Part I: Sarah Ditum on the 2000s: "Relentlessly anti-sisterhood"

02/20/24 • 76 min

In part one of a two-part interview, I speak with Sarah Ditum about her new book, TOXIC. It’s a scathing reexamination of the lives of nine female celebrities: Britney Spears, Paris Hilton, Lindsay Lohan, Aaliyah, Janet Jackson, Amy Winehouse, Kim Kardashian, Chyna, and Jennifer Aniston. Each experienced some form of global fame, as well as the consequences that come with too much attention. In TOXIC, Sarah writes, "...tearing these women to pieces was both a social activity and a form of divination. In the entrails of their reputations, we hunted for clues about what a woman ought to be..." We talk: teen magazines, blogs, promise rings, sex tapes, and Britney Spears' "cult of virginity", celebrity memoirs, Justin Timberlake's homemade shotgun, why Taylor Swift reminds me of Avril Lavigne, and what Donald Trump owes to WWE. Part II: https://soundcloud.com/teenpeoplepod/sarah-ditum-toxic-teen-people Notes: Find me online at www.annasoper.ca and on Twitter and Instagram at TeenPeoplePod. Find Sarah online on Twitter and Instagram at sarahditum. ................ Buy Sarah's book! Here's how: UK: https://www.littlebrown.co.uk/titles/sarah-ditum/toxic/9780349727134/ North America: https://www.abramsbooks.com/product/toxic_9781419763113/ ................ Author photo: Paul Clarke ................ Additional thanks: Stephanie Palumbo at Canadian Manda Group, Toronto ................ Sounds and music: The Sound of dial-up Internet by wtermini on Pixabay Drop It by Coma-Media on Pixabay Fighter [No Vocals] - punk rock by 22941069 on Pixabay ................ Teen People is recorded in Kingston/Katarokwi, the traditional territory of the Anishinaabe, Haudenosaunee and the Huron-Wendat.

Previous Episode

"I'm writing the book I needed": storytelling with poet-historian Resi Ibañez

Resi Ibañez is a poet, public historian, and community organizer in Lowell, Massachusetts. We connected on Instagram, when they sent me a DM asking if I could track down a TEEN PEOPLE article they remembered reading in the mid-2000s. With a few keywords and a rough idea of the timing, I searched a periodicals database I use to find guests for this podcast. I found three possible articles for Resi, and it turns out that one of these three is probably the article they remembered reading as a teenager! The article is an "it-happened-to-me" kind of story; a staple of the teen magazine genre. It featured a teenager who had come out to her friends and family. For a few reasons (which we explore in this interview), the article resonated with Resi. Resi is now working on a book-length project about LGBTQ icons of their young adult years. We spoke about this project and how the TEEN PEOPLE article influenced them, and also about their mother's powerful legacy. Podcast notes: Find me online at www.annasoper.ca and on Twitter and Instagram at TeenPeoplePod. ................ Sounds and music: The Sound of dial-up Internet by wtermini on Pixabay Spirit Blossom by RomanBelov on Pixabay ................ Teen People is recorded in Kingston/Katarokwi, the traditional territory of the Anishinaabe, Haudenosaunee and the Huron-Wendat.

Next Episode

Part II: Sarah Ditum on Britney, Paris, Amy, Aaliyah, Jen, Lindsay, and Chyna

In part two of a two-part interview, I speak with Sarah Ditum about her new book, TOXIC. It’s a scathing reexamination of the lives of nine female celebrities: Britney Spears, Paris Hilton, Lindsay Lohan, Aaliyah, Janet Jackson, Amy Winehouse, Kim Kardashian, Chyna, and Jennifer Aniston. Each experienced some form of global fame, as well as the consequences that come with too much attention. In this episode, Sarah and I leaf through my collection of TEEN PEOPLE magazines! You'll hear her hot takes on how TEEN PEOPLE covered Britney Spears, Paris Hilton, Aaliyah, Jennifer Aniston, and Lindsay Lohan. Plus: Sarah's thoughts on a topic she's been thinking about (and writing about) for some time. Part I: https://soundcloud.com/teenpeoplepod/sarah-ditum-toxic Notes: Find me online at www.annasoper.ca and on Twitter and Instagram at TeenPeoplePod. Find Sarah online on Twitter and Instagram at sarahditum. ................ Buy Sarah's book! Here's how: UK: www.littlebrown.co.uk/titles/sarah-d...9780349727134/ North America: www.abramsbooks.com/product/toxic_9781419763113/ ................ Author photo: Paul Clarke ................ Additional thanks: Stephanie Palumbo at Canadian Manda Group, Toronto ................ Music: Drop It by Coma-Media on Pixabay Fighter [No Vocals] - punk rock by 22941069 on Pixabay ................ Teen People is recorded in Kingston/Katarokwi, the traditional territory of the Anishinaabe, Haudenosaunee and the Huron-Wendat.