Koa Beck
Contributor at Freelance
Author of WHITE FEMINISM @AtriaBooks. @TheHuntington Fellow. @ShorensteinCtr Fellow. Former EIC @Jezebel. @voguemagazine @marieclaire alum.
Articles
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1 month ago |
koabeck.substack.com | Koa Beck
“She said she wanna be a dentist really badlyShe's in school payingFor tuition, doing porn in the ValleyAt least you working”- “Novacane," Frank Ocean (2011)The gender stereotype that the Valley Girl was “slutty” first developed in response to growing sex work in the San Fernando Valley in the 1970s and 1980s. What was primarily concerning to Valley residents was not only that sex work was occurring in their white, middle-class suburb, but that valley girls and women were performing it.
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1 month ago |
koabeck.substack.com | Koa Beck
My house lies on Mulholland and as I press the gate opener, I look out over the Valley and watch the beginning of another day, my fifth day back, and then I pull into the circular driveway and park my car next to my mother’s, which is parked next to a Ferrari that I don’t recognize. -Bret Easton Ellis, Less Than Zero (1985)While the Valley Girl of the 1980s was busy shopping in the suburbs, something more nefarious was happening in the background.
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1 month ago |
koabeck.substack.com | Koa Beck
“Like, oh my god!(Valley girl)Like, totally!(Valley girl)Encino is, like, so bitchin'(Valley girl)There's, like, the Galleria(Valley girl)And, likeAll these, like, really great shoe stores”—“Valley Girl,” Frank Zappa featuring Moon Unit Zappa, 1982It was the popular culture of the 1980s that first told the world who the Valley Girl was.
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1 month ago |
koabeck.substack.com | Koa Beck
Dear Readers, I’m so happy to find you. If you’re here, you are most likely familiar with my nonfiction book, White Feminism: From the Suffragettes to Influencers and Who They Leave Behind, praised by Barbara Smith, Gloria Steinem, Patrisse Khan-Cullors, and Rebecca Traister. I’ve written about, reported on, and analyzed gender for most of my career and have held senior editorial positions at national women’s publications.
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Jan 3, 2024 |
gemmahartley.substack.com | Gemma Hartley |Chelsea Conaboy |Koa Beck |Angela Garbes
Resolutions have always been a bit of a “thing” for me. Most every year I make lists and habit trackers and swear that I will figure out how to consistently get up at 5:00am and meditate and love it, goddamnit. It has not been a total wash every year, but the whole pass/fail energy of it has never done me any favors.
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In this week’s Valley Girl, I wrote about the 90s porn peak in the San Fernando Valley and my junior high dress code—because they go so well together. https://t.co/8yyZzmKC19 https://t.co/L7CpYirscC
New Valley Girl🌴📰 This week, I wrote about how sex work in the San Fernando Valley in the 1970s and 1980s generated the misogynistic stereotype that Valley Girls are “sluts.” https://t.co/W4fYKWT3Lm https://t.co/WoA6SN3F97
In this week’s Valley Girl, I wrote about the origins of the San Fernando Valley’s “seedy” reputation and the very specific loneliness that can come with living in LA, as explored in novels/films Play It As It Lays & Less Than Zero 📚 https://t.co/kN7RC0K2q0 https://t.co/W9zpahIH8l