Got a hold of the publicist for How Sassy Changed My Life today. There is a copy now winging its way to my doorstep as I type.

Mission accomplished.

It's really impressive the impact this magazine had on me as a teen, as well as on other women as they grew up.

January 1991 was the first issue I remember purchasing. I accidentally left the magazine at my grandmother's house. She called me the next day and offered to buy me a subscription, telling me, "I'd like to buy you a subscription of the magazine you left here. I looked through it and I liked it. I think it's a very good magazine for teenage girls." God, I miss my grandmother.

You can still purchase old issues of Sassy on eBay for pretty reasonable prices. I still have my originally purchased issue, other copies that were sent via subscription, and a few back issue copies I swiped from the trashcan of my friend's older sister while at a slumber party. I am sorely tempted to bid on the late 80s copies I don't have. Especially the premier issue.

When Jane Pratt, creator of Sassy, introduced Jane magazine in 1997, I was a charter-subscriber and bought gift-subscriptions for my sister and best friend, thinking it would be similar to Sassy. Was I wrong. Jane was exactly like every other bad teen/young adult woman's mag on the rack. I didn't renew any of the three subscriptions after the first year. What an incredible disappointment.

There is light at the end of the tunnel, however. I've found BUST. If you were a Sassy reader as a teen, and are looking for something to fill that void, BUST works nicely, er...not so nicely. Including regular sections as "Why Jane Sucks". BUST isn't afraid to be mean, more snarky, more, dare I say - sassy?

A perfect example of how Jane differs from BUST is here.

You can also check out Bitch magazine, if you haven't already. Bitch's tagline is "A Feminist response to pop culture." Bitch tends to be a little more rant-y and angry than BUST, but when that's what you're in the mood for, it's perfect.

Look for a review of How Sassy Changed My Life here soon!

UPDATE: Apparently, the owner of the "bad Sassy" died this past weekend. Check out the obit on How Sassy Changed My Life's website.

Posted by: Ensie at 12:15 PM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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