How Sassy Changed My Life

by Kara Jesella

  “Sassy really did change my life. If I hadn’t read the magazine as a confused preteen, I doubt I’d be the person I am today and I doubt I’d have started Venus Zine. I always wanted to know what really happened behind the scenes at Sassy, and this book provides the inside scoop on its rise and fall.”

  —AMY SCHROEDER, editor and publisher of Venus Zine

  “It is perhaps a sad fact that magazines come and go. But in its brief life, Sassy offered teenage girls a new way of seeing themselves—and their parents, perhaps, a new way of understanding them. The publication was very much a product of its historical moment. Furthermore, as this insightful narrative suggests, Sassy, like all truly significant magazines, clearly helped shape the social realities of its time.”

  —DAVID ABRAHAMSON, Charles Deering McCormick Professor of Teaching Excellence,

  Medill School of Journalism, Northwestern University

  “An entertaining and thought-provoking look at one of the most influential magazines of the nineties. I felt like I was back in those cramped offices, surrounded by the funniest, sharpest women in New York.”

  —BLAKE NELSON, author of Girl and Paranoid Park

  acknowledgments

  How many people’s lives did Sassy change? A lot. And many of them wrote or called or met with us to give us the details. Thanks to all the fans who shared their stories. Even if we didn’t quote you directly, your thoughts had a huge influence on this book.

  We appreciate the generosity of everyone we interviewed, so many of whom were willing to take a funny/poignant/interesting walk down memory lane with us. Our inner fifteen-year-olds are especially grateful to the Sassy staff; we certainly couldn’t have done this without them. A very special thank you to Mary Clarke, the very definition of a connector, who helped set the wheels in motion.

  Like most books, this one took two-plus years from conception to completion. We’d like to thank all our friends and colleagues who patiently spent that time asking, over and over, “So how is the book coming?” and pretending to be enthused about the answer. Special gratitude goes to Elspeth, proprietor of Podunk, the best tea shop ever, where we spent hours nibbling scones and getting all our best work done. The average boyfriend would be less than supportive if his girlfriend came home after a few drinks and announced that she was going to write a book with someone she had just met. Not Mike DeMaio. Kara would like to say: I love you and thank you for the endless counsel and support. And we’d both like to thank our parents. If it weren’t for you, we may have grown up in more interesting hometowns and not needed Sassy to change our lives. Finally, all that adolescent angst has been put to good use.

  Thank you to our agent, Sarah Lazin, a font of great advice; we look forward to a long relationship. And to Denise Oswald at Farrar, Straus and Giroux, who we secretly hoped would be our editor from the very beginning. She certainly did not disappoint. And we can’t forget Paula Balzer; once we convinced her we had a book, she set about convincing everyone else.

  We’d also like to express gratitude to our tireless interns, all of whom are an asset to the publishing industry: Rebecca Willa Davis, Maressa Brown, Vanessa Weber, Melanie Klesse, and Amy Bleier Long. Thanks to Sarah Almond, Sara Jane Stoner, and Jessica Ferri for patiently fielding so many random queries and to Liz Menoji for sending us every Sassy fan’s dream care package.

  index

  The index that appeared in the print version of this title does not match the pages of your eBook. Please use the search function on your eReading device to search for terms of interest. For your reference, the terms that appear in the print index are listed below.

  Aaron, Charles

  Abrahamson, David

  Adaptation

  Adolescent and Family Life Act (1981)

  Adweek

  AIDS

  Alan Guttmacher Institute

  Almost Famous

  American Family Association

  American Society of Magazine Editors

  Andover Academy

  Annenberg, Walter

  Apple, Fiona

  ArtCarved class rings

  Aucoin, Kevyn

  Austen, Jane

  Australian Office on the Status of Women

  Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer, The

  Ballance, Laura

  Barbie dolls

  Bard College

  Barlow, Lou

  Barnard College

  Barr, Helen

  Barrett, Syd

  Barry, Lynda

  Barrymore, Drew

  Bateman, Justine

  Baumgardner, Jennifer

  Beaches

  Beastie Boys

  Beat Happening

  Beats

  Beauty Myth, The (Wolf)

  Beck

  Being John Malkovich

  Bell, Becky

  Bell Jar, The (Plath)

  Benetton

  Ben Is Dead

  Bernhard, Sandra

  Betty Serveert

  Beverly Hills , 90210

  B-52’s

  Bialik, Mayim

  Bikini Kill

  Bikini Kill (zine)

  Billboard

  Bitch

  Blair

  Block, Francesca Lia

  Blonde Redhead

  Bloom, Brian

  Blossom

  Bobos in Paradise (Brooks)

  Body Shop, The

  Boston University

  Bowers, Catherine

  Bowie, David

  Boys Don’t Cry

  Boy’s Life

  Bozell advertising agency

  Brady Bunch, The (television series)

  Bratmobile

  Breeders, The

  Brooks, David

  Brooks, Meredith

  Browbeat

  Brown, Helen Gurley

  Brown, Kyla

  Brown, Robert

  Brown, Tina

  Bruno, Franklin

  Bryn Mawr College

  Buddhism, Tibetan

  Buffy the Vampire Slayer

  Bullet LaVolta

  Bunting, Sarah D.

  Buried Life, The (Richardson)

  Bush, George H. W.

  Bush, George W.

  Bust

  Butler, Judith

  Butler, Marc

  Caboodles makeup

  Callahan, Maureen

  Capewell, Ocean

  Carolina Friends School

  Caroline Records

  Carter-Wallace, Inc.

  Catchpole, Karen

  alternative beauty ideals advocated by

  in Chia Pet

  feminism and

  at Jane magazine

  readers and

  sex articles by

  at Shop, Etc.

  Catholicism

  CBGB

  Centers for Disease Control

  Chavez

  Cheslow, Sharon

  Chia Pet

  Chocolate skateboards

  Christian fundamentalists, boycott organized by

  Cincotta, Maria

  Citicorp Venture Capital

  Cixous, Hélène

  Clairol hair care products

  Clark, Larry

  Clarke, Mary

  celebrity interview by

  beauty and fashion advice by

  at Modern Bride

  and reader-produced issue

  on religious right boycott

  and sale of Sassy

  at Seventeen

  Claro, Noël

  Clinton, Bill

  Clinton, Hillary

  Coast Guard, U.S.

  Cobain, Frances Bean

  Cobain, Kurt

  Cockroach

  Cohen, Leonard

  Cohen, Linda

  Cole, Jay

  Collins, Cheryl

  Colon, Suzan

  Colorado College

  Color Me Badd

  Condé Nast

  Conover, Samantha

  Coppola, Sofia

  Corgan, Billy

/>   CosmoGIRL!

  Cosmopolitan

  Coupland, Douglas

  Cover Girl cosmetics

  Craigslist

  Creative Artists Agency

  Crichton, Sarah

  Crow, Elizabeth

  Crowe, Cameron

  Cure, The

  D., Mike

  Davis, Amelia

  Dawes, Jan

  Deep Purple

  Defamer

  Demas, Amy

  Democratic Party

  Depp, Johnny

  Details

  di Chirico, Millie

  Dillon, Matt

  Dirt

  Dirty Dancing

  Dischord Records

  Dobson, Jacinta

  Dobson, James

  Doherty, Shannen

  Dolly

  Downey, Robert, Jr.

  Drea, Amber

  Drew, Dr.

  Drexler, Michael

  Duff, Hilary

  Duffy, Ragon

  Duke University

  Dylan, Bob

  Edut, Ophi

  Edut, Tali

  Elle

  ELLEGirl

  Ellerbee, Linda

  Emerson, Ralph Waldo

  Entertainment Weekly

  Equal Rights Amendment

  ESPN

  Even More Sassy

  Evergreen College

  Express jeans

  Eye

  Facebook

  Fairchild Publishing

  Fairfax Publications

  Family Circle

  Feminist Majority Foundation

  Firefox (Oates)

  First Person with Maria Shriver

  Fish, Mike

  Flaherty, Mike

  on celebrity coverage

  at Entertainment Weekly

  on Jane’s celebrity status

  on Junk Food Taste Off panel

  record reviews by

  relationship advice by

  at Sterling Forest retreat

  Focus on the Family

  Fonda, Jane

  Footwear News

  Foucault, Michel

  Fox, Rebecca L.

  Fox, Samantha

  Fox network

  Foxy

  France, Kim

  Free to Be You and Me

  Friedan, Betty

  Fugazi

  Fuller, Bonnie

  Fundamentalists

  Gaeta, Kendra

  Gallagher, Hugh

  Garey, Ira

  Garth, Jennie

  Gawker

  Generation X

  Gerstein, Julie

  Getty, Balthazar

  Gibson, Debbie

  Gillespie, Marcia

  Gilligan, Carol

  Girl (Nelson)

  Girl, Interrupted (Kaysen)

  Girl Germs

  Girl skateboards

  Glamour

  Good Housekeeping

  Gordon, Kim

  Grant, Cary

  Green, Brian Austin

  Grey, Jennifer

  Gruner & Jahr

  Guess Jeans

  Guided by Voices

  Gulf War

  Gunk

  Guns & Ammo

  Gysin, Catherine

  Halfin, Bobbie

  Hamilton, Linda

  Hamlet (Shakespeare)

  Hanna, Kathleen

  Hao, Rita

  Harper’s Bazaar

  Harrison, Jenna

  Harvard University

  Harvard Crimson

  Hazen, Jen

  Headbanger’s Ball

  Hearst Publications

  Heavenly

  Hello Kitty

  Henzel, Laurie

  Hip: The History (Leland)

  Hole

  Homeboy

  Hopper, Jessica

  Hot Rod

  HUES—Hear Us Emerging Sisters

  Hughes, John

  Human League, The

  Hwong, Constance

  Ice T

  I’m So Fucking Beautiful

  In a Different Voice (Gilligan)

  Ingall, Margie

  feminism of

  on Junk Food Taste Off panel

  readers and

  relationship articles by

  Interview

  INXS

  Iverson, Annemarie

  Jacobs, Marc

  Jane (magazine)

  Jane (television talk show)

  Jane Pratt

  Jenkins, Andy

  Jervis, Lisa

  Jigsaw

  Johnson, Betsey

  Johnson, Calvin

  Jones, Jenny

  Jones, Kidada

  Jones, Quincy

  Jones, Rashida

  Jon Spencer Blues Explosion

  Jonze, Spike

  Jostens class rings

  Jovovich, Milla

  Kaplan, Andrea

  Karan, Donna

  Karp, Marcelle

  Kaysen, Susanna

  Keck, Tim

  Kelley, Mike

  Kelly, Christina

  during boycott

  celebrity interviews by

  celebrity smackdowns by

  in Chia Pet

  debunking of teen institutions by

  as editor

  feminism of

  Homeboy staff and

  indie rock and

  as Jane magazine launch editor

  letters from readers to

  Ms. article by

  readers and

  riot grrrls and

  and sale of Sassy

  and Sassiest Boy in America contest

  staff members’ relationships with

  underground culture coverage by

  at YM

  Kennedy

  Kids

  Kilmis, Michael

  Klein, Calvin

  Knowles, Sarah Lynn

  Kowalski, Sarah

  Kramer

  K Records

  Kuleci, Caitlin

  Labov, Matt

  Ladies’ Home Journal

  Lake, Rikki

  Lamm, Nomy

  Lang, Dale

  Lang Communications

  Larsen, Elizabeth

  Lauper, Cyndi

  Leland, John

  Lewman, Mark “Lew,”

  Lick

  Liberman, Alexander

  Lifetime channel

  Lilac Time, The

  Lilith Fair

  Lin, Irene Huangyi

  Linnett, Andrea

  Lipton, Peggy

  Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam

  Lizzul, Karmen

  Lopez, Summer

  Los Angeles Times

  Love, Courtney

  L7

  Lucky

  M.A.C.

  MacKaye, Ian

  MacLean, Heather

  Mademoiselle

  Madonna

  Maffeo, Lois

  Magazine Publishers of America

  Maitland, Sarah

  March for Women’s Lives (2004)

  Marciano, Georges

  Marie Claire

  Marky Mark

  Married with Children

  Marshall, Mary Ann

  Marvel Comics

  Matador Records

  Matilda Publications

  Maybelline cosmetics

  McCall’s

  McCutcheon, Neill

  McInerney, Jay

  McLachlan, Sarah

  McNamara, Billy

  McPherson, Allison

  Mediaweek

  Melody Maker

  Melrose Place

  Menoji, Liz

  Midler, Bette

  Miller, Caroline

  Millett, Kate

  Mindfunk

  Misérables, Les (musical)

  Miss America beauty pageant

  Missing Angel Juan (Block)

  Miss Teen USA beauty pageant

  Mitchell, Joni

  Miu Miu

  Modern Bride

  Modest Mouse

&nbs
p; Mollenkamp, Becky

  Moore, Thurston

  Moral Majority

  Morissette, Alanis

  Mormons

  Morning After, The (Roiphe)

  Moss, Kate

  Ms.

  MTV

  Muhlke, Christine

  MySpace

  National Abortion Rights Action League

  National Organization for Women (NOW)

  Nation of Ulysses

  Nelson, Blake

  Newhouse, Si

  New Kids on the Block

  Newsday

  Newsweek

  New York (magazine)

  New Yorker, The

  New York Press

  New York Review of Magazines, The

  New York Times, The Magazine

  New York University

  Nickelodeon

  Nirvana

  Nordell, Jessica

  Northwestern University, Medill School of Journalism

  Noxell Corporation

  Nunez, Bryan

  Oates, Joyce Carol

  Oberlin College

  O’Brien, Virginia

  On the Waterfront

  Onion, The

  Our Bodies, Ourselves (Boston Women’s Health Collective)

  Padilla, Laura

  Page, Bettie

  Paglia, Camille

  Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG)

  Parker, Dorothy

  Parks, Gordon

  Patterson, Sala

  Paylor, Diane

  Pearl Jam

  Pengilly, Kirk

  Perry, Luke

  Petersen Publishing

  Peterson, Alicia

  Pettibon, Raymond

  Pfeffer, Danny

  Phair, Liz

  Phillips, Chynna

  Phoenix, River

  Pierson, Kate

  Plakias, Anastasia Cole

  Planned Parenthood

  Playboy

  Plumb, Eve

  Pop, Iggy

  Portland Mercury

  Powers, Ann

  Pozner, Jennifer

  Prada

  Pratt, Jane

  adolescence of

  advertisers and

  and boycott by religious right

  celebrity status of

  in Chia Pet

  “Diary” column of

  dieting stories and

  feminism of

  hiring of staff by

  Homeboy staff and

  Jane magazine launched by

  management approach of

  nose ring of

  promotional video of

  readers and

  and sale of Sassy

  at Sterling Forest retreat

  talk show hosted by

  Procter & Gamble

  Publishers Weekly

  Pulitzer Prize

  Pulp Fiction

  Quakers

  Rachtman, Riki

  Ramone, Joey

  Ramones

  Ranaldo, Lee

  Raphael, Sally Jesse

  Razorfish Internet media company

  Reagan, Nancy