That's WONDERFUL!! I spent COUNTLESS amounts of money on YM, Teen, and Seventeen, yet, there was never anything in there for me. The makeup tips NEVER applied to me. The models looked more like Kelly Kipowsky (Saved by the Bell) than Lisa Turtle. The articles applied more to white pre-teens, 'tweens, and teens. I couldn't relate; however, it was all they had and I read them faithfully. Even today they are like that. I subscribe to YM as a class magazine for my girls. I "screen" them when they come in. All five of my students are Black, yet the mag always has articles about Ashton Kutcher (That 70s Show), Elijah Wood (Lord of the Rings), etc. WTF?? My girls don't even watch that stuff. They don't have cars, live in fancy houses, have friends that they can hang out with and shop all day, etc. I guess that's why they don't seem interested.
Thank you, Essence for this mag. Our girls can grow up now and have something that they can relate to as young women, instead of only having the read my "adult" Essence, Honey, Heart & Soul, Cosmo, Glamour, etc., which sometimes has damn near NC-17 rated articles. Y'all know that EVERY issue of Cosmo and Glamour has an article on how to "work" your man's brains out.
GOOD JOB, ESSENCE!