How the Kardashians' neighborhood became the most notorious suburb in America

Why did sleepy Calabasas become reality TV's Hollywood?

Calabasas
(Image credit: (Illustration by Lauren Hansen | Images courtesy Getty Images, Flickr/brewbooks))

In their latest issue, V Magazine profiles Kylie Jenner, who is transitioning from the supporting role she long played in the lives of her more famous, Kardashian-surnamed sisters into a true reality star of her own. In it, they claim that Kylie "might be more Calabasian than any of her sisters, having spent most of her lucid life in syndication."

As New York's Véronique Hyland pointed out, this is "the first recorded instance of the term" Calabasian, which means, according to them "of, or residing in, Calabasas." While not technically true, as a quick Google search will prove, "Calabasian" is still a sign of the growing hold my hometown has on our cultural imagination.

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Elissa Strauss

Elissa Strauss writes about the intersection of gender and culture for TheWeek.com. She also writes regularly for Elle.com and the Jewish Daily Forward, where she is a weekly columnist.