You Just So Sassy

Have we, and when I say we I mean black women, considered attempting to reclaim the word sassy? Does it all mean being full of attitude? Or does it mean simply a woman in complete and full control of her emotions however I’m wielding and volatile they may be? Or is it simply a woman who takes no shit? No mess? No foolishness? No foul play?

As you probably noticed by now my office provides loads of fodder for these blog posts and this one is no exception. The other day, a coworker on my team was talking about when he and I first started working together and said, “And then I started working with Nina. And got all the attitude that comes with that.” Now I’m not playing I’m not full of attitude. I most certainly can be on occasion and lately, I’ve had lots of occasion. When it comes to my workplace, for whatever reason, the people there, the comments I overhear, the work itself, the emails I receive and the attitude sometimes found therein, all of these and more seem to bring out “sassiness“ in me.

But that leads me to my larger point. What is so bad about working with a woman who does not take any shit? Things run more efficiently, there’s less question as to what she really means when she asks for something. And who doesn’t want more directness at work? I’ve always found it interesting that the women labeled ”sassy” are typically always women of color. More often than not, women of color in power are also labeled “sassy,” even if that doesn’t really apply. For reasons such as fragile masculinity and white supremacy, a woman of color taking action and grasping her position with gusto leads to her being labeled sassy or a “bitch.” But I digress, that is another blog post for another time. Right now, we’ll just focus on “sassy.”

What is it that makes a woman of color who knows what she wants and how to get it done so intimidating? Being a woman of color myself, I appreciate the directness that comes with being sassy so to speak. Why have to guess or attempt to interpret a situation when, if dealing with a woman who is more direct, you can simply know? Understanding where someone is coming from or at least what someone is saying unequivocally is beneficial not only to the conversation at hand but to how you conduct yourself in future conversations, confrontations, or whatever else you may find yourself involved in.

It’s almost as if being confident or having an attitude or being direct as opposed to being passive aggressive is looked down upon in this society as though you should never address your problems directly, head on, and in the face. Instead, according to society, you should ignore those problems or pray and maybe they’ll just vanish into thin air. These tactics are actually going to get you the opposite of your desired result, the one you want and more than likely deserve. So why not? Let’s reclaim that word “sassy.” Yes, we are women who are direct in our speech and prefer not to beat around the bush. The bush is fine as it is, leave it alone. So yes, I am sassy. And I’ll thank you kindly to remember it.