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Smells Like Teen Spirit: 'How Sassy Changed My Life'
April 5, 2007

                                                       

Yes, according to the authors of How SASSY Changed My Life: A Love Letter to the Greatest Teen Magazine of All Time, Nirvana's hit song was inspired by graffiti on the wall of the SASSY Magazine offices referring to the pong of an antiperspirant sample being promoted. Of course, to those authors -- Kara Jesella and Marisa Meltzer -- this is evidence of SASSY's overall 'tude and cool quotient.

It might be. I wanted to read the new Faber & Faber title because I am just slightly too old to have been captivated by SASSY and have a young teenaged daughter who has skipped straight from YM and Seventeen to Glamour and ELLE (and before any parent out there feigns shock that I would Let This Happen, remember: you can control what comes in and out of your house, but you can't control what they read at school. Besides, I'm just disappointed she isn't interested in my copies of Bust and Bitch.) I wanted to get a fan's-eye-view of what made SASSY not just popular, but a cultural phenomenon.

Here's what I'm interested in: SASSY ran for just a short time, from 1988-1994. It had a hardcore fan base and its envelope-pushing tone was revolutionary in the world of teen magazines. There were many reasons for its demise, but I'm fascinated that nothing specific replaced it. Is this because nobody does it better? I don't think so. I think it's because all the cool girls were busy trying out email. And no, that does not mean Atoosa per se -- but at least she spends time on social networking sites. 

Because today, teen spirit smells like Eau de My Space.  

                                                            

Posted by Bethanne Patrick on April 5, 2007 | Comments (0)