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The author of this month’s cover story, Sarah Hepola, describes her mother, a therapist in Dallas, as “earthy”—someone who favors plain clothing and clogs, and seldom wears makeup. Sarah, on the other hand, took to flashy outfits as a young girl, especially a shiny blue leotard. Sarah also idolized the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders, who in the late seventies were beginning to appear on posters around the city. Her mom nicknamed her Sparkle Plenty, after the glamorous young girl in the old Dick Tracy comic strip. “Mom tried to raise gender-neutral children,” Sarah says, “but she got two gender clichés”—including a son who served as an officer on a nuclear submarine and today ranks as a captain in the Navy Reserve. As a teenager, Sarah shifted into…

The post From the Editor: “Sparkle Plenty,” Chronicler of the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders appeared first on Texas Monthly.

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