It Happened To Me

in the winter of '94 - '95, Sassy was taken over by corporate pig dogs. this is the letter i wrote to them when i cancelled my three year subscription. i was a sophomore in high school at the time.

Dear Editors of the magazine "formerly known as Sassy"--- It Happened To Me. After years of searching for a magazine that portrayed young women as more than firm, tan, bikini-clad mannequinnes, I finally thought I had found an end to my quest in Sassy. It didn't tell me how to get thin, get great hair, or get boys. Sassy instead told me how to get some self-esteem, how to get involved, how to get into college, even. The editors and writers became like friends to me. They gave me honesty...(where else but Sassy could we read interviews that actually, sometimes, gave a negative view of a celeb?)...They gave me advice, and opinions, and articles about things that matter. But above all, these years of reading Sassy gave me a belief in and respect for myself,and insight into who that really was. Now Sassy is gone. I am saddened and angered that such a beautiful, intelligent, and worthwhile institution has been corrupted, destroyed, but it has been. After giving the "new Sassy" three chances, I have to admit it. Everything I enjoyed and admired in the old magazine is dead. I knew that once and for all when I saw titles like, "Eat Out, don't pig out," and, "Splurge! The ultimate Low-Fat snacks," invading the cover space. If I wanted to go on a diet, I would read YM ! I don't appreciate being told that my young body just isn't good enough yet for corporate-male-America. "Make him look twice..." by "showing some skin?" I'd prefer to wow whoever-he-is with my extensive vocabulary, my insights into the indie label scene, or my vivacious personality. As Tabitha Soren said in 1993, "Sassy has changed my life by making me hopeful that society's stereotypes of the ideal physical female are unrealistic and terribly outdated. Sassy celebrates women who are real people that exist in the real world, not plastic surgery victims." I doubt she would say that now, since all the "new Sassy" seems to offer are stereotypes. Because I (like most real young women) care about more than shopping, dieting, and flirting, I won't be needing your services anymore. So, now that I have formally bid farewell to the magazine I so loved, I can say it. Please cancel my subscription. No Longer Yours, Sarah Kowalski

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sarahk@sccs.swarthmore.edu