German feminist magazine Emma to close after nearly 50 years amid changing times

The magazine was launched in January 1977 as a provocative and outspoken feminist journal that courted controversy and influenced political debates in ways that punched above its circulation. — Picture via Facebook

First Published: Thursday, 22 Oct 2026 10:12 AM MYT

BERLIN, Oct 22 — Emma, a once-influential German magazine that shaped feminist discourse in West Germany and provoked debates in politics and culture, will put out its final issue in December, the magazine announced Wednesday.

The magazine was launched in January 1977 as a provocative and outspoken feminist journal that courted controversy and influenced political debates in ways that punched above its circulation.

Alice Schwarzer, the magazine’s well-known founder, announced that they would call it quits in December after 398 issues spanning a half-century, though the outlet intends to maintain a presence online.

The 83-year-old Schwarzer herself parlayed her role at the magazine—where she still serves as publisher and editor-in-chief—into celebrity in Germany, where she remains a fixture on television talk shows and a combative pundit in the press.

The magazine’s influence has waned in recent years, and Schwarzer’s outspoken anti-trans stances have drawn intense criticism and accusations that the she has fallen out of touch with younger readers.

Schwarzer also stirred controversy when she called for Ukraine to quickly seek peace with Russia in the immediate wake of the 2022 full-scale invasion.

In what was then West Germany, the magazine had pushed boundaries by speaking out against issues such as sexual violence against children, wage inequality, and broader questions of gender equality.

As recently as 2013, a campaign led by Schwarzer calling for the abolition of prostitution—which had been legalised a decade earlier—helped result in stricter regulations despite opposition from sex worker advocacy groups.

In a statement, the magazine’s six-member editorial staff denied that declining circulation or other economic headwinds had driven them to end the magazine.

“No, we are leaving because we feel: enough is enough!” the statement said, contending that the magazine had fought for generations against various forms of “nonsense in the name of feminism”.

“So, if you’ll allow us: we are simply worn out.”

The magazine’s staff doubled down on their controversial anti-trans position in the farewell statement, denouncing the “dangerous trans ideology” where “any man can declare himself a woman simply by saying so”.

According to a joint statement on the Emma website, the staff repeatedly tried to find new colleagues who shared “our spirit” or hire a successor for their editor-in-chief.

But those potential candidates ultimately chose to join—or remain with—more established media outlets. — AFP