Memoirs of an Ex-Prom Queen, a novel by feminist writer Alix Kates Shulman, was first published in 1972.
From Prom Queen to Wife
“Looking good made everything easier,” says Sasha, the protagonist, in the first chapter of Memoirs of an Ex-Prom Queen. Sasha is an intelligent girl who wants more from life than being pigeonholed as pretty. But Sasha also looks into a mirror and feels “married and old” at age 24.
The novel explores Sasha’s intellectual and sexual awakening. It examines the pressure to look good and leads the reader to question why a girl must choose between being pretty and being smart. It examines the compromises women make, asking why a woman is the second most important partner in a marriage. “Why was everything nice he did for me a bribe or a favor, while my kindnesses to him were my duty?” Sasha asks about her husband.
Women's Liberation Through Fiction
Like many 1970s feminist novels, Memoirs of an Ex-Prom Queen examines the coming-of-age of a middle-class female in the United States. The Women’s Liberation Movement had launched the debate about “a woman’s place” by the time it was published. Although it has been called the first important feminist novel, Memoirs of an Ex Prom Queen was also part of a wave of books by women that explored issues bubbling to the surface of the public consciousness.
Stark Examination of Women’s Issues
Memoirs of an Ex-Prom Queen contends with Sasha’s discovery of her sexuality, as well as abortion, date rape, sexual harassment, controlling husbands, and family members who are embarrassed by actions such as a woman getting a divorce.
Lingering Questions
Is Sasha sexually promiscuous, or do men and male-dominated society take advantage of her? Does she give up something when she becomes a mother who loves her children? Has she been asked to, or forced to? Which of her traps are of her own making? Which of a girls' dreams die after the day she becomes a prom queen?
While Sasha’s issues may seem old-fashioned to some 21st-century readers, the question of whether a girl is judged on more than her looks remains strikingly relevant. Memoirs of an Ex-Prom Queen sold more than a million copies and was republished in a 25th anniversary edition in 1997.