Ms. on Social Follow us @msmagazine


WAITING FOR EQUALITY Thank you for your unabashed cover- age of the ERA [“The ERA Is Rati- fied, Now What?” by Carrie N. Baker, Winter 2022]. Women, for far too long, have been denied equal rights. This is an outrage! The misogynist people in power refuse to enact [the ERA]. Shame on the Republicans who oppose the ERA and who are ac- tively fighting against it. By doing so, they make a clear statement! To repeat Ms.: How much longer


must women wait for equality? Enough is enough. I look forward to continued coverage. —Jacinda Lee Allenbaugh Trans woman incarcerated in male-designated facility Frackville, PA


VIRTUAL ASSAULT On Feb. 8, I published my first piece on the metaverse on msmagazine.com. The article outlined the sexual as-


sault (within the virtual reality of Facebook/Meta’s Venues) of Nina Jane Patel, the vice president of re- search at Meta, the company formally known as Facebook. Her avatar was sexually assaulted on the platform in late 2021, she revealed in a Medium post published on Dec. 21. She de- scribed male voices saying, “Don’t pretend you didn’t love it.” What is most disturbing about this


is the way in which visual, audio and kinetic sensors currently developed make our brains think we are actually having the experiences we encounter within the virtual world. If we are us- ing unregulated technology to repli-


cate human experience, then how do we hold avatars accountable not just for assault but for engaging in hate speech or online fraud? Why are there no measures to protect Patel and other women within the meta- verse? And how will psychologists help victims process virtual harm? These questions became the basis of


my testimony to the House Energy and Commerce Committee’s Sub- committee on Consumer Protection and Commerce, chaired by Rep. Jan Schakowsky [D-Ill.]. I was invited at the bequest of Rep. Yvette Clarke [D- N.Y.], with whom I have been working on the development of the Algorith- mic Accountability Act since 2016. After the 2020 Biden win, Clarke


recommitted to her goal and added clauses that include directing the Fed- eral Trade Commission to conduct impact assessments on algorithmic systems released into the marketplace, including those by Meta. Supporters of the bill were trying


to find ways to illustrate the need for impact assessments to their col- leagues, and the story I published with Ms. was used because Patel’s vir- tual assault illustrated the new legal questions being raised by advance- ments within the innovation sector. I was proud to enter this article into the congressional record and I am being asked about it by audiences across the globe. Thank you, Ms.magazine, for pro-


viding a platform for Black women to argue the need to regulate the inter- net through an intersectional lens. —Mutale Nkonde Founder, AI for the People New York, NY


To keep up with these stories and other feminist news, be sure to check out our website. We publish daily at msmagazine.com.


ADDRESS ALL CORRESPONDENCE TO Letters to the Editor, Ms. magazine, 433 S. Beverly Drive, Beverly Hills, CA 90212 EMAIL letterstotheeditor@msmagazine.com


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www.msmagazine.com It’s Official. No One Is Coming to Save


Texans Seeking Abortions. msmagazine.com


SPRING 2022 | 5


Hillary Clinton Retweeted GU Women & Peace @giwps


“I decided to make women's issues central to US foreign policy.”


As a tribute to Secretary Albright, we published her conversation w/ @MelanneVerveer & @HillaryClinton on her legacy as a women’s rights champion.


Now it’s up to us to continue her work.


Secretary Madeleine Albright on Her Legacy as a Women’s Rights Champion: ‘I Decided I


Would Make Women’s Issues Central to … msmagazine.com


Domestic Workers


“In the U.S., 1 in 4 women return to work just two weeks after delivery. The fact this is happening in 2022 is embarrassing.”


Women make up 57% of the U.S. workforce—it’s past time our economic policies support the mothers who lift up our economy.


Parental Leave: The Time for Change Was


Yesterday msmagazine.com


Rep. Veronica Escobar @RepEscobar


Access to abortion care is a constitutional right.


Today, the Senate has the opportunity to help enshrine the constitutional right to reproductive health care into law and protect women in Texas and across the country from extreme and dangerous bans.


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