Like many girls in the 1970s and 80s, I was an avid reader of Jackie magazine. My book was placed on my doormat every Tuesday at tea time and I devoured it cover to cover.
Jackie was released 60 years ago. There has never been anything like it before. Aimed at teenage girls (and pre-teens like me, who started reading at age 11), magazines were filled with advice about fashion, makeup, health, pop gossip, and boys. . Jackie remains in the hearts of those who grew up with her and to celebrate her 60th anniversary, a special 'Book Magazine' has been produced, packed with nostalgic archival material.
There were no TikTok gurus, YouTubers, or influencers back then, so it was Jackie who guided us through the minefield of adolescence. As well as features such as the 'don'ts' of kissing, applying the right shade of blue eyeliner and jazzing up your blouse with affordable accessories, there was also the trusty Kathy and Claire Issues page. .
From about the age of seven, all I wanted to be was a teenager, and Jackie was my ticket into that fascinating world. I loved the photo story where a girl rocking a perm and pixie boots gets caught up in a love triangle with a group of young people waltzing in stonewashed denim. And I loved the pop star profiles, drawer posters, quizzes, and life advice.
Jackie was launched in 1964 as an exciting new magazine for “positive teens,” and by the 1970s it was the best-selling magazine for teens. For 10 years, it had 1 million readers every week. Cathy and Claire's column received a bagful of mail each day.
A few years ago, I interviewed Nina Miskow. She became editor of Jackie at the age of just 21 and presided over the magazine's offices in Dundee. She said Jackie's appeal is that it “gives ordinary girls a connection to the glamorous world of adults and speaks to them in a way that no other can.”
The goal, she said, was to provide a sense of community and help young women navigate the challenges of adolescence. And instilled a sense of feminism, along with makeup tips and dating dilemmas in photo stories.
“With Jackie, we tried to let readers know that the world exists,” Nina said. “My mother was a science teacher, and I grew up with a sense of independence and ambition, which I really felt every girl needed.”
Eventually, sales dwindled and the final version of Jackie rolled off the presses in 1993. There is no place for that in the digital world, says Nina. “Jackie is just the magazine, and it's what I've been waiting for all week. I came up with the idea for the three-part pin-up, and I spent three weeks trying to get everyone together, Donny Osmond, David Cassidy, whoever. It’s for that reason.”
In a world where everything is instant, on-demand, it's hard to imagine today's teenage girls waiting three weeks to get a poster of their chosen pop song.
Magazines like Jackie and the magazines I read like Blue Jeans and Just Seventeen belong to a lost era, and the only cell phones teenagers have access to are on a small table in the hall. I needed to record Top 40 on Sunday to stream music, just on my phone. night.
But Jackie had a lasting impact on me. This made me love magazines, and when I was younger I read big magazines like Cosmopolitan, Elle, and Marie Claire, and it inspired me to become a journalist. Thank you Jackie. You gave us girl power before it was a thing.
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