[dropcap2 variation=”teal”]W[/dropcap2]hen I read in the New York Times that Jane Pratt was starting a new web magazine for women, my heart leapt. You see, I was a Sassy girl. Back in the day — because I’m old enough to say that now — Sassy was the magazine I waited impatiently for snail-mail delivery every month. With its smart articles on Northern Ireland from a teen perspective, frank talk about teen sex and use of models who LOOKED LIKE ME!! (ie. non-white, non-skinny), it was the nerdy, alternative, cool as all heck teen mag to read.
Sassy made me feel smarter, gave me sexy pictures of River Phoenix and helped me see that my funky style wasn’t awful, it was just before its time. Unlike Teen Vogue or Seventeen, Sassy never made me feel bad and never seemed to pander to girls as merely extensions of boys (ie. arm candy). Sassy was created by strong women who wanted to help make strong girls. It was one of the reasons I became a journalist. Jane Pratt was its editor.
When Sassy folded, I cried. I still have old issues in my magazine rack. I’ve moved them cross-country twice and up and down the state. Someday, I’ll pass them to my daughter.
I followed Jane to Jane, which I didn’t love as much as Sassy. It felt less, well, meaningful than its predecessor. I never became a regular subscriber, though I did pick it up once in a while. When that folded, there we were. My love-affair with Pratt was over.
I thought xoJane might rekindle the flame. My hopes were high when I read this on the xoJane site: “xoJane.com is where women go when they are being selfish, and where their selfishness is applauded.”
A website where I didn’t have to be a mom or wife or a worker bee! A site where we would talk frankly about where we are in our lives, whether that’s 20s, 30s or 40s. The equivalent of the girly friendships in SATC in a webzine. And by Jane!!
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With the exception of Emily McCombs’ thoughtful piece on how her rapist friended her on Facebook, the stories seemed to be the opposite of what I loved about Sassy. I could feel my heart break the more I read.
Oh, Jane. Why! Why is xoJane more about men than women and less about bringing women up than putting people down? How is it that women being selfish is translated into articles about tattoos making guys think a writer is easy and sugar detoxing?
And why do I have the suspicion that at the moment, the best heir to Sassy is actually O magazine, with its emphasis on living your best life, no matter who or how you are?
I’ll give xoJane a month or two. Maybe it’s just starting pains. Maybe it’ll get better. But Jane Pratt, you’re breaking my heart.
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