Alix Kates Shulman's Memoirs of an Ex-Prom
Queen created a profound impact on the cultural landscape when it was published in 1972. A sardonic portrayal of
one white, middle-class, Midwestern girl's coming-of-age, the novel takes a wry and prescient look at a range of
experiences treated at the time as taboo but which were ultimately accepted as matters of major political significance:
sexual harassment, job discrimination, the sexual double standard, rape, abortion restrictions, the double binds
of marriage and motherhood, and the frantic quest for beauty. The book went on to sell more than a million copies
and is regarded today as a classic, one of the first and best pieces of fiction born of the women's liberation
movement. With many of its concerns still with us today, this witty and devastating novel continues to resonate
with readers, and Sasha Davis has proved herself a prom queen for the ages."Memoirs of an Ex-Prom Queen is a vivid reminder of just how much--and sometimes, how little--has changed for women in the last 35 years. Typing prowess and wedding-night virginity may no longer be expected, but Shulman's tale of Sasha Davis's struggle to find herself amid conflicting cultural messages about beauty, brains, and sex will be resonant for many more years to come." -Andi Zeisler, editorial/creative director of Bitch magazine
"Extremely relevant--I loved it! Growing up female in America forces many to become obsessed with how they look and how others see them, yet these cultural pressures and their effect on young woman are too rarely taken seriously and it was valuable and comforting to read a book that recognizes this and puts it in perspective. I only wish I'd found Alix Shulman's classic earlier." -Sophie Pollitt-Cohen, co-author of The Notebook Girls
"An extraordinary novel . . . Sad and witty, expertly conceived and executed . . . Important." -Peter Prescott, Newsweek
"This story, told with astringent wit, explores every facet and cliché of what it means to grow up female and beautiful." -San Francisco Chronicle
"A vicious little gem of a novel." -Cosmopolitan
Alix Kates Shulman is the author of three other novels, including A Good Enough Daughter (1999) and the award-winning memoir Drinking the Rain (1996) , two books on the anarchist Emma Goldman, and three children's books. She divides her time between New York City and Maine.
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