My friend Marisa (and her friend Kara Jesella) just wrote a book called, “How Sassy Changed my Life: A Love Letter to the Greatest Teen Magazine of All Time”, about the teen magazine Sassy, that was a feminist-minded magazine for girls from the 1990’s.
(Although I wasn’t really cogent when Sassy was around, it’s always been my secret dream career to start a feminist-minded magazine for ‘tween and teen girls, which I plan on attempting when I graduate from college in what seems like a bazillion years)
Anyway, Atoosa Rubenstein, the former editor of Seventeen, came to Marisa’s book party, and spoke about Alpha Kitties. (Sorry the video on the site is a little long, and Atoosa isn’t towards the end).
Being an alpha kitty is an interesting concept, about blending being powerful and being fun-loving, bubbly, and pretty at the same. It’s true: you don’t need to be somber and super-serious to have influence… but is there a line? Sometimes I do wonder, when I go into job interviews with my unnaturally light blonde hair, unnaturally tan skin, and outfit that almost always either has pink or Tiffany jewelry in it, do I really look professional? And not to mention, I smile a lot, I laugh a lot, and I say “like” a lot (which seems to be the cornerstone of being an Alpha Kitty)… which I really doubt makes me look professional.
I definitely think you can be powerful and be nice (which perhaps is what Atoosa means by being an alpha kitty)… but how much do you think we need to keep our femininity in check when we want to come off as serious?
5 responses so far ↓
1 Jamia // May 10, 2007 at 3:58 pm
My dad always says this to me when I stand up next to a wall of adversity…
“You can’t cover the sun baby”
It is so true. Yes, there are people who judge me because I have dreadlocks and don’t conform to mainstream beauty standards, wear lots of makeup, and dress in my quirky boho way. Still, my smarts, my confidence, and my faith will guide me and help me get where I need to go. This is the same for you. You can’t cover the sun. No matter what even if a cloud or a storm gets in its way, it eventually shines through.
xo
2 Madeleine // Sep 6, 2007 at 11:07 pm
I am, absolutely, an Alpha Kitty. People who will dismiss me as vacuous or ineffectual based on my appearance (I am young, blonde, petite and smiley) are not worth MY time. It is utterly ridiculous to make assumptions about a person’s mental capacity based on such a transient thing as appearance. “I’m sorry sir, shall we reattempt this conversation when I am suitably wizened, at which point, perhaps, you will be able to listen to me?”.
These rude people are threatened by we who dare to mix intellect with (gasp!) aesthetic refinement. Perhaps we remind them too strongly of the pretty girl in highschool who was too good for them. Is this how they exact they’re petty revenge? it’s pathetic, but don’t worry, I can be nice about it. I pinky promise.
3 sarah // Feb 27, 2008 at 3:54 pm
what is this?
4 sarah // Feb 27, 2008 at 3:54 pm
Alpha Kitty? What?
5 sarah // Feb 27, 2008 at 3:55 pm
some 1 tell me
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