Rest in Power: Patrick Stewart, Who Used His Platform to Break Silence About Men’s Violence

PUBLISHED 11/9/2026 by

People often ask me for examples of well-known men who’ve spoken out about men’s violence against women. Alas, there aren’t too many, in the U.S. and globally, especially when one considers the vast scale and scope of this ongoing human tragedy.

That’s why the actor Patrick Stewart’s death at age 86 on Oct. 30 was so devastating to many people in the gender-based violence (GBV) sector. Stewart, whose father regularly beat his mother and terrorized the kids, was one of the most famous men brave and bold enough to talk openly and honestly about this scourge—and urge other men to act.

Stewart spoke about dreading his father’s violent rampages against his mother, and the complex range of emotions that evoked from the time he was a 7-year-old, right up through the end of his long life.

“In my adult life,” he wrote in 2009, “I have struggled to overcome the bad lessons of my father’s behavior, this corrosive example of male irresponsibility. But the most oppressive aspect of these experiences was the loneliness.”

When Stewart told his story, he wasn’t simply sharing a salacious detail about the troubled family background of a global celebrity. He was speaking for countless other adults—including millions of men—who silently carry the wounds of traumatic childhoods into their adult lives and relationships. Sir Patrick was also stepping into the role of the adult who had never spoken up for him.

The Real Cost of Trump’s ‘Big Beautiful Bill’ Is Just Beginning

PUBLISHED 11/9/2026 by , and

In July 2025, Republicans in Congress passed, and President Donald Trump signed, this administration’s signature piece of legislation: the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA).

In addition to directing unprecedented levels of funding toward the administration’s anti-immigrant detention and deportation agenda, the OBBBA slashed funding for programs that help people afford food, healthcare and education to pay for trillions of dollars in tax cuts that overwhelmingly benefit the wealthiest people and corporations.

And the worst is yet to come: The OBBBA was specifically designed to delay many of its harmful measures until after the November 2026 midterm elections—leaving millions of Americans bracing for the worst.

The Numbers Are In: Women Voters Powered the Blue Wave

PUBLISHED 11/7/2026 by | UPDATED 11/10/2026 at 8:49 A.M. PT

The midterm election results were record-breaking.

Next year, record numbers of women will serve in the House (at least 136) and as governors across the U.S. (at least 17). The next Congress will be more diverse than ever. Georgia’s Keisha Lance Bottoms will be the first Black woman to serve as governor of a U.S. state. In New Mexico, Deb Haaland will be the nation’s first Native woman governor. And Gina Hinojosa will be Texas’ first Latina governor. Additionally, both U.S. House and Senate majorities have flipped to Democratic control.

We have women voters to thank for all of this.

In South Carolina, Ohio, Michigan, Iowa, Maine, Kansas, New Hampshire and Minnesota, if only men had voted, Republicans would have won. And even in states where a majority of men voted for the winning Democrat (Georgia, North Carolina and Texas), women supported the winner by significantly larger margins.

Women voters also made the difference in key gubernatorial races in Georgia, Ohio and Iowa.

We should take a moment to celebrate these victories and the women voters who made them possible. But now the real work begins: defending hard-won rights, holding elected leaders accountable and turning this electoral momentum into lasting change.

Ms. Magazine Wins Gold at the Anthem Awards for FEMINIST 250, a Celebration of the Women Who Shaped America

PUBLISHED 11/6/2026 by

Ms. is thrilled to announce that FEMINIST 250: Founding Feminists has won Gold in Special Projects, Belonging and Inclusion at the 2026 Anthem Awards.

Presented by the organization behind the prestigious Webby Awards, the Anthems are considered the premier international honors for social impact, recognizing the world’s most innovative and influential work advancing social change.

Launched during Women’s History Month to mark the nation’s 250th anniversary, FEMINIST 250: Founding Feminists is sweeping, beautifully illustrated collection of essays, historical research, art and multimedia storytelling that challenges the familiar story of America’s founding.

Among the project’s most compelling stories:
—In “Haudenosaunee Governance: The Matrilineal Democracy That Shaped America,” Michelle Schenandoah, a member of the Oneida Nation Wolf Clan, explores an Indigenous system of governance in which women have long held political, economic and spiritual authority—and whose democratic traditions influenced the United States.
—Historian Vanessa M. Holden’s “She Wanted to Be Free: Black Women’s Revolutionary Resistance” tells the story of Ona Judge, a woman enslaved by George and Martha Washington who escaped to freedom, and the countless other Black women who resisted slavery long before the nation’s founding ideals were extended to them.
—In “Queer Possibilities in Revolutionary America,” historian Jen Manion challenges the notion that transgender and gender-nonconforming people are a modern phenomenon. She uncovers the lives of people who defied gender expectations centuries before today’s language for LGBTQ+ identities existed.

… and more.

A Double Blow to Abortion Rights in Idaho: Prop 1 Fails at the Ballot Box, and a Federal Court Sides With the State

PUBLISHED 11/6/2026 by

The elation that so many have been feeling in the wake of the midterms, has been tamped down in Idaho, as the result of two powerful and closely related reminders that the unremitting attacks on abortion rights are not going to let up any time soon.

First, on Oct. 30, a divided panel of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals issued an interim decision in the case of Seyb v. Idaho Board of Medical Examiners privileging Idaho’s “profound interest” in protecting fetal life over a pregnant woman’s right to self-preservation when faced with a health-threatening condition or the risk of death due to self-harm.

Then on Nov. 3,  in sharp contrast to the outcomes in the other three states where abortion was on the ballot, Proposition 1 failed to pass in Idaho, which would have legalized abortion until viability (with an extremely narrow emergency exception), which leaves one of the nation’s strictest criminal abortion bans in place.

In Landmark Case, California Argues False Abortion Pill Reversal Claims Aren’t Protected by the First Amendment

PUBLISHED 11/6/2026 by

On Sept. 17, following nearly three years of litigation and a six-week trial, California’s Department of Justice delivered its closing arguments in a landmark case against RealOptions Obria and Heartbeat International, seeking to stop their use of “false and misleading claims to advertise abortion pill reversal” (APR), as Attorney General Rob Bonta described it in a press release.

APR is the unproven and potentially dangerous flooding of the body with a high dosage of progesterone after taking mifepristone, the first pill in the FDA-approved medication abortion protocol, but before taking misoprostol, the second approved pill in the sequence.

APR has become an increasingly central tactic in CPCs’ relentless post-Dobbs efforts to persuade what they call “abortion-vulnerable” pregnant women to carry their pregnancies to term.

The trial court is expected to issue its ruling by Dec. 16, within the 90-day period allotted under California law. Given the evidence presented at trial, a ruling in California’s favor could mark a significant victory in efforts to hold CPCs accountable for promoting false and misleading claims about a procedure that the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists has denounced as “unproven and unethical.” Such a decision would also send a powerful message: The First Amendment does not give organizations a free pass to mislead pregnant women about their medical care.

Amy Acton’s Victory Is One for All Survivors

PUBLISHED 11/5/2026 by

Tuesday night brought historic victories for women: In New Mexico, Deb Haaland became the nation’s first Native American woman elected governor. In Georgia, Keisha Lance Bottoms became the first Black woman elected governor in U.S. history, winning in Georgia. And in Ohio, Amy Acton became the state’s first woman elected governor and its first Jewish governor.

But Acton’s victory over Vivek Ramaswamy is especially meaningful for survivors of sexual violence. Her victory is a reminder that survivors can refuse to be silenced, even when powerful people try to turn their trauma against them.

But celebrating survivors is not enough. They deserve justice, meaningful legal protections and accountability for those who harmed them—and for the institutions that failed to protect them.

With Democrats set to control both the House and Senate in January, survivors have an opportunity to see their demands for justice taken seriously. That means pushing for the full release of the Epstein files while protecting survivors’ identities and personal information. It also means congressional hearings, subpoenas and investigations into the powerful individuals and institutions that enabled Epstein’s abuse.

Congress must also restore and strengthen Title IX protections for students and pursue broader reforms to address sexual violence. As Ms. executive editor Kathy Spillar wrote in response to the Cornell case, recognizing the Equal Rights Amendment could provide a constitutional foundation for stronger federal laws against gender-based violence, including restoring the civil rights remedy in the Violence Against Women Act. States can also lead the way, as California did with Senate Bill 1056, which establishes safeguards for reviewing sexually explicit evidence in criminal trials.

Ms. Global: South Korea Approves Abortion Pills; Anti-Femicide Protests in Cameroon; 50K Women and Girls Killed or Injured in Gaza in Three Years; and More

PUBLISHED 11/4/2026 by and

The U.S. ranks as the 31st most dangerous country for women, 55th in maternal mortality, 43rd in closing the gender pay gap, 84th in women’s political representation, and painfully lacks paid family leave and equal access to healthcare. But Ms. has always understood: Feminist movements around the world hold answers to some of the U.S.’ most intractable problems. Ms. Global is taking note of feminists worldwide.

This month:
—South Korea is set to approve abortion pills for public use the first time next year.
—Women political prisoners face torture and other abuses in Myanmar, warns Human Rights Watch.
—Nearly 50,000 women and girls have been killed or severely injured in Gaza in the past three years.
—Somalia approves bill to strengthen rights for abuse victims after a decade of negotiations.
—Gen Z is helping organize India’s pro-democracy protests.

… and more.

The Marcia Ann Gillespie I Remember: A 60-Year Friendship Forged at the Dawn of Two Journalism Careers

PUBLISHED 11/4/2026 by

Marcia and I first met in 1966 at Time-Life Books, our first jobs after college. We didn’t know each other, because we worked in different research departments at opposite ends of the same floor in the big Time-Life Inc. building.

One day I was exploring the territory, and I stumbled upon this young Black woman hard at work at her desk. “Hello,” I said tentatively. Marcia looked up with surprise and a smile broke out on her face as we introduced ourselves. We were no longer “the only ones.”

From that day, we became close friends.

Marcia’s mother, Ethel Gillespie, was a successful caterer on Long Island, and at our annual Christmas dinner gathering, Marcia could be counted on to proudly share her mother’s cherished recipes. Marcia learned to prepare her food with the same meticulous legacy that she applied to life—no shortcuts.

Women Will Hold at Least One-Third of Governorships—A New Record. Now Let’s Make It Last.

PUBLISHED 11/4/2026 by

One in three. That’s how many of the nation’s governors will be women next year. At least 17 women will lead states in 2027, breaking the previous record of 14, set in 2025. Every woman seeking reelection won.

It was a historic night for women, and one worth celebrating. But it’s worth asking why, in 2026, we’re still counting firsts—and what it will take to make this the new floor rather than the high-water mark.