Marilyn Salzman-Webb and Marlene Wicks were among Off Our Backs original founders,[3][4] creating the periodical in Washington, D.C.[3] as a response to what many felt was an underrepresentation of the women’s liberation movement in mainstream media.

Reporting on feminism related topics,[5][3] the periodical transitioned from a monthly to a bi-monthly[6] newspaper, and ultimately to a quarterly magazine[7] before financial difficulties led to its termination in 2008.

[12] Off Our Backs was founded in January 1970[5] by Marlene Wicks and Marilyn Salzman Webb in Washington, D.C.[4][3] The original funding for the periodical came from $1000 that was collected to start an anti-Vietnam War coffee house, with the idea for the paper stemming from frustration about the lack of news about the women’s liberation movement in mainstream media.

[14] The first issue was written by a collective of 17 women, namely Marlene Wicks, Alison Sand, Roxanne Dunbar, Martha Atkins, Conni Bille Finnerty, Paula Goldsmid, Bonnie McFadden, Charlotte Bunch-Weeks, Sue Tod, Jessica Finney, Marilyn Salzman-Webb, Norma Allen Lesser, Anne Hutchinson, Rachel Scott, Coletta Reid, Regina Sigal, and Alice Wolfson.

During that time, the Off Our Backs collective wrote about numerous local and international subjects revolving around feminist and women’s issues.

[5][3] Carol Anne Douglas (one of Off Our Backs' longest-writing members) explained their cease of editorials due to the fact that the collective "often disagreed on issues anyways".

[4][17] Off Our Backs published the last issue of the news journal in 2008, citing financial difficulties as the primary factor behind the cessation.

[8][4] Carol Anne Douglas stated that the lack of money led to the end of publication as prices rose and subscriptions diminished.

[13] The form varied throughout its publication, involving a wide range of articles, exposes, interviews, editorials, and signed commentaries.

[4] Marilyn Salzman-Webb, one of the paper's founders, described the process behind the collective's writing, stating "each member had to learn about those issues up for discussion: current news, the legal system, the history of the family, the role of romance in Western civilization, etc.