Our host Vick Hope is joined by magazine editor – most recently Editor-in-Chief of Glamour UK – Deborah Joseph on this episode of Bookshelfie to discuss feminism through the lens of magazines, the importance of representation and the need for perfectly imperfect women.
Deborah is an award-winning editor and journalist. Over the past seven years, she has directed Glamour’s transition from a print to a digital-first, beauty-first brand. Listen to the full episode here, and read on to see Deborah’s top five most influential books written by women.
Sweet Valley High by Francine Pascal
“I went, aged 11, on my own to LA and I had an older cousin who was called Bobby and her bookshelf had, I think it must have been – I don’t know – 15 or 20 Sweet Valley High books on it, and I sat there and read every single one of them. I don’t think I spoke to anybody for six weeks. I read them all, and for me, they captured my imagination […] I just wanted to be these girls and have the life that they lived in – the handsome boys and hanging out on the beach. I loved it. But since then, I realised that it really set a beauty standard for me – these blonde, blue-eyed beautiful girls. I’m from Iranian heritage, and I had very curly brown hair and light brown skin – definitely didn’t look anything like that. But for me, that’s what beauty meant – being blonde and blue- eyed – and it took me a long time to remove that vision of beauty from my mind and I realised that actually being brown, being dark haired, having curly hair, not being tall and thin, is equally as beautiful.”
“I read it as part of the GCSE English Literature. I never concentrated at school, and my English teacher really believed in me, and I remember being good at this. I remember being Jane Eyre, and it made sense to me, and I lapped up every single word of analysis when it came to this book.”
“So relatable, so funny, so cheeky. I remember sitting on the tube one day and seeing two other women opposite me also reading it at the same time as me! It’s interesting reflecting on the book – the fact that she was constantly talking about her weight. I’m not sure that this book would be written today, but at the time, women’s bodies were open to scrutiny in the press. The book is a reflection of the time and the context, and I think it’s important for us to look at it through those lenses as well sometimes. But first and foremost – for me – it was really funny, and just seeing a character that was so imperfect and so happy to say she wasn’t perfect – I think we still need that now. We need these perfectly imperfect women in our books and in our magazines and everywhere.”
“I read it and then instantly bought it for about six friends who I felt needed a bit of reassurance in their life. I could cry even talking about this book. I’ve nearly been married 20 years, and it made me think, you know, you’re just going along with your everyday life – you’ve got your family, you’ve got your job, and then suddenly something out of the blue comes and ruins everything overnight.”
“You know that feeling when you find a gem? – ‘I need this right now!’ I just couldn’t put it down. I didn’t speak to anybody for two days. It’s about gaming – I am not a gamer, I hate the fact that my son is a gamer – but it is just so brilliantly written […] More than anything, It made me fall in love with gaming.”
