It's not every day Ms. puts a man on its cover.
In choosing the cover for this special Inaugural issue, Ms. wanted to capture both the national and feminist mood of high expectations and hope as the 44th President of the United States takes the oath of office.
Expectations have only grown since the election, with President-Elect Obama now enjoying over 80% of the public's support. Most people wish him well, and indeed hope he does "save" us from economic disasters, unending war and occupation, 
global warming, the decline in our international reputation, and relentless attacks on women's rights, civil rights, human rights, science, privacy...the list goes on.
When the chair of the Feminist Majority Foundation board, Peg Yorkin, and I met Barack Obama, he immediately offered "I am a feminist." And better yet, he ran on the strongest platform for women's rights of any major party in American history. Feminist Karen Kornbluh, the platform's principle author, ensured women's rights, opportunities, advancement, and issues were addressed throughout the historic document.
Never has it been easy fighting for equality and social justice. The politics of Washington, our nation, and our world are tough. We have spent far too many years fighting to hold the ground we had already gained. Now is the time to move forward. We are in one of those rare transformational times in history.
But we are not giving President-Elect Obama a blank check. For our hopes to be achieved, we must speak out and organize, organize, organize to enable our new president's team to achieve our common goals. Ultimately, we must hold our leaders' feet to the fire or, to put it more positively, uplift them when they are caught in the crosscurrents of competing interests.
Now is our time to think big. We cannot settle for less...too many women's lives, too many people's lives, depend on it.
In this spirit, the Editors of Ms. magazine asked our readers, feminist leaders, experts, and activists to share their visions of what must be done to move forward at this extraordinary time. In the current issue of Ms., read their visions for change and add yours.
Eleanor Smeal is president of the Feminist Majority Foundation and publisher of Ms. magazine.
There are only differing factions fighting over who owns "Feminism" and the various cottage industries that derive their livings from any particular brand of "Feminism".
Camille Paglia said;
"Feminism has betrayed women, alienated men and women and replaced dialogue with political correctness. PC feminism has boxed women in. The idea that feminism, that liberation from domestic prison is going to bring happiness is just wrong. Women have advanced a great deal but they are no happier."
Women weren’t prepared for liberation, and lost their Identities and their Unity of Sisterhood in their new-found freedoms. They made the mistake of believing that once women reached positions of authority, all women would be handed Equality.
Instead, those women who rose to positions of influence closed the doors of opportunity behind them and celebrated themselves as the Elite.
Feminism was a banner borne by women in the fight for Equality. Though not all women are Feminists, they do fight for the Equal Rights of all women. It’s time to pick up that banner again.
One brand of feminism advocates against men as a gender and wants nothing to do with them. A professor named Mary Brady threw male students out of her class at a public university and claimed that their very presence created a "hostile" classroom environment. This is just one example of the often divisive use of "Feminism". It divides, alienates and scapegoats the 49 percent of the world's population that happens to be male.
Equality is a human question, not a female one. The Paglia quote I used was offered to suggest the divisive effect that the war over feminism has created.
It's true that there are as many feminisms as there are feminists -- but isn't that true of any forward thinking group of people? In my own little world of feminism, Barack Obama should be celebrated on the cover of Ms. How can we make the world better for women if men aren't feminists?
On what grounds to you dismiss her so quickly? If you're going to trash someone, make your case before doing so.
I suggest Complementarians. The meaning comes from Ivan Illich who wrote about the separate but necessary equality of the respective roles of both females and males.
Give support to those women who do get pregnant
and who aren't really ready to be mothers. Give them support
and jobs.
End the war against Christians, Catholics & God.
Make war on idiot guys who get their girlfriends pregnant
and skip out on their responsibility.
Seriously, giving support to pregnant women, jobs?
My view of Pro-life has always been defined by the Catholic church which shunned my wife (when whe was single-before I met her) for chosing to keep her baby.
There is no "war against Christians, Catholics & God" You keep your religious laws away from me and I will keep mine away from you.
True separation of church and state, the only way it will work!
The kind of change you’re talking about is seeded in the minds and hearts of the children of today so they may bear the fruits of your high expectations and pass them on to future generations. But you should know this, you are women.
Where are the role models to shape the minds of our impressionable youth? What imagery do we fortify the building of their character with? What are we telling them by focusing on personalities like Britney Spears, Hanna Montana, Reality television or glamorous movie Stars? How are women depicted in the media in general?
Why don’t we ever see the dedicated professional everyday-women to whom you refer in your article being celebrated? Who do you think is controlling the imagery behind the magazines and media, or the aggressive advertising that sells feminism in a bottle, a cosmetic womanhood competing with an airbrushed reality? Why do think so many women in this country feel inadequate just looking in the mirror?
Where is the legislation for equality from the women that are in influential positions? Where are the opportunities from women that have made it in business? Where are the marches for things that matter?
About as good as the "George" mag cover with Cindy Crawford posed as Geo. Washington.
GObama and GoGals!
I applaud Ms for doing so.
Besides, any possible Obama missteps still beats the McCain option, the one in which he would have seen to it that both gay and women's right were set back about 50 years - or, as I'm sure McCain remembers it, the "good old days" of his youth.
Rice, having spent years promoting the GW Bush agenda, one which included both a culture war as well as an actual illegal war in which hundreds of thousands have subsequently died, is neither a feminist nor a humanitarian.