Marie Claire, May 1998

Mag Hags

Gather round, high-flying spinsters! The Good Friday Agreement has been signed, the US president is definitely *not* having sexual relations with that woman, and we are hitting New Labour's economic zenith : it’s 1998 and the Mag Hags are reading Marie Claire.

Franki is in the driving seat as the Mag Hags dive into plastic surgery tourism and ponder why Woman Of The Moment Gwyneth Paltrow is on the cover and yet mysteriously absent from the rest of the magazine. Elsewhere, Lucy gatekeeps singledom and there’s an exploration of the ultimate late 90s conundrum: how come you can be smashing the glass ceiling and *still* not hold on to a boyfriend?

Plus: a first-person account of being raised by lesbian mothers calls for an expert’s view, so Franki catches up with women’s mag editor and author of The Queer Parent, Lotte Jeffs. See more of Lotte's work at: https://lottejeffs.com/

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READ: Alison Yarrow, 90s Bitch: 90s Bitch: Media, Culture, and the Failed Promise of Gender Equality

READ: Lotte Jeffs & Stu Oakley, The Queer Parent

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CHAPTERS

01:49 – Introduction to Marie Claire – May 1998

08:50 – “Poor little rich girls. They're wealthy, successful, and attractive. So why does a relationship elude them?”: Is it toxic masculinity or their intimidatingly high standards preventing these five loaded women from finding love?

22:02 – *An ad break from 1998*

24:30 – “I was brought up by lesbian mothers”: One woman’s heart-warming account of growing up with her mum and mum’s girlfriend while Section 28 continued to drag on.

29:23 – Franki chats to magazine editor and author Lotte Jeffs

41:05 – Fashion and beauty tips from 1998

45:03 – “Scars and bars”: Dispatches from Wrocław and the British travelling there for plastic-surgery package deals

56:52 – What's hot and what's not in 1998

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Mag Hags is written and hosted by Lucy Douglas and Franki Cookney.

Editing and audio production by Franki Cookney.

Our theme music is Look Where That Got You, Mattie Maguire. Additional music: Leotard Haul, Dez Moran. Both courtesy of www.epidemicsound.com.

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