Marcelle Karp, a.k.a. Betty Boob, (born 1964),
(Dec 22, 2005) New York Times article mentioning her age and marriage is an American
feminist
Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideology, ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social gender equality, equality of the sexes. Feminism holds the position that modern soci ...
writer, editor, and television director and producer.
Career
In 1993, Karp and
Debbie Stoller produced the first issue of ''
Bust'', ''"The Magazine for Women With Something to Get Off Their Chests"'', since seen as one of the flagship publications of
third-wave feminism
Third-wave feminism is a feminist movement that began in the early 1990s, prominent in the decades prior to the fourth-wave feminism, fourth wave. Grounded in the civil-rights advances of the second-wave feminism, second wave, Generation X, Gen X ...
, for mixing feminism with sexuality. ''Betty Boob'' was the name that Karp used in writing for the magazine (Stoller used ''Celina Hex''). The two women met while working for
Nickelodeon
Nickelodeon (nicknamed Nick) is an American pay television channel and the flagship property of the Nickelodeon Group, a sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on April 1, 1979, as the first ca ...
in
New York City
New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
. They built a grassroots following, eventually distributing 100,000 copies of each issue. Her 1999 book with Stoller, "The Bust Guide to the New Girl Order", , is a collection of articles from that magazine. She was forced out of ''Bust'' in 2001.
After she left Bust, Karp began a career in broadcast as a creative director, working for
BET
Black Entertainment Television (BET) is an American basic cable channel targeting Black American audiences. It is the flagship channel of the BET Media Group, a subsidiary of Paramount Global's CBS Entertainment Group. Originally launched ...
, fuse, MSG,
Lifetime, and
VH1
VH1 (originally an initialism for Video Hits One) is an American basic cable television network that launched on January 1, 1985, and is currently owned by the MTV Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Global's networks division based in New Y ...
. She continued to write for publications including Sesame Street Workshop,
Publishers Weekly
''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of ...
and Covey Club. In 2012, she produced the live stand-up show Hello Giggles Presents at the
Upright Citizen's Brigade
The Upright Citizens Brigade (UCB) is an improvisational comedy, improvisational and sketch comedy group that emerged from Chicago, Illinois, Chicago's ImprovOlympic in 1990. The original incarnation of the group consisted of Amy Poehler, Matt ...
Theatre, hosted by her daughter, Ruby Karp. It eventually became We Hope You Have Fun. Karp remains active as an activist, and spoke at
Riot Fest
Riot Fest is an annual three-day punk rock music festival held at Douglass Park in Chicago, Illinois. It is known for booking reunions, guest performances, and full album performances. Riot Fest is one of the largest independently-owned music fe ...
in 2014. Her debut YA novel, ''Getting Over Max Cooper'', was released in April 2022.
Personal life
Marcelle Karp is the mother of writer
Ruby Karp.
She married in 2000, shortly after her daughter's birth, then divorced in 2002.
References
External links
Getting it Off Her Chest - Womanrock.come-interview with Karp about "The Bust Guide to the New Girl Order"
{{DEFAULTSORT:Karp, Marcelle
1964 births
Living people
American feminist writers
American women writers
American magazine founders
21st-century American women