{"id":6485,"date":"2024-06-15T11:37:59","date_gmt":"2024-06-15T17:37:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cherscholar.com\/cherblog\/?p=6485"},"modified":"2024-09-26T15:07:03","modified_gmt":"2024-09-26T21:07:03","slug":"dear-sonny-cher-from-16-magazine-part-1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cherscholar.com\/cherblog\/2024\/06\/dear-sonny-cher-from-16-magazine-part-1\/","title":{"rendered":"Dear Sonny & Cher from 16 Magazine, Part 1"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>\"\"<\/a>Recently I was sorting through some recipes and I found a copy of the 1960s column Dear Sonny, Dear Cher from 16 Magazine<\/em> on the back of one of my photocopied recipes for calabacitas tacos. Totally weird but it has inspired me to resurrect “Dear Cher Scholar,” which was a snarky column I used to write for the Cher Zines. (Examples: Zine 1<\/a>,\u00a0Zine 2<\/a>, I don’t have Zine 3 uploaded yet.)<\/p>\n

In that Zine feature I had friends and family ask me questions. I would also solicit questions from the Cher news boards of the time. Then, I would answer the questions in the sassy character of Cher Scholar (yes, it was a character back then).<\/p>\n

Sonny & Cher really did brand themselves to this 16 Magazine<\/em> advice column back in the mid-1960s. A good sample can be found on this very informative Sonny & Cher site<\/a> along with the covers they came with. You can totally tell these responses were not written by Sonny and Cher. Possibly a magazine staff writer composed them or someone in the entourage of Sonny & Cher.<\/p>\n

Re-reading them now I can see they are not-terrible responses at all, (a bit canned, tbh). But Cher Scholar feels they are all in need of an update or possibly a happy dose of hindsight. Over time, I’ll try to address as many as I can find, printing both responses, Sonny or Cher’s official response and Cher Scholars revamp.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

DO YOU HAVE some personal questions that are crying for an answer? Do you need heartfelt advice from someone who knows and cares? Do you feel that there is no one that you can turn to or trust? If you answer yes to all of these questions, please don’t despair\u2014because Sonny and I are really here and we really are going to help you. Each month, we carefully read your mail and pick out a cross-section of the most important questions that you ask. If your answer is not here in this issue, keep looking\u2014because sooner or later we will get around to you and your problem.<\/em><\/p>\n

Dear Cher,<\/strong> I have a problem. I am very tall and my boy friend is quite short. When we go to dance together, I think we look funny. My boy friend doesn\u2019t seem to mind at all, but it embarrasses me to the point of tears. Should I find a taller boy friend or give up dancing?\u00a0Long Tall Sally, Oceanside, Calif.<\/em><\/p>\n

Cher’s Alleged Response:<\/p>\n

Long Tall Sally, It seems to me that your boy friend has done a marvelous job of conquering his self-consciousness about being short. Why not take your cue from him and follow his example. At dances, the couples on the floor pay much more attention to each other than to other couples. I\u2019m sure you are spending the most time worrying about the way you look. Why not forget about how you look and enjoy these dances!<\/em><\/p>\n

Cher Scholar’s Response:<\/p>\n

First of all, that totally doesn\u2019t sound like Cher. So this is a ghost writing fail. But I don’t think it\u2019s a terrible response. I just think it can be worded much more strongly, as such:<\/p>\n

LTS, Your boy friend is right. You are wrong. You are acting like a shallow idiot if you believe taller people are better dance partners for you. And if you don’t understand attributes that <\/em>are<\/strong> really important in intimate relationships between two people (and dance partners), then maybe it is time for Short Guy to leave you on this dance floor and proceed to find another Tall Babe! (Please show him this letter.) Look, you’re talking to Sonny & Cher here. Ixnay on the ortshay ingthay. 1970s-variety-show jokes aside, these things never bothered them or Cher even when she dated Tom Cruise.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Dear Cher,<\/strong> I think you have the most beautiful hair in the world. I \u2018d give anything if my hair looked as lovely as yours. I\u2019ve got a real \u201cfright wig.\u201d My hair is dry and bushy, and it looks terrible after every shampoo. Can you give me any suggestions on how I can make it more manageable?\u00a0Miserable, Atlanta, Ga.<\/em><\/p>\n

Cher’s Response:<\/p>\n

Dear Miserable, I\u2019ve found that a good brushing (with your head down) with a natural bristle (not nylon) every morning and night helps to solve dry hair problems. Try an olive oil or a baby oil massage once a week and then wrap your hair in a towel dipped in very hot water and wrung out. Wash out the oil with a mild shampoo and use a cr\u00e8me rinse afterwards. Try spraying your hair lightly with a lanolin hair spray. Stay away from pronged hair clips and never go swimming without wearing a tight bathing cap. I think it would really serve you well to order <\/em>16\u2019s Beauty and Popularity Book. It covers most hair problems in depth. Thank you for the lovely compliment on my hair. Good luck.<\/em><\/p>\n

Cher Scholar’s Response:<\/p>\n

A book plug? Shameless! But I went looking for it anyway on eBay and all I found was The Beauty and the Beast Coloring Book<\/em>. Surely, I thought, the “popularity guide” is a pass\u00e9 relic of the 1960s. But alas, they’re still publishing them<\/a>. Criminal.<\/p>\n

M, First of all, move. Like to a state without 100% humidity. Second, do not go looking for the Beauty and Popularity Book. That seems like the beginning in decades of self-help heartbreak. There is some latter-day thinking on dry hair (vitamins A and C, biotin, protein supplements, omega-3s and antioxidants, hats, stop shampooing your hair every day, avoid heat styling, colder showers, argan oil and yes, they’re still recommending\u00a0 swimming caps and olive oil). But let\u2019s face it, you will never have Cher-hair because only Cher has Cher-hair. And she will keep changing her hairstyle anyway. In the 1970s, she will even wear frizzy wigs. When the 1980s arrive, she will have big curly wigs and frizzy hair will be fashionable all the sudden. And you won\u2019t have to get a\u00a0 perm like the rest of us did. Wait it out, frizzy. You\u2019re welcome.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\t\t