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Authors: Kara Jesella

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HOW
SASSY
CHANGED MY LIFE
 
 
 
“Around the time you read that a publicist for Tiffani Amber-Thiessen once accused
Sassy
magazine of ‘terrorist tactics,' you realize that this book isn't simply a smart and funny ode to a smart and funny magazine; it's the record of a short-lived insurrection against a powerful social code, one that tells young women what they're supposed to think and how they're supposed to act.”
—ALEX ROSS, music critic of
The New Yorker
 
“
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
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.
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
Mollenkamp, Becky
Moore, Thurston
Moral Majority
Morissette, Alanis
Mormons
Morning After, The
(Roiphe)
Moss, Kate
Ms.
MTV
Muhlke, Christine
MySpace

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