Nineteen 90s Technologies and Businesses Mentioned in Sexual Awakening

Difficult as it is to believe for those of us who, like Cassandra, the main character in The Rock Star’s Wife series, were teens in the 1990s, the decade is more than 23 years ago.  Times have changed and technology along with it.  What was commonplace then seems outdated or quaint now.  Here are nineteen 90s technologies and businesses mentioned in Sexual Awakening.  How many do you remember?

Walkman

Walkman MiniDisc (MD) players debuted in 1992. Pictured: Sony MD Walkman RZ-55. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license.

Without looking at title or cover, I take the book from her and shove it into my Music is Life tote bag next to my Walkman and my copy of Toad the Wet Sprocket’s fear. – From Chapter 1

Walkman was a brand of Sony portable audio players.  Like Kleenex and Q-Tip, Walkman also became a generic term for all portable players.  The device ran on batteries and was used with headphones.  In the 1990s, there were tape player and CD versions.

The Walkman brand still exists.  Today, players are digital.

Boom box

I go upstairs to tell Nessa she has a call and discover she’s listening to Sarah McLachlan on my CD boom box.  Mine!  The most expensive thing I own. – From Chapter 2

The Walkman replaced the boom box in popularity.  The portable music players featured a handle and speakers with a heavy bass sound.  They surged in popularity in the 1980s.  In the 1990s, there were radio, tape and CD versions, and they were powered by battery or power cord.

Although the market is only a fraction of what it was in the mid-1990s, boom boxes still exists, playing CDs or MP3s.

Corded Phones and Phone Extensions

Wall phone inside of an apartment. Donald Trung Quoc Don (Chữ Hán: 徵國單) – Wikimedia Commons

Our yellow phone hangs on the kitchen wall near the doorway to the dining room and is maybe two steps from the kitchen table.  It’s rotary dial and was probably brand new around the same time as our avocado fridge and stove were in style. – From Chapter 2

That way if it’s some crazed person, they won’t know anyone is home, and I can call the cops from the extension in my parents’ room. – From Chapter 16

In the 1990s, only the rich had car phones or cell phones.  Everyone else had a reliable landline.  Some households had two telephone numbers – one line for the parents and one for the family’s teenage children – but most families shared the same number and phone.  This often caused a lack of privacy and also potential embarrassment when calling for someone because you had to ask for the person you were calling and introduce yourself to whoever answered.

Although push button phones had been around for nearly 30 years by the 1990s, rotary phones were still common.  My paternal grandparents had one in their kitchen.  It sat on a desk.  My maternal grandparents had a corded phone attached to the wall (in the dining room), but it was push button.

Cordless phones debuted in the 1990s.  Cassandra doesn’t go into detail about her parents’ extension.  It could have been a corded or a cordless phone.  Either way, pick up the extension and you could overhear a conversation occurring on the telephone.

TV Guide

A listings log from the January 25-31, 1997 issue of TV Guide, Toledo-Lima edition. TV Guide/News America Corporation. Photo created to illustrate the publication format of TV Guide’s listings section.

I haven’t been able to find much on besides Jay Leno and infomercials, and I’m tempted to tug on the TV Guide but I don’t dare because Mom fell asleep on top of it and if I wake her up, she’ll be cranky.  – From Chapter 2

In the days before digital cable, streaming and on-screen channel guides, people decided what to watch based on the listings in TV Guide.  Different versions were printed in different television markets to reflect local stations.  In addition to the daily program, the magazine also featured a list of movies and cable features.  At the beginning of each issue were articles focused on various programs and actors.  The Fall Preview edition each year tended to be thicker than the other editions and previewed new programs that were debuting for the fall seasons on ABC, CBS, NBC and FOX.

VCR

I glance at the clock on the VCR. – From Chapter 6

VCR, videocassette recorder, was a device that allowed people to record television programing with a removable, magnetic tape videocassette.  The tapes could be used for recording multiple times until the tab on the bottom front corner was removed.  If a tape was used multiple times, sometimes brief portions of previously recorded program could be seen.  Tapes used too many times could snap or tangle when rewound.

In addition to taping, VCRs could be used to view movies that were purchased or rented.

Crystal Pepsi

Photo of a 20 oz. bottle of Crystal Pepsi from America, with a blue sky background. Smuckola, photographer. Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license.

I thought Mom bought some Crystal Pepsi, but I’m bent over in front of the refrigerator looking and I can’t find it. – From Chapter 8

PepsiCo. launched Crystal Pepsi in 1992.  The product had the same taste as the regular version but without the food coloring.  It was a huge flop with the final batches delivered to retailers in 1994.

“Despite Crystal Pepsi’s short shelf-life, the ’90s soda has maintained a loyal following,” CNN Business says. “Fans campaigned for years to get Pepsi to bring it back.”

A limited edition of the beverage was brought back in 2016, and in 2022 PepsiCo. hosted a contest on Twitter called #ShowUsYour90s.  To enter, people had to submit photos of themselves in the ’90s.  Three hundred people will receive six 20-ounce bottles of Crystal Pepsi.

Cars 

1986 Chevrolet Celebrity sedan with the 2.5FI four-cylinder engine. Photographer: Mr.choppers. L icensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.

Mrs. Mueller locks her rusting yellow 1974 Volkswagen Dasher and heads toward the backdoor. – From Chapter 1

Jenny’s mom is driving us because she has a minivan.  You’d think she was a suburban mom or something. – From Chapter 8

Why did we take Dad’s tiny Ford Escort instead of Mom’s Chevy Celebrity station wagon? – From Chapter 9

When we reach Jen’s car, she hands me her keys.    “She’s from the 80s, so no airbags or anything.  Don’t fucking kill us.”  – From Chapter 30

Various vehicles are mentioned in Sexual Awakening, although not all by make and model.  Of those that are, none are still in production.

The Volkswagen Dasher, known as the Volkswagen Passat outside North America, launched in 1974 and ceased production in 1981.  It was available as a station wagon or a hatchback.

The Ford Escort launched in 1981.  It was a compact car that came in both coupe and sedan versions.

The Chevy Celebrity was produced between 1981 and 1990.  It was available as a coupe, sedan or station wagon.

Vans and minivans increased in popularity in the 1990s, replacing the station wagon as a family vehicle.  Young women were warned not to park next to vans out of fear they would be kidnapped by an assailant lurking in the vehicle with a sliding door.

Airbags became standard equipment in 1998, after Cassandra and her friends graduated from high school.

Tape Deck

A RadioShack brand cassette recorder with built-in microphone. Public domain.

The family’s tape player ate one too many of my cassettes. – From Chapter 3

Tape decks recorded on or played a magnetic tape.  The technology had a tendency to “eat” cassettes, that is tangle or break the tape within the cassette so it could no longer be played.  Cassettes and mixed tapes (songs recorded off the radio to make a compilation album) are generally associated with the 1980s, but cassettes still could be found in record stores in the 1990s.  During the 1990s, they began to be replaced by CDs which are indestructible compared to tapes and featured better sound quality and the ability to easily jump to or replay tracks.

Tape decks were available for home use or as standard equipment in vehicles.  My first car had a tape deck.

Walden’s

Waldenbooks at Ogilvie Transportation Center – Store Closing 2011. Photographer: David Wilson. Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.

Where does your foster mom find them?  I haven’t found any at Walden’s, and I look every time I go in there. – From Chapter 12

Waldenbooks, known colloquially as Walden’s, was a bookstore chain with stores operating in malls.  It went out of business in 2011, although by then many locations had been rebranded Borders Express.  Borders Group, the parent company of Waldenbooks and Borders bookstores, filed for bankruptcy in 2011 and closed all its stores.

Answering Machine

Panasonic answering machine with two tapes. Photographer: Norbert Schnitzler. Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.

I open my English notebook to a blank page, and Todd jots down his phone number along with private line and answering machine.  – From Chapter 12

Before mobile phones and voicemail, landline telephones could be hooked up to an answering machine.  Messages were recorded on a tape.  Starting in the 1990s, answering machines were increasingly digital.

The user recorded an outgoing message and set a predetermined number of rings.  If the phone rang until the predetermined number and no one answered, the prerecorded message answered and prompted the caller to leave a message after the beep.

Camelot

Inside a record store. Photographer: Ross Dunn. Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.

Before retreating to his car in the mall parking lot, we had dinner at the food court, bought CDs at Camelot, and browsed the clearance section of Ward’s junior department. – From Chapter 14

Camelot Music was a mall-based music store.  It was based mostly in the Midwest and the Southeast.  The first store was in my hometown and opened in 1965.  Its headquarters was in another city in the county.

In 1998, after a buyout, Camelot stores were rebranded FYE (For Your Entertainment).  Although FYE is still in operation, most former Camelot locations closed around the turn of the century.

Ward’s

Logo of Montgomery Ward, then renamed to “Wards”, used from 1997 to 2001

Before retreating to his car in the mall parking lot, we had dinner at the food court, bought CDs at Camelot, and browsed the clearance section of Ward’s junior department. – From Chapter 14

Montgomery Ward was a Chicago-based department store that operated from 1872 to 2001.  Often referred to simply as Ward’s, the store was found in malls.  Failing to compete against other retailers, the company filed for bankruptcy in 1997 and rebranded as Wards.  The company closed all its stores in 2001.

Blockbuster

Blockbuster Video, Addison Illinois, April 2009. Photographers: Joe and Jeanette Archie. Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.

She works evenings at Blockbuster, so I knew she’d be available. – From Chapter 17

Blockbuster Video was a retailer renting movies and video games.  The store was commonplace in the 1990s, renting both VHS and DVD movies.  At its peak, the company had thousands of locations worldwide.

Technology was the company’s demise.  Things like video on demand, Netflix’s mail-order service, and Redbox eroded Blockbuster’s business.  Today only one store remains.

Glamour Shots

Copyright Release Glamour Shots of Billy Davis. Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license.

Tiffany dreams of opening a photo studio and charging people $100 to take glamour shots, but not Glamour Shots. – From Chapter 22

Glamour Shots was a mall and strip-mall-based photo studio that specialized in over-the-top hair and makeup and glitzy costumes.

“Glamour Shots was once the coolest store in every mall,” the New York Times says. “Boomer mothers and Gen-X teens and 20-somethings paid $29.95 for makeovers and photography sessions defined by big hair, white satin gloves, heavy eye shadow and contemplative poses, in an era when pictures were taken for special occasions and not just to commemorate every brunch.”

In 1996, Glamour Shots had $100 million in sales, but changing tastes and attitudes as well as digital photography were the chain’s undoing.  Today, less than five locations remain.

Computers

Maury Hall computer lab. 2002. Photographer: Ben Schumin. Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.

He’s doing something on the computer when I walk in unannounced and take a seat in Papou’s chair. – From Chapter 24

Computers in the 1990s featured large monitors with small screens and not much power when compared to modern versions.  Cassandra was 16 when Windows 95 debuted.  Before that, it took multiple screens to log into a computer.

I remember having DOS-based computers in my high school computer lab.  They sat alongside typewriters.  That was high tech compared to my K-8 school.  Computers there required two floppy disks (not the hardback kind either, they were floppy) to log in.  Monitor screens were tan with green type.  The printers printed on giant perforated sheets of green and white stripped paper.  As for the internet?  Never heard of it until I went to college, and it was dial-up.

Cameras

EarthLink digital camera. 1996. Shardayyy Photography. Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.

As a congratulations gift, Tiffany’s parents bought her a digital camera.  It’s a Fuji and probably cost $1,000, maybe more. – From Chapter 30

She shrugs and shifts Noah from one hip to the other.  “I guess.  Be careful with it, though.  I don’t have any extra rolls of film with me.”  – From Chapter 32

The 1990s were the transition period between film and digital cameras.  Film cameras came in two varieties:  one-time use or a version where you inserted rolls of film.

Businesses that did nothing but develop film were common in the 1990s.  Drug stores also developed film.  It took days to get back developed prints, although one-hour printing became the norm by decade’s end.

The first commercial digital cameras debuted in the 1990s, but they were cost prohibitive for many.

Pagers

Motorola LX2 plus pager. Photographer: Thiemo Schuff. Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.

Jen’s pager goes off, scaring the shit out of us. – From Chapter 30

In the 1990s, before cell phones were common, anyone who was anyone owned a pager and pager stores were plentiful.  One of my local malls had more than one.

Pagers were a way of receiving messages.  The ones young people used could receive messages, but in order to answer the user had to find a phone and call back the person who left the message.

Pagers also were called beepers.

Pay Phones

I wander the building until I reach the pay phone. – From Chapter 31

Pay phones were everywhere in the 1990s, and people were sure to have quarters with them when they went out in case they needed to make a phone call.  Common locations were gas stations, malls, retail-store lobbies, the lobbies of other buildings, and street corners.

In 1999, there were 2 million pay phones in the United States. By 2018, 100,000 remained, according to the FCC.

Address books

Who knew Mom was right, and I should keep an address book in my purse? – From Chapter 31

While paper address books still are sold, before cell phones became common, women often carried address books in their purse.  You know, in case you needed to find one of those pay phones to call back the person who paged you.

Here’s the 4-1-1

This blog is a companion piece to Sexual Awakening, available in eBook, paperback and hardcover.  This coming-of-age story, set against the backdrop of the mid-1990s Midwest, follows Cassandra, a high schooler whose big dreams clash with her family’s conservative expectations, as she comes into her own while navigating the complexities of teenage sex and dating.  Buy now.

To listen to the songs mentioned in Sexual Awakening, follow The Rock Star’s Wife on Spotify.

For more information on the licenses mentioned on this page, visit https://creativecommons.org/about/cclicenses/.