on topics including overseas sweatshops, sex trafficking, the wage gap, the glass ceiling, date rape, and domestic violence.

[15] In 1987, Ms. was bought by Fairfax, an Australian media company, which appointed the head of its US arm, Sandra Yates, to oversee the magazine's editorial and financial turnaround.

[32] In 1989, concerned about a perceived "Cher cover"-centered editorial direction under Anne Summers, American Feminists bought it back and began publishing the magazine without ads.

In 1998, Gloria Steinem, Marcia Ann Gillespie and a group of female investors created Liberty Media (not the cable/satellite conglomerate of the same name) and brought the magazine under independent ownership.

With Liberty Media facing bankruptcy in November 2001, the Feminist Majority Foundation purchased the magazine, dismissed the staff, and moved the editorial headquarters from New York to Los Angeles.

Despite this success, Lafferty left the magazine after only two years following various disagreements including the editorial direction on a cover story on Desperate Housewives,[33] and a perceived generation gap towards third-wave feminists and grunge.

This time, the petition contained signatures of more than 5,000 women declaring that they had had an abortion and were "unashamed of (the) decision", including actresses Amy Brenneman and Kathy Najimy, comedian Carol Leifer, and Steinem herself.

[4] In 1986, author Alice Walker, a contributor to Ms., resigned, citing the lack of diversity on the magazine's covers and its limited features of women of color.

[4] Walker had previously written an article in 1975 titled "In Search of Zora Neale Hurston", which was credited to have created new interests in Black female writers.

[38] The editors of Ms. admit, as they reflect back on their influence in the 1970s, that their publications were perceived as "elitist" at times due to their staff but the content was always meant to be inclusive.

[41] On January 10, 2008, the American Jewish Congress released an official statement[42] which was critical of Ms. magazine's refusal to accept from them a full-page advertisement[43] honoring three prominent Israeli women: Dorit Beinisch (president of the Supreme Court of Israel), Tzipi Livni (Foreign Affairs Minister of Israel), and Dalia Itzik (speaker of the Knesset).

[44][45] However, Katherine Spillar, executive editor of Ms., responded to these criticisms on the magazine's website, rejecting claims of anti-Israel bias.

[46] Spillar stated that the magazine had "covered the Israeli feminist movement and women leaders in Israel ... eleven times' in its last four years of issues".