Jezebel

Courtney Claims Britney's Been Molested; Rihanna Refused Therapy [Dirt Bag]

Dodai — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 09:00:00 -0500

Courtney Love is making vicious accusations via Facebook, and both Edward Norton and Britney Spears are involved.

In one message, Courtney writes (and consider there to be a giant [sic] after everything):

IF something happens to me, NO my will is NOT at Greenberg Glusker, that will is FORGERY…i created a new one per lISA FERGUSONs attorney who cannot be FOUND but that needs altering as it has Edward in it and Norton doesn't have a CLUE how evil his own BM is he wont fuck a future Senator/Film Actor … i m shcoked at myself i never kiss and tell unless im really mad at an ex for like LOSING 300,000$ of my kid hes supposed to be paternal abouts money, oh yeah Norton just LOST 300k

As for Britney, Courtney says:

britneys dad molested her , imagine the father that molested you owning you for slavery while your forced to sing songs picked for thier sexual content every night, insane right? i have it on First had authority, and fight as hard as she is and does she still didnt pull that card, its a pride thing i can relate to, However they want to play dirty, lets go, Im SO not affraid of the little trolls who hit this when i was fucked up who are called lawyers. lets GO.

Um… yeah. Shit. Speechless. [Movieline]

In other news, Courtney Love to her band to a strip club and left them there. [Page Six]
We've heard Britney Spears wants to get married again, but have we heard this? A source says: "She is in love with the idea of marriage. She has been married only twice, but has proposed to many more." [MSNBC via News.com.au]
The White House state dinner was star-studded! In attendance: Producers David Geffen and Jeffrey Katzenberg, directors Steven Spielberg and M. Night Shyamalan, actor Blair Underwood and actress Alfre Woodward. Plus: Deepak Chopra and journalists Sanjay Gupta, Katie Couric, Fareed Zakaria, Robin Roberts and Brian Williams. And Jennifer Hudson performed! My last dinner party involved plastic cups and white zinfandel. [UPI]
If something is really good, Rihanna calls it "barf." "Usually it's ‘ill' or ‘I want to throw up on it," she says. "But barf is the worst," meaning the best. "Barf is 10 out of 10." [NY Times]
Damn: Rihanna is getting paid $500,000 to to perform at a New Year's Eve party at the Emirates Palace Hotel in Abu Dhabi. Can she wear that white Fifth Element bandage jumpsuit in the UAE? [Page Six]
Things are heating up between Emma Watson and her Spanish rock star. [Telegraph]
Usher is dating a record exec — named Grace Miguel — who used to work at the label he's signed to. And, shocker! Grace and Usher's mom, Jonetta, do not get along. Sound familiar? The same thing happened with Usher's wife, Tameka Foster. [Gatecrasher]
Here's a happy Thanksgiving: Ellen DeGeneres gave an out-of-work mom from the Bronx $10,000 and a new car. [NY Daily News]
Donny Osmond won Dancing With The Stars. Then there was a fire on the set. [People]
DWTS judge Carrie Ann Inaba is having surgery: "I have arthritis. The space around my spinal cord has become compressed," Inaba explains. "I have been locked. My neck was so stiff. We're hoping this procedure will relieve that." [People]
The pyramid design of Lady Gaga's Heartbeats headphones was inspired by her fashion choices when growing up: "I wore studded leather jackets, me and my friends in New York. Lifestyle, grit, passion and love for music, freedom. These were the things I thought about when we were designing [the headphones]." [People]
Beyoncé just finished her tour, and told the crowd at her last stop — in Nottingham, England — that she hopes to see them all in a year with a new album. Work work work! [Reuters]
Jennifer Lopez's ex-husband, Ojani Noa, admits he's tried to sell footage of himself and La Lopez from their time together, but it's not sleazy: "They think I have a sex tape with her and that I'm trying to sell it. My tape is from our honeymoon, the wedding, us hanging out. There's no nudity-maybe one spanking. There's moments of her fighting with her mom...couples having fun and kissing. If someone has a sex tape, it's not me." [E!]
Congrats to Alan Cumming, who was made an Office of the British Empire at Buckingham Palace on Tuesday. The Scottish-born actor and gay rights advocate reportedly dressed in tartan head-to-toe for the occasion. Must find pix! [UPI]
American Idol season 3 contestant Jon Peter Lewis (who?) has issues with Adam Lambert's AMA performance: "All this nonsense about Adam Lambert's whole project being art is bogus. That idea is absurd. It's like calling Thomas Kinkade art. What a sham." [Us Magazine]
Melissa Etheridge has advice for Adam Lambert: "Don't believe everything they say. Stay true to yourself. The only person who can answer what you should do is yourself. Love yourself. You will hear as many people praise you as you will hear them tear you down." [E!]
Rosie O'Donnell was asked if she's enjoying the single life. She replied: "I'm not." [NY Daily News]
Would you like to see a picture of the Real Housewives Of NYC frolicking in the Virgin Islands? [NY Post]
"A million fans are being invited to take part in the composition of a pointillist portrait of the late U.S. pop icon Michael Jackson… The project has the blessing of Jackson's brother, Jermaine." [UPI]
The Official Michael Jackson Opus book is 26 lbs., 400 pages and $249. [The Life Files]
Julie Andrews will play London's O2 arena, and the venerable Clive Davis writes: "Whether or not Andrews's voice is the flawless multi-octave instrument that it once was, she has always been a consummate professional… Besides, legends are in short supply at the moment." [The Times Of London]
Transformers director Michael Bay hosted a reunion of the show's cast and crew the other night in NYC, and Megan Fox did not attend. [Page Six]
Amber Rose asked a stranger in a bathroom to zip up the back of her dress for her, saying: . "I have a hard time staying in this thing, but Kanye loves it." [Page Six]
The new Miss California, Nicole Johnson, says she once dated Michael Phelps. And! Phelps may have dated Carrie Prejean as well. [TMZ]
"A nude photo of film director Roman Polanski, who is now being held in a Swiss prison, and his wife Sharon Tate taken shortly before she was brutally murdered, will be sold at an upcoming auction where it could fetch more than $10,000, organizers said." [Reuters]
Avril Lavigne was seen "passionately making out with a mystery man" in NYC Tuesday night. She was seen with Wilmer Valderrama over the weekend… Maybe divorce makes you horny? [Radar Online]
The Pussycat Dolls have broken up and no one is speaking to Nicole Scherzinger, if you care. [Page Six]
"Nellie McKay has three loves - animals, the Poconos, and Doris Day." [Philadelphia Inquirer]
"Cagefighter's mummy: Nasty Jordan has been horrid to my little Alex." [The Sun]
"She's a remarkable story… But you're on air every day. Eventually you think, 'do people really want to hear me talk anymore?'" — Phil Donahue, on Oprah ending her show. [Page Six]
"Wait … is that Zac Posen? Wow." — Zac Efron. [Gatecrasher]
Ten years ago I wouldn't have thought about having any children at all. [But do I want some?] Yes, yes, yes. I haven't given up hope. I find I'm not as bad with children as I used to be. I see a lot of children are over-parented now, over-adored and over-spoiled. I quite like children to be left alone to get on with it." — Hugh Grant. [Daily Express]
"I think a show like this probably couldn't have happened five years ago, but I think with the success of American Idol and So You Think You Can Dance and other movie musicals, like Hairspray, Chicago and Nine that's coming up, they set the groundwork for people to accept it and being excited about it. I think we're putting a different twist on it to make it fun and interesting and kind of cool." — Glee's Matthew Morrison. [CNN]
"You know that devil on your shoulder that tells you terrible things about people and of course you'd never say 'maybe you don't really believe.' She has no filter, and it just comes right out. So I'm a nice person after I leave Glee because I get to exercise the heinous behavior while I'm in a track suit yelling at defenseless children." — Jane Lynch. [CNN]
"As traumatic and as terrifying as it was — and sometimes I wish it never happened — my whole life changed in the most amazing way after I went through that. If I didn't go through that, I swear, you would've been interviewing a completely different person." — Rihanna, on being assaulted by Chris Brown. [NY Times]
"Everyone wanted me to see a therapist to just talk about it, and I refused. In Barbados we don't do that. We keep it in our family, and figure it out and move on. I just put my game face on and went on with my life. But deep down inside I had some things to get past, and it came out in the music." — Rihanna. [NY Times]

Barneys: Wooing With Witticisms & Wallet-Emptying Wares [Today In Catalogs]

Dodai — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 19:00:00 -0500

The new Barneys New York catalog urges, "Have A Witty Holiday." Shopping the pages, you realize: You can't afford one.

For starters, those earrings on the cover are $19,600. They're not just earrings, see, they're 7.67 natural amoeba diamond slice earrings in 18K gold with colored diamonds. Plus, they possess the power to hypnotize!

This, friends, is a candle. A pretty candle, and yet: something you set fire to. $395. Are you feeling witty yet?

Rose gold chain with diamonds, $4900. Skinny jeans, $194. Hairdo that involves refereeing a cock fight: Priceless.

This Lacoste polo featuring a crocodile clusterfuck is a limited edition collaboration with Brazilian designers Humberto and Fernando Campanas and "reflects their commitment to creative chaos and triumphantly simple solutions." Witty! And $165.

"You can pretend to be serious; you cannot pretend to be witty." — Sascha Guitry

Honestly, I like the idea of peppering the catalog with witticisms, like this one, even though I had never heard of Sacha Guitry. I looked him up! He was a French actor, dramatist and director who wrote his first play at age 17. He wrote and directed and acted in Pasteur, a biography of the famous scientist; and there's something in his IMDb biography about how he lived a lavish lifestyle while the Germans occupied France in the '40s… He was jailed for a few months after the liberation of Paris. He was married five times, all to actresses who co-starred in either his plays or films. And! His name was apparently spelled Sacha, not Sascha.

But none of this is the point! The point is: That hair bauble, which would most certainly instantly fall out of my hair and through a sewer grate, is $1,990.

"Show me a sane man and I will cure him for you." — Carl Jung

"Show me someone willing to pay $2,900 for these earrings and I will show you someone rich and dumb." — Yours truly.

There's a Dorothy Parker quote on the lingerie page, where $125 gets you a strip of silk for romantic, light BDSM evenings.

Dammit, if I had $365 and poor eyesight, I would love a pair of Albert Maysles glasses. He directed Grey Gardens! He's avuncular! He rocks! And the Maysles Institute in Harlem is a nonprofit organization that provides training and apprenticeships to underprivileged individuals. And you can see movies there, too!

A "choosing between two evils" quote on page where both items are made of rabbit fur? Witty?

"If I were two-faced, would I be wearing this one?" —Abraham Lincoln.

New idea: LOLFoundingFathers.

Oh, hey, if this loose, body-disguising psuedo-homeless style looks familiar, it's because these garments are from The Row, aka Mary-Kate and Ashley's clothing line. $490 for the cardigan, $225 for the tank and $1,700 for the pants. That's $2,145 to look like you just rolled out of bed and threw on some laundry from your floordrobe.

Since alligators have been seen in the Mississippi River, a Mark Twain quote on this page is actually an inspired choice.

Barneys New York [Official Site]

Earlier: Ashro: Stop Being Such A Slob And Get Yourself A Suit, Hat & Wig
19 Crappy & Crazy Christmas Gifts From Sky Mall
Dean & Deluca Thanksgiving: Mouth-Watering, Wallet-Emptying
All previous catalog posts

Warning: Do Not Read While Hungry [Chef's Whites]

Sadie — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 18:45:00 -0500

Marcus Samuelsson's White House State Dinner menu may induce a powerful craving for White House arugula, pralines. [Time]

Lohan Leaks Gosselin Call; John & Gerard Bond Over Womanizing [Dirt Bag (After Dark)]

Margaret — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 18:30:00 -0500

Is Michael Lohan out of taped conversations with family members? He's leaked a recording in which Jon Gosselin says, "I put my kids out there to every pedophile on the planet and they never got paid for it? It's disgusting."

In the tape, Jon makes the untrue claim that TLC was paid for stories about the Gosselins that appeared in People and Good Housekeeping. Jon says he should have started doing unauthorized interviews months ago (despite the exclusivity clause in his TLC contract). "Why the fuck didn't I do this, like, months ago?" he says, "Because they tried to scare tactic me. They tried to scare tactic me. Why the fuck should they get paid and not my kids?" [E!]
A $2,691.75 tax lien was put on Jon and Kate Gosselin's former home for tapping into the city water line. [TMZ]
Unsolicited Uterus Update: Though she touched her belly on the red carpet at the AMAs, Nicole Kidman's rep says she's not pregnant. [Us]
Nicole Richie is out of the hospital, but she's still taking it easy after coming down with pneumonia. She wrote on her blog: "Right now it's important for me to stay in bed and recover. Reading all of your messages on Twitter and my website has really brightened my spirits and I am so grateful for the support. I look forward to seeing you all very soon and wish you a happy Thanksgiving." [People]
Adam Lambert says he won't apologize for his racy performance at the AMAs. "It's choreography, we were dancing," he said. "The sexuality of it kind of got a little more extreme when I got up on stage. I think the adrenaline kind of took me over, and I admit it, and I'm proud of the fact that I did get a little carried away. I don't feel I owe anyone an apology for anything. I performed, it was late night TV, I did something that female performers have been doing for years, no different. It's just the fact that I'm me and it's a little different for people. It's really not that big of a deal. I'm not a babysitter, I'm a performer." [Ryan Seacrest]
John Mayer was recently seen chatting with Gerard Butler, who may have dated his exes Jennifer Aniston and Jessica Simpson. Mayer says, "We talked about New York... We're in a bit of the same position of being branded womanizers." [Us]
Oprah Winfrey paid off her mother Vernita Lee's $155,547 bill at the Milwaukee boutique Valentina Inc. The store sued Lee last year for failing to pay her bill. [AP]
Tila Tequila is threatening to sue because a sex tape she says was stolen from her laptop a few years ago has surfaced on a porn website. [TMZ]
Paparazzo Ed Frommer is suing Debbie Rowe because he claims she lied to the police and claimed he scratched her face and struck her. He says that on Sunday night, three men attacked him while yelling "Leave Debbie alone!" but he thinks they were just rabid Michael Jackson fans, not her bodyguards. [TMZ]
Kris Jenner claims she was shocked by her daughter Khloe Kardashian's engagement to Lamar Odom because, "Khloe never brought a boy home to say hello, and in five minutes she was engaged and I had nine days to plan a wedding." [People]
Rosie O'Donnell says she's not enjoying single life, "But on we grow, so to speak." [People]
Pete Doherty first said he cancelled a concerts in Ireland last month because he was suffering from "exhaustion," but now he says he thinks he was poisoned. "If I hadn't been on a life support machine I'd have been in Ireland, but my heart stopped," he said. [The Independent]
Eminem's mom, Debbie Nelson, is marrying her agent, Neal Alpert, who sued her last year. A source excitedly revealed that Alpert is bisexual and said, "He has always been a gentleman and respectful and never sold her out for a penny, even when he had the chance." [Radar Online]
The Italian-American organization UNICO National says that the MTV show Jersey Shore, which bills its cast-members as the "hottest, tannest, craziest Guidos," is offensive and should be scrapped before it airs. [AP]
Richie Sambora's hometown of Woodbridge, New Jersey renamed a street in his honor. [AP]
Shauna Sand says she dated Chace Crawford when he was 18 and she was 32. "He was so incredibly beautiful - I immediately fell in love with him!" says Sand. A "friend" adds, "Chace told me, 'Shauna was the first girl I ever had sex with! She blew my mind, and I'll never forget it!'" [Star]
According to a survey of 1,500 Brits by PRS for Music, people want to see ABBA get back together more than any other group. The Police, The Smiths, and Oasis also made the list. [Reuters]
Paula Abdul wants to do a talk show. "I have really great ideas," she said. "It would be fun and quirky and it would be insightful... I feel I would be really good at it. I have the ability to connect with people on a level. I've proven to pierce the heartstrings, but also to be celebratory and bring out the best in people." [Extra]
"I was never extremely confident," says Taylor Lautner. "Because I was an actor, when I was in school there was a little bullying going on. Not physical bullying but people making fun of what I do ... I just had to tell myself I can't let this get to me. This is what love to do. And I'm going to continue to do it." [Us]
"Becoming a father is a lot like, I don't know, going underwater. The first time you go into the sea it completely changes your relationship with the water. The same happens when you become a father, it changes everything that has to do with work, and much more so in my life. I don't know if it's better or worse, but it's definitely different." — Gael Garcia Bernal [Breitbart]
"Q: Have to ask, because the fans want to know: can you tell us if Michael and Dwight are finally going to get together? Rainn Wilson: 'That's crazy you knew that! Absolutely. We finally consummate our quote unquote friendship. I'm glad they waited until Season 6. You don't want to give away that stuff too early.'" [Gothamist]
In a Huffington Post editorial Alec Baldwin writes: "Didn't you know all along that Republican opposition to current health care reform is about maintaining the unconscionable monopoly that insurance companies have in the American economy. Why? For the same reason Bush went to war in Iraq, spent money we didn't have, pushed the country into financial ruin and did more to threaten our long term national security than any modern president. The GOP needs contributions." [Huffington Post]

Warm Body/Kabul [Snap Judgment]

Anna — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 18:15:00 -0500

[Kabul, November 23. Image via Getty]

KABUL, AFGHANISTAN - NOVEMBER 23: An Afghan woman tries to keep warm while waiting in line at a CARE food distribution aimed at widows November 23, 2009 in Kabul, Afghanistan. The CARE monthly food rations for the needy gives the women 50 kilograms of wheat, three liters of cooking oil, one kilogram of salt and beans. (Photo by Paula Bronstein /Getty Images)

The Cyclical Nature Of Songs About Sexual Violence [Song Remains The Sane]

LatoyaPeterson — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 18:00:00 -0500

If he didn't care for me/I could have never made him mad/But he hit me and I was glad. An article in today's Guardian explores the work of Deborah Finding and her thesis on narratives of violence in pop music.

The lyrics above are actually how Finding illustrates the somewhat cyclical nature of how our culture interprets and accepts sexual or domestic violence. The article opens with the song, explaining:

Back in 1962, the Crystals released a song called He Hit Me (And it Felt like a Kiss). "If he didn't care for me," warbled one of the most popular American "girl groups" of the day, "I could have never made him mad. But he hit me and I was glad."

Deborah Finding, from the gender institute at the London School of Economics, recites the line in a monotone before adding: "It sounds all the more chilling in the light of what we now know about their producer, Phil Spector. Not just about the murder of Lana Clarkson, but also his treatment of Ronnie Bennett of the Ronnettes." She was his wife at the time. She claims in her autobiography that he kept a gold coffin with a glass lid in the basement of their mansion and threatened to kill her if she left him.

Finding decided upon her interesting PhD title by combining two of her interests: music and narrative.

Finding's parents ran a disco. "The wardrobes at home were always cluttered with singles," she says. And she has an impressive collection of over 2,000 CDs at her home in west London. "I've always tuned into the lyrics," she says. This proved invaluable as she embarked on a project directly connected to the work with abused women she has been carrying out with various non-governmental organisations since leaving Cambridge in 2000. She has a degree in philosophy and theology and a masters in Jewish-Christian relations after the Holocaust. "I was always interested in the narratives people tell about their traumas and whether or not they are believed," she says.

"I knew that I wanted to do a PhD that would contribute something to the overall understanding of the way sexual and domestic violence was represented in our wider culture and how that influenced the way people think about the issues personally and politically."

Finding explains that part of the strength of the narratives came from the acceptance from society that this type of gender based violence was a social problem as well as an individual problem. She points out that artists like Tracy Chapman, Tori Amos (above), Suzanne Vega, Beautiful South, Sheryl Crowe, and Alanis Morrisette gave voice to all aspects of a woman's experience, from very explicit violence to hazier, more gray actions. However, Finding is beginning to see the cycle of acceptance shifting back into a narrative that accepts sexual violence:

We've gone full circle in the post-feminist era," Finding says. "Florence and the Machine, hotly tipped for this year's Mercury prize, recently came out with A Kiss With a Fist is Better Than None, equating violence with passion in a way that sounds depressingly familiar."

When asked about misogyny in hip-hop and rap lyrics, Finding provides an interesting response:

These are female artists for the most part. But what about the men? What about "gangsta" rap and hip-hop, and their alleged encouragement of aggressively misogynistic attitudes? "That's been written about elsewhere," she points out, "and it worries me that there's usually a racist element to these discussions. Black artists are condemned, while white bands like the Rolling Stones and the Stranglers get away with deeply unpleasant lyrics. I was more interested in analysing the way that women were narrating their own experience of sexual violence or how they imagined other women's experience."

Personally, I would love to see a visual representation of Finding's work mashed up with Sut Jhally's Dreamworlds 3. Ever since I watched Dreamworlds 3 one video in particular stood out. Limp Bizkit released a video for their song "Eat You Alive" which is the epitome of glorifying violence against women:

The lead woman's palpable fear fades away into lust and desire after Durst decides to paint a pretty picture of their future - after screaming in her face lyrics like this:

Hey you,
Miss. too-good-to-look-my-way
and that's cool you want nothing at all to do with me.
But I want you,
ain't nothing wrong with wanting you cause
I'm a man and I can think what the hell I want,
you got that straight?

No doubt now (no doubt),
I'd love to (id love)
sniff on them panties now.

I'll EAT YOU ALIVE!!!! i'll eat you alive.....
I'll EAT YOU ALIVE!!!! i'll eat you alive......

There is power in placing these images and words into context, a subversive power. Dreamworlds 3 was able to tap into this by juxtaposing image after image together so the viewer looks at one long pattern, instead of several distinct images. Another subversive adaptation of music and lyrics comes from Tori Amos, who decided to cover Eminem's "'97 Bonnie and Clyde":

Amos did not change any of the lyrics, just presented it in a different light, though a woman's voice. In one of her many responses as to why she chose that particular cover, she notes:

Eminem's fans hate her cover. "That's the greatest compliment I've received," she says, teeth gritted. "My version invades his space, and men aren't used to feeling invaded, it drives them mad. Empower the wife, give her a voice. That's how you are an activist, I think. Is the song pretty? No, but I never said it was." Her blue eyes blaze. "Singing it is not a tribute." — Tori; The Times (UK), Dec 18, 2001

Ultimately, Finding's work is amazing because it illuminates the role of narrative in healing from assault or abuse by speaking these stories into existence. And if they happen to live on in the popular consciousness because they were attached to a song lyric, then so much the better. As is stated in her piece, many of us use music "as a means of emotional support."

And Then He Hit Me [Guardian]
Eat You Alive Lyrics [ST Lyrics]
Tori Amos/Eminem [Here In My Head]

Reader Roundup [Commenter Quips]

Dodai — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 17:45:00 -0500

Excellent stuff today:

Best Comment Of The Day, in response to Going Vogue: Anna Wintour Meets Alaskan Winter: "I'm already working on the parody of this, called Going Vague, with articles such as 'Such As,' 'Also,' 'Snow has a Liberal Agenda, Except When it Doesn't,' and 'Keep Laughing, Tina Fey, and Nevermind That Helicopter Behind You.'" And! "This made me faux furious." • Best Comment Of The Day, in response to Don't Mess With Texas: " texyface!" • Best Comment Of The Day, in response to The Urban Jungle: "Your shock tactics really stink/They barely make me blink/At this point all they do, I think/Is make me want a drink… See I can rhyme too!" And! "Think, not Kink."

Reminder: Best and Worst comment nominations (please email the comment and the timestamp link to the left of the comment) should be sent to Hortense at commenters@jezebel.com.

Meetups? Use the meetup tag page!

[Image via Oh! My God! I Miss You]

Australian Men Undertake "My Oath" • Child Porn "Shrine" Discovered [Leftovers]

Intern Katy — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 17:30:00 -0500

• Australian men are being asked to pledge that they will never commit, excuse, or allow violence against women. The "My Oath" campaign is part of White Ribbon Day, which aims to combat violence by reaching out to men. •

This shouldn't be difficult for Australians, according to White Ribbon Chairman Andrew O'Keefe: "Today we are challenging all men to swear, and let's face it swearing comes naturally to most Aussie men." • According to police, Kevin M. Derks, 53, turned his Wisconsin home into a shrine to child porn. He covered "every flat surface" with pictures of young celebrities and computer printouts of young girls in various states of undress or being otherwise molested. He claims he turned to children after realizing that the world has gotten "worse and worse." • The Federal government has issued a recall for more than 2 million cribs, following reports that four babies had suffocated in them. They say the crib has a detachable side which can break, and allow the child to become trapped in a space between the crib and the mattress. • An Alabama district attorney says he is considering charging a 14-year-old girl for arranging the rape of her classmate. The girl told reporters that she and her classmate had planned on having sex with three older teens, but the victim said no when the other boys joined in. • Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio recently forced a pregnant woman to give birth while cuffed at the wrists and ankles. The woman was transported to a medical center, where she gave birth in "forensic restraint." She was also not allowed to hold her child, or see her for 72 days. Arpaio claimed he "had no choice." • According to plastic surgeons, Venezuelans are so dedicated to looking good that many people are dipping into their savings or taking on debt to pay for the costly procedures. "The financial crisis has spurred people to spend more on themselves ... to console themselves in this crisis. I have not seen demand diminishing," said one doctor. • In efforts to combat reports of anti-choice centers manipulating pregnant woman, the Baltimore City Council is considering legislation that will require pregnancy centers to post signs if they do not offer abortions or birth control referrals. •

The Return Of Bridezilla [Snap Judgment]

Anna — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 17:15:00 -0500

[Cockermouth, England; November 24. Image via Getty]

A woman clears damaged stock from a bridal shop in Cockermouth, north-west England, on November 24, 2009. David Cameron visited Tuesday the town of Cockermouth in Cumbria and witnessed the devastation caused by 'a flood of biblical proportions'. Following a tour around the Fire and Rescue headquarters in the town the Conservative Party leader pledged that if he won the next general election, he would fully support the flood-hit community. AFP PHOTO/Paul Ellis (Photo credit should read PAUL ELLIS/AFP/Getty Images)

Newsweek Too Hot For National Review Writer [Sex And The Shitty]

Anna N. — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 17:00:00 -0500

Sarah Palin's not the only one pissed off about her Newsweek cover — the National Review's Kathryn Jean Lopez isn't pleased either. But she says that leggy shot is "tame" compared with the fleshpot that is Newsweek's website.

Newsweek.com's major crime seems to be allowing loose women to speak. These ladies of the evening include porn star Sasha Grey (pictured above), whose views on the Mark Sanford scandal have forever soiled Lopez's brain — she writes, "what's shocking is that I even know her opinion on the woman, on the situation, on politicians and their wives, and that she thinks we should all openly have something extra on the side." Also scandalously allowed to have an opinion is former madam Heidi Fleiss. Never mind that Newsweek tapped her to talk about escorts, a subject she presumably knows a lot about — according to Lopez, she's still gross.

But not as gross as a gay guy talking about sex. The final exhibit in Lopez's case against Newsweek is "crude sex columnist" Dan Savage, who mentioned blow jobs in a piece on Larry Craig (Lopez renders this as "b*** j**" — presumably so her readers' eyeballs don't explode). Savage is actually making a pretty conservative point — he writes, "It annoys people like me - openly gay men - when the Craig incident is described as a ‘gay sex scandal,' as if his actions in the toilet that day tell you something about gay men. Openly gay people - gay men with integrity - have boyfriends and husbands." But of course, gay sex is dirty, whether it takes place in an airport bathroom or a marital bed.

It's kind of hilarious that, given what's available on the Internet (though this too is a taboo topic for Lopez), she would single out Newsweek as "all about sex - perverse and paid for." What's not so funny is the message she articulates — that people who have sex she deems unacceptable shouldn't get to speak in the national media. It's especially strange that she doesn't really criticize Mark Sanford or Eliot Spitzer — just the porn star and madam who mistakenly thought they were allowed to talk about them. Of course, Sanford and Spitzer came in for their fair share of vitriol, but Lopez's piece reminds us who are the enduring enemies of the right's traditional-values squad: women, gays, and anybody they can dismiss with a claim of "perversity."

Sex Sells [National Review Online]

Imma Let You Finish [Snap Judgment]

Anna — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 16:50:00 -0500

[Paris, November 24. Image via Bauer-Griffin]

Mad Men Creator/Executive Producer Matthew Weiner Spills Mad Details [Mad (women)]

Dodai — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 16:40:00 -0500

In this interview, Weiner talks about the disintegration of Betty and Don's marriage, the infamous lawn mower incident and Joan's husband joining the army: "What will happen to him and what will happen to them, who knows?" [The Daily Beast]

Some Highlights From Today's General Hospital , Starring James Franco [Soap Scum]

Dodai — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 16:30:00 -0500

You know what? James Franco's acting style is fascinating: He murmurs like he's drunk; slits his eyes like he's stoned. Or maybe he's not acting? Is he in character or is he not even trying? It's impossible to tell.

And yet: The way he flirts with this blonde whose name I do not care to know? It's sexy. Sexy, I tell you!

You know this guy. He's a beautiful liar, he's gorgeously crooked and twisted — but only "because that's how the world is." Wounded, bitter, yet still feverishly hot. You're attracted to him, but you worry he'll steal your wallet, your best friend and your silverware. I lost a video camera this way once. And my virginity. Kidding! (Maybe.)

Here's a promo for James Franco's little brother Dave Franco. And then back to the story. If the way James says "amuse ourselves" doesn't get your spot hot, then you have a problem.

If someone can show me how to make "If it makes you feel any better, I don't want to have your babies" as a ringtone, I will be forever grateful.

Last, but not least, his shirt came off. Not as good as seeing him naked in Sonny, but what do you expect?

Earlier: WTF Hour Of Daytime TV: James Franco On General Hospital
Liveblogging James Franco's Soap Opera Debut

Mamma Mia, Mamma Muppet [Songs In The Key Of Muppet]

Anna N. — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 16:20:00 -0500

Following on the heels of Beaker's "meep" Ode to Joy is this awesome Muppet rendition of "Bohemian Rhapsody." Watch for the highlight, Animal's solo. Oh, and the "monstrosity" is pretty good too. [BuzzFeed]

Still Walters Run Deep [Snap Judgment]

Anna — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 16:10:00 -0500

[New York, November 23. Image via Getty]

NEW YORK - NOVEMBER 23: Lyanne Santana, 11, of the Bronx glances at a picture of seventeen year old shooting victim Nardiree Walters at a news conference and candlelight vigil as part of a National Day of Outrage in New York and other major U.S. cities on November 23, 2009 in the Bronx borough of New York City. Following a number of violent shootings in the Bronx, the Rev. Al Sharpton and his National Action Network called for a day where attention is drawn to gun violence, which they say is now at epidemic levels in major cities across America. Walters was shot and killed last year while attending a party in the Bronx. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

Costumes & Cheesecake: Power Girl Controversy Illustrates Gender In Comics [When Fangirls Attack]

LatoyaPeterson — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 16:00:00 -0500

Power Girl, a DC Comics superhero and cousin of Superman, has made waves throughout the comics blogosphere with an eyebrow arch - one readers are interpreting as a statement to comics fans who don't check their feminism.

Over at Comics Alliance, Laura Hudson explains some of the Power Girl back story:

It's hardly breaking news that there have been complaints over the years about both the ample assets of DC superheroine Power Girl and her costume — specifically the oval cutout that sits directly over her cleavage. Some female readers have taken issue with the high cheesecake factor, some writers have tried to explain the costume in a way that makes it more than eye candy, but overall it pretty much is what it is (boobs).

Now Esther Inglis-Arkell at 4th Letter has pointed out something a bit new: A scene in the recent "JSA 80-Page Giant" #1 (scripted by female author Jen Van Meter) where Power Girl actually appears to lecture female readers for complaining about her costume. [...]

You know what, Jen Van Meter? Go write an op-ed. I'm not even being sarcastic. You're entitled to your opinion about Power Girl's costume, and if you'd like to explain to the female readership about how they're totally misunderstanding the personal empowerment and meaningful symbolism offered by the cleavage window, then I would be very interested in reading about that.

But quite sincerely: Do not lecture me when I'm in the middle of reading a superhero comic about why you think I'm reading it wrong. Or at the very least, write a scene well enough so I don't feel like you're lecturing me, because there are few things more disruptive to a narrative experience that watching the writer peek around the curtain and set up a teleprompter for the characters.

In Inglis-Arkell's own words:

Wow, I've never read about many female characters giving her a hard time in the comics . . . oh. Oh. That was meta. The ‘most women' comment. The character looking out at us from the panel. This is a little speech given to the women who, for some crazy reason, criticize Peej's uniform. [...]

Are you kidding me? I'm getting an ‘I choose my choice' speech from a fictional character? Feminist fans are getting a slap because they won't accept one bullshit excuse after another for why male heroes are mostly fully-clothed and female heroes mostly walk around in their underwear?

Let me make this clear: No matter how many times you have the female characters talk about how they decided on their outfits, they are still fictional characters. These aren't women who have decided on what they want to wear for reasons of their own. These are characters who are dressed as playboy bunnies because a bunch of creators decided to dress them that way for fun and profit.

Ragnell, over at Written World actually likes the costume - but notes that liking is different from bad justification:

That said? I like Power Girl's cut-out ("boob window") costume. It was stylish when she was introduced, and now it's retro. It's actually very classic looking and when originally designed it was actually pretty classy looking too. The design is just plain good. The design is actually great, I'd say. I'd wear it if I could pull off white myself.

That's why they keep going back to it, because it's a good basic costume and as it was originally just a small cut-out on an invulnerable character it's not inherently lewd/impractical. (Unlike the midriff-baring Huntress, or the monstrosity Carol Ferris is parading around in—though my hat's off to Mahnke for making it less eyesearing.) All the attempts to change it have had her going to worse costumes. (The one with the normal neckline actually tends to show even MORE boob than the cut-out.) And it doesn't need a reason any more than she liked the look better than any emblem she tried to put there, and now she's just used to it. Anything beyond that is downright insulting, like you're trying to fool us into thinking there's something inherently empowering about baring your breasts. There isn't.

Ragnell refers to the original costume, which looked more like this:

However, as Hudson points out at Comics Alliance, the modern interpretations of her costume look more like this:

And while most people definitely understand the over used mantra of "sex sells," Hudson lays a few nails into that coffin, in response to a commenter who points out that Van Meter is getting a pass on using sexualized images in the first place:

My problem with this is that the scene comes off as contrived, condescending, and an attempt to spin cheesecake into feminine liberation, when in fact it is BOOBS.

I don't mind people selling sex if you call it selling sex, but don't pretend that you're not doing it, and certainly don't turn it into a lecture on third-wave feminism.

Power Girl [Wikipedia]
Power Girl Lectures Women for Complaining About Her Costume [Comics Alliance]
Comics, Etc. [Cheesecake and the Art of the Pin-Up]
Okay. Now I'm Getting Mad. [4th Letter]
On the Power Girl Cut-Out Costume [Written World]

Taste Of New York [Snap Judgment]

Anna — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 15:50:00 -0500

[New York, November 24. Image via Bauer-Griffin]

Readers Go Vogue [Rogues Gallery]

Anna N. — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 15:40:00 -0500

We're loving CurtCole's homemade Going Vogue cover — sent to us with the filename "Sarah Pain." Anybody else want to put Photoshop to work in the service of unreal America?

"We’re Not Just Dressing 17-Year-Olds Who Go Nightclubbing In Russia." [Runway To Reality]

Sadie — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 15:30:00 -0500

No, Alber Elbaz, some of them are 18! Eileen Fisher made waves - and hurt Rosie - when she sniffed of the plus-sized market, "Well, it's just not the image that we're going for." What image are designers going for?

The slight came after Rosie O'Donnell told the designer, "On behalf of every plus-sized woman in the world, I just want to thank you." And Fisher's distancing, Rosie said on her radio show, "was like someone stabbed me in the heart." What was so weird about the whole thing was, it made us all wonder, Who does Eileen Fisher think her demographic is? After all, if she didn't know its perception, they wouldn't be trying so hard to change it. I think of it as a brand my mom feels good in - reliable, well-made, maybe overpriced, but in quiet good taste and modeled by "real women" - albeit of the ethereal, Joan Baez school. And there's nothing wrong with that; it's great, in fact. And why would any designer deny it? I get wanting to expand appeal (although in this case it seems even more Sisyphean than Ann Taylor's makeover), but biting the well-kept hand that feeds you seems...imprudent. (Also: I don't remember ever seeing Rosie in Eileen Fisher. But then, I don't hang out with her regularly. Anyone?)

The mini-fracas prompted WWD to run a very interesting piece on exactly who designers think is wearing their clothes. Obviously a high-fashion line - hell, each individual collection - has a perspective and maybe even a muse in mind, but Eileen Fisher? Surely she designs with her actual customer in mind, right? Says Kathy Griffin,

I know women who buy Eileen Fisher, and the reason they buy Eileen Fisher is the same thing Rosie was talking about, which is, the women I know who buy Eileen Fisher, they want comfort, they're soccer moms, so Eileen Fisher can act like she's playing to the size 2 woman, but the truth is, I think what makes her brand successful is that there are a lot of women that love to go to that store and feel like they can get seven pieces that go together that they never have to worry about again.

Here were a few of the most interesting quotes from designers in the piece on their ideal customer...versus their reality.

Angela Missoni: "I tell our sales staff not to sell an outfit just for the sake of selling it if it doesn't look right. Knitwear is tricky and can make you look much bigger, so when I see a woman squeezed into one of my outfits, I'm not thrilled." So, what, they're supposed to wrest sweaters from the grasp of larger women?

Tory Burch:

We recently added a size 14, because I felt we were not meeting all the needs of our customer. I love to dress all types of women and certainly all ages, so, for me, that's part of the success of our brand. When I see someone who's a larger size wearing my clothes, I'm completely flattered that they're making her feel good. That's why I'm designing, to make women feel good about what they're wearing."

"Feeling good," apparently translates to "being able to fit into clothes." They ask so little!

Stella McCartney: "When you meet a larger lady and she says, ‘Oh, I love your stuff, but there's nothing for me' - it breaks my heart. I feel like I haven't done my job properly when women say that to me." Well, it's too bad she's not in a position to do anything about that!

Andrew Gn: "Not everybody is Kate Moss. Everyone has the right to look great. I'd love to dress Beth Ditto. When I see someone wearing my clothes, I am proud, often. Puzzled, sometimes. Horrified, never." Okay, for the last time,"Beth Ditto" isn't a "get out of jail free" card.

Who Wears the Clothes? Balancing Branding And Customer Reality [WWD]
Eileen Fisher's Shifting Silhouette [NYT]
Rosie: Eileen Fisher "Stabbed Me in the Heart" [NBC]

That's Sort Of An Awkard Descriptor To Run Under A Little Girl's Face [Hmm]

Dodai — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 15:20:00 -0500

This is, of course, a promo for tomorrow's episode of Tyra's talk show.

The Urban Jungle [Snap Judgment]

Anna — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 15:10:00 -0500

[Sydney, November 24. Image via Getty]

Tattooed model and supporter for the environmental group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) Australia, Dani Lugosi, holds a sign reading 'Ink, Not Mink' drawing the attention of workers in Sydney's central shopping precinct on November 24, 2009. Covered in little more than tattoos, Lugosi was helping PETA to ask shoppers to 'leave fur to its original owners' and to draw attention to what they see as cruelty rampant in the fur industry. AFP PHOTO / Greg WOOD (Photo credit should read GREG WOOD/AFP/Getty Images)

Should Feminism Be "About Equality For Males?" [Feminisms]

Anna N. — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 15:00:00 -0500

Cathy Young defends men's rights groups in Reason, and her article's subhead reads, "Feminism should be about equality for males, too." So should it?

Young takes aim at Kathryn Joyce's Double X article about men's rights groups, which we wrote about a couple of weeks ago. Young argues that these groups are not misogynistic, but that they are merely challenging "the conventional feminist view of domestic violence-as almost invariably involving female victims and male batterers." She argues in favor of sociologist Murray Straus's research into female-initiated violence — though she does acknowledge that women are twice as likely as men to get hurt in a domestic dispute, and three times as likely to fear their partners — and argues that feminists exaggerate the impact of abuse. Young writes,

Whatever minor successes men's groups may have achieved, the reality is that public policy on domestic violence in the U.S. is heavily dominated by feminist advocacy groups. For the most part, these groups embrace a rigid orthodoxy that treats domestic violence as male terrorism against women, rooted in patriarchal power and intended to enforce it. They also have a record of making grotesquely exaggerated, thoroughly debunked claims about an epidemic of violence against women-for instance, that battering causes more hospital visits by women every year than car accidents, muggings, and cancer combined.

According to Young, men's groups exist in response to real bias against men — she says, "federal assistance is denied to programs that offer joint counseling to couples in which there is domestic violence, and court-mandated treatment for violent men downplays drug and alcohol abuse (since it's all about the patriarchy)." And she winds up her piece by quoting philosopher Janet Radcliffe Richards: "No feminist whose concern for women stems from a concern for justice in general can ever legitimately allow her only interest to be the advantage of women." Leaving aside domestic violence for a moment, this statement is actually a complicated one. On the one hand, no real feminist wants to be like the straw feminists Young and others set up — hateful harridans who use lies to further their own selfish ends. But on the other, shouldn't feminism be at least mostly about women's rights? Don't men have their own movement — that is, all of Western history?

It's easy to answer yes to these questions, and some of the time, I believe that answer. But I also think that feminism should set out to change all damaging gender stereotypes, including stereotypes about men. The patriarchy — obviously the only thing my simplistic feminist ass cares about — affects everybody, and though it often benefits men, it also fucks them up. And what's more, it fucks them up in ways that are bad for women. It tells them they need to be sexual aggressors, contributing to rape culture. It tells them they suck at child-rearing and emotional connection in general, which damages their relationships and sticks women with disproportionate familial burdens. And it tells them they need to be big and strong and ready to fight, which makes them both more likely to commit domestic violence and less likely to report it if it happens to them.

All these problems are worth fixing, and feminists — who are experienced at fighting gender stereotyping, and who care about many of the ills created by a rigid social view of masculinity — are well-equipped to help fix them. But we're not going to feel like it if people cast us as the enemy. I'm unlikely to reconsider my view of men's rights groups if writers like Young use them as a peg to insult the supposedly sorry "state of feminism" or to posit some powerful anti-male gynocracy that's promulgating lies about abuse. In fact, Young does such a crappy job of negotiating disputes between the sexes that I'd like to go around her and speak to dudes directly: Hi guys. I am a feminist. I am not an evil bitch who wants to beat you up and take your money. I am your sister, your daughter, your neighbor, your co-worker, and your friend. I support your right to have emotions, to be an involved dad, to feel physically and emotionally safe in your relationships, to hold any job you want regardless of whether it's "masculine," and, if you want, to marry another man. I get that life is hard for you too sometimes, and I want to help you. But only if you meet me halfway.

Note: The image above is a group of male college students marching in high heels to protest violence against women — a "men's group" we can get behind.

Men's Rights [Reason]

Earlier: The Misguided Message Of Men's Rights Groups

"Trust Me, What I'm Drinking Is Not Coffee" [Snap Judgment]

Dodai — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 14:50:00 -0500

[Los Angeles, November 23. Image via Pacific Coast News Online.]

Obama's Approval Rating Down Among Pouty-Lipped Mothers Of Six [Grain Of Salt]

Anna N. — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 14:40:00 -0500

No, not her. Us Weekly claims Angelina Jolie "hates" Obama. A "source" says, "She's into education and rehabilitation and thinks Obama is all about welfare and handouts. She thinks Obama is really a socialist in disguise." [Us]

Google Explains Racist Search Results [Sick Sad World]

Intern Katy — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 14:30:00 -0500

Apparently, if you search for Michelle Obama in Google images, the first thing that appears is not a likeness of the First Lady, but instead an extremely offensive and racist picture.

First of all, we suggest you refrain from searching. The picture that comes up is not of Michelle Obama. To put it bluntly: It's a picture of a monkey with earrings. But even more disturbing than the image itself is the fact that it shows up as the first picture on a major search engine.

Unfortunately, it doesn't seem like there is too much that Google can or will do. Last week, when the image first appeared on the search engine, they were able to remove the picture on the grounds that the website hosting the image was infected with malware. However, the image has been reposted on other websites that are virus-free and otherwise comply with Google's rules. It appears that the picture is the result of a Google bomb - an organized effort to change search results by linking repeatedly to a web page or image with certain key terms. Google has issued an apology. Sort of. Above the picture Google has used their adspace to run this message: "Sometimes our search results can be offensive. We agree. Read more." If you click on the link, you are directed to this message:

Sometimes Google search results from the Internet can include disturbing content, even from innocuous queries. We assure you that the views expressed by such sites are not in any way endorsed by Google.

Search engines are a reflection of the content and information that is available on the Internet. A site's ranking in Google's search results relies heavily on computer algorithms using thousands of factors to calculate a page's relevance to a given query.

The beliefs and preferences of those who work at Google, as well as the opinions of the general public, do not determine or impact our search results. Individual citizens and public interest groups do periodically urge us to remove particular links or otherwise adjust search results. Although Google reserves the right to address such requests individually, Google views the integrity of our search results as an extremely important priority. Accordingly, we do not remove a page from our search results simply because its content is unpopular or because we receive complaints concerning it. We will, however, remove pages from our results if we believe the page (or its site) violates our Webmaster Guidelines, if we believe we are required to do so by law, or at the request of the webmaster who is responsible for the page.

Google is sorry, but until the algorithms change, the picture will remain at the top of the image search.

Offensive Michelle Obama Image Returns, Google Buys Ad To Explain [Search Engine Land]
Google: Michelle Obama Pic Not Our Fault [CBS]
Google: An Explanation Of Our Search Results

WTF Moment On Late Night TV [Clips]

Anna — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 14:20:00 -0500

1:02am, November 24. NBC.

The Banner Yet Waves [Snap Judgment]

Anna — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 14:10:00 -0500

[London, November 24. Image via Getty]

LONDON, ENGLAND - NOVEMBER 24: Intisar Alobady, an anti-war protester, holds an Iraqi flag outside the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre on the first day of The Iraq Inquiry on November 24, 2009 in London. Chairman of the Iraq Inquiry Sir John Chilcot will lead a committee of Privy Counsellors who will consider the period from the summer of 2001 to the end of July 2009, embracing the run-up to the conflict in Iraq, the military action and its aftermath. (Photo by Oli Scarff/Getty Images)

Age Of Innocence? 3-Year-Olds Think They're Fat [Kids Today]

Sadie — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 14:00:00 -0500

The other night, I was channel surfing. On TLC? Obese and Pregnant. One channel up, and I found a guy attempting to demolish an inhuman pile of fries on Man Versus Food. And we wonder why kids are weight-obsessed:

The bad news: A new study, reported today in Eurekalert, confirms what everyone already knew, that increasingly younger girls are worried about their weight and appearance. And we do mean young: while the statistics were already depressing, this study dealt with children aged 3-to-6. Indeed, according to a study by University of Central Florida psychology professor Stacey Tantleff-Dunn and doctoral student Sharon Hayes, nearly half of these pre-schoolers "worry about being fat." And a third of those tested said they were dissatisfied with their appearance. According to Vernisha Shepard, a psychotherapist and clinical coordinator for the eating disorders clinic at Texas Children's Hospital"It is getting more and more common for young girls to begin to have concern regarding their bodies," she says. "Girls as young as 8 are now talking about their bodies and show a concern related to their weight and shape. When summer comes and people begin losing the layers of clothing, more attention is drawn to how we look. Young girls are learning this and basing their entire self worth on their bodies and beauty."

Here's how the test worked:

After chatting for several minutes, the playmate asked each girl how she feels about the way she looks. Thirty-one percent indicated they almost always worry about being fat, while another 18 percent said they sometimes worry about it....Half of the girls watched parts of animated children's movies such as Cinderella that featured young, beautiful characters and appearance-focused comments, such as Gaston telling Belle in Beauty and the Beast that she is "the most beautiful girl in town, and that makes her the best." The second group watched parts of animated children's movies such as Dora the Explorer and Clifford the Big Red Dog that do not contain any appearance-related messages....In a room that featured a dress-up rack of costumes, a vanity, dinosaurs and more, children then spent about the same amount of time on appearance-related play activities, such as brushing their hair at the vanity, regardless of which set of movies they watched.

The good (sort of) news? The kids weren't more affected by a film featuring a svelte princess, like the Princess and the Frog, than by anything else. So limiting princesses and Barbies alone isn't going to do the trick; indeed, they seemed to feel equally bad regardless of what they watched. And one can't help but wonder if conversations like those the children engaged in for this study weren't one more confirmation that this stuff is Important.

I'm glad, though, that this study got the princesses off the hook a little: it's always seemed to me too easy to blame Snow White when the pretty princesses are a constant that pre-dated the dramatic upswing in young kids' eating disorders. Do such films promote a conventional standard of beauty and equate it with virtue? Sure. But it's this in combination with Bratz, Pussycat Dolls, Obese and Pregnant and Man Versus Food that conspires to create a world of what the Atlantic aptly termed "moral panic." Ironically, if the problem with fairy tales is that beauty was "good," we need to realize that obesity has become even more resoundingly "bad," nowadays, and if kids pick up on one, they'll pick up on the other.

'Too Fat To Be A Princess?' [Eurekalert]
Bikini Babies [Recipes Today]
America's Moral Panic Over Obesity

Earlier: Girls And Body Image: It's Apparently Worse Than Ever

Rose Tattoos; Golden Shoes [Snap Judgment]

Dodai — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 13:50:00 -0500

[New York, November 23. Image via INFDaily.]

Dangerous Games: Football Losses Linked To Domestic Violence [Game Theory]

Anna N. — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 13:40:00 -0500

According to a new study, football losses are correlated with spikes in domestic violence. So does sports disappointment cause abuse?

Economists Gordon Dahl and David Card looked at twelve years of football upsets — losses by teams predicted to win by three or more points. They found that during the regular season, such losses were correlated with an 8% increase in male-initiated partner violence in the hours immediately after the game. Female-on-male violence and child abuse were both unaffected by football losses, but violence against friends and neighbors increased by about the same percentage partner violence did. So essentially, men who just watched their team lose are more likely to beat up lovers and friends.

Catherine Rampell points out on the New York Times Economix blog that other surprising factors contribute to domestic violence, including holidays — partner violence rises 22% on Thanksgiving. And Slate's Ray Fisman cautions that football may not actually cause abuse:

[W]hile a tough loss for the home team may touch off abuse, that doesn't mean football is the root cause of postgame violence. More likely, the loss merely serves to set off an attack that was already waiting to happen. In a world without football, acts of abuse might merely get postponed, only to be brought on later by some other source of anger. In the long term, rather than blaming football, we may be best off focusing on addressing the more fundamental problems underlying abusive relationships.

Mentally healthy people in stable relationships probably don't suddenly assault their spouses because the Steelers lost. But it's worth examining the possible external triggers for abuse — triggers that have nothing to do with a woman being "difficult" or "asking for it." It's also worth noting that for everything that's great about sports fandom — a shared narrative, a sense of camaraderie, just plain fun — athletic culture can sometimes have an element of violence. Anyone who went to a Big Ten school has probably seen a drunken postgame brawl between pissed-off fans, and while this doesn't mean we should condemn football, we might do well to be a little more aware of its after-effects. Part of this awareness might involve encouraging some moderation in tailgating — coverage of Card and Dahl's research doesn't mention it, but I have to wonder if the increased abuse doesn't have something to do with fans getting drunk at 11 a.m. And of course, men and women alike need to speak out against domestic violence — as a group of Australian men are doing tomorrow in honor of the UN Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women. But perhaps in addition to all this, some sports fans need an extra reminder that, as Fisman says, "it's only a game."

Football Upsets Increase Domestic Violence, Study Finds [NYT Economix Blog]
Illegal Contact [Slate]
Males Asked To Speak Out Against Violence [News.com.au]

Cereal Choices For The High, Drunk, And Old [Breakfast Of Champions]

Jenna — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 13:30:00 -0500

One of the glib reasons my parents would give for leaving their native U.S. to raise their brood in New Zealand was always, "We didn't need the 50 kinds of breakfast cereal." Clearly, they just lacked this handy flowchart! [EatingTheRoad]

Lady Gaga Addresses Her Worst Rumor [Clips]

Dodai — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 13:20:00 -0500

Last night, Jay Leno had Lady Gaga perform on his show, and afterward, she sat down for some tea and a chat. When asked, "What is the worst rumor about you," Ms. Gaga answered quite honestly.

That's The Ticket [Snap Judgment]

Anna — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 13:10:00 -0500

[Tokyo, November 24. Image via Getty]

Campaign girls Erika Imai (L) and Rina Nagahisa display lottery tickets and a giant mock ticket to advertise for the 300 million yen (3 million USD) Year End Jumbo Lottery outside a Tokyo ticket booth (background) on November 24, 2009. Thousands of punters queued up for tickets in the hope of becoming a millionaire in what was become an annual event. AFP PHOTO / Yoshikazu TSUNO (Photo credit should read YOSHIKAZU TSUNO/AFP/Getty Images)

Supporters Lighten Obama's Image; Detractors Darken It [Colorstruck]

LatoyaPeterson — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 13:00:00 -0500

The National Academy of Sciences published a study that FINDS a correlation between a person's political views and darker or lighter representations of Barack Obama. But does this study prove anything we didn't learn during the OJ Simpson trial?

The study abstract states:

Participants whose partisanship matched that of the candidate they were evaluating consistently rated the lightened photographs as more representative of the candidate than the darkened photographs, whereas participants whose partisanship did not match that of the candidate showed the opposite pattern. For evaluations of Barack Obama, the extent to which people rated lightened photographs as representative of him was positively correlated with their stated voting intentions and reported voting behavior in the 2008 Presidential election. This effect persisted when controlling for political ideology and racial attitudes. These results suggest that people's visual representations of others are related to their own preexisting beliefs and to the decisions they make in a consequential context.

Ben Smith at the Politico isn't entirely sold on the study's conclusion, noting:

The study seems to indicate in passing that the race of the participants doesn't affect the outcome, though it isn't totally clear on that point. It also seems to buy in to the claim that Hillary Clinton artificially darkened an image of Obama, which wasn't terribly widely believed.

Anyway, the research's most practical finding seems to be that devious political hacks don't need to play games with candidates' pictures because the voters are doing it themselves:

Although the number of Blacks holding public office has increased dramatically over the years, light-skinned Blacks have consistently been over-represented, and dark-skinned Blacks consistently under-represented, as elected officials (26). Some have even suggested that a successful strategy for Black candidates who are running for office would be to look ‘‘more white'' in appearance... Our results suggest that voters themselves may alter how they see a racially ambiguous candidate, depending on their own level of support and their corresponding desire to see the candidate favorably.

Smith seems to leave off two other large instances of darkening that occurred in the past 15 years. The first, one that made political headlines, was the darkening of Harold Ford, Jr. in the 2006 Senate race in Tennessee. As Time magazine reported:

[A]s the race has heated up, the issue of race itself has become an ugly part of the campaign. Over the last few weeks, Republicans have aired three questionable ads against Ford, the latest so blatant that Corker condemned it and asked WHIN radio in Gallatin, Tennessee, to stop airing it. In the first 24 seconds, the one-minute ad attacking Ford and his father, and paid for by Tennesseans for Truth, uses the word "black" six times and accuses Ford of favoring African-American issues above others. "His daddy handed him his seat in Congress and his seat in the Congressional Black Caucus, an all-black group of congressmen who represent the interests of black people above all others," the narrator says. Station manager Jack Williams says he pulled the spot hours before Corker's staff contacted him and that it aired just once.

While the ad was not sanctioned by the Republican Party, it came on the heels of two that were: an RNC television commercial that concludes with a backlit figure of Ford striding into a dark hallway and towards the screen in a manner reminiscent of Willie Horton, and a fund-raising mailer designed by the state Republican Party bearing black-and-white photos of Ford that make him look much darker-skinned than he is and uses phrases including "purports," "pretends," and "passes himself off as" - all terms once used for light-skinned blacks who pretended to be white.

State Republican party Chairman Bob Davis has called the allegations of racism ludicrous, but whether the photos were intentionally darkened does not matter, says Robert Parham, executive director of the Baptist Center for Ethics. "The only plausible reason to use such a picture is to play the race card - in an effort to frighten and fire up white voters in a key senatorial race," Parham wrote in an editorial on the Center's website. "Whether they acted with malice or moral callousness doesn't really matter, the end result is race as a wedge issue."

Time magazine also covered the PNAS study, but also added an interesting twist:

While other factors may not have had much influence, when it came to biracial candidates at least, political views were strongly correlated with bias. In one study, participants were also shown photographs of John McCain. No bias toward lighter or darker skin tone in images of the former presidential candidate was evident, regardless of participants' politics. Yet when examining images of candidates of mixed ethnic backgrounds, bias was plain. "Across the three studies reported here," the researchers write, "we found that partisans not only 'darken' those with whom they disagree, but also 'lighten' those with whom they agree." The findings suggest that race bias is very much alive and well in the U.S., and more insidious than we might like to believe. The researchers highlight several examples in which race, or more specifically "blackness" was emphasized to a public figure's detriment-the scandal over whether the Hillary Clinton campaign had deliberately darkened Obama's complexion in a video ad or, alas, when TIME ran a deliberately darkened photograph of O.J. Simpson on the cover following his arrest in 1994.

Yet while such examples speak to the ongoing problem of racial bias-and how it can be exploited in politics or in the media-the study's authors suggest that these findings, (and perhaps Sammy Sosa's recent effort to lighten his skin), point to a more insidious problem. "Our results suggest that voters themselves may alter how they see a racially ambiguous candidate, depending on their own level of support and their corresponding desire to see the candidate favorably."

The second issue of darkening was done by Time magazine, during the OJ Simpson trial. In Time's review of the PNAS study, it refesr to its own misstep of darkening Simpson's features during the height of the trial. Because of its choice, Time magazine issued a major apology to their readers. The Museum of Hoaxes explains:

Time magazine decided to use this mug shot on its June 27th cover (top), but first they asked photo-illustrator Matt Mahurin to artistically interpret it. Mahurin darkened the photo and reduced the size of the prisoner ID number. Time managing editor James Gaines offered this description of the resulting cover:

The harshness of the mug shot — the merciless bright light, the stubble on Simpson's face, the cold specificity of the picture — had been subtly smoothed and shaped into an icon of tragedy. The expression on his face was not merely blank now; it was bottomless.

However, many people responded to the cover far less charitably. Critics charged Time with racism, claiming that by darkening Simpson's features the magazine had emphasized his skin color and gave him a more "menacing" appearance. Benjamin Chavis of the N.A.A.C.P. argued that the cover made Simpson seem like "some kind of animal." Journalists suggested that, since the mug shot was a news photo, it should never have been altered at all.

Unfortunately for Time, its rival Newsweek ran the same mug shot on its cover (bottom) that week, without altering it. The two covers appeared side-by-side on newsstands, making Time's decision to darken the photo far more visible. Time later issued an apology to its readers.

From a purely visual standpoint, darkening someone's features is a standard way to make them look more sinister. If we are presented with a face cloaked in shadow, it's an indication that this is not a person we should trust. However, because race is entangled into so many parts of American life, and so much of American racial history has been based in denigrating those who are dark, and exalting those who are light, actions like darkening a person can be read in many different ways.

Political Partisanship Influences Perception Of Biracial Candidates' Skin Tone [PNAS]
The Politics Of Skin Color[Politico]

Geri's Ensemble Is Positively Hair-Raising [Snap Jdugment]

Dodai — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 12:50:00 -0500

[London, November 24. Image via Bauer-Griffin.]

Taylor Lautner Breaks Down Three Types Of Twihards [Clips]

Dodai — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 12:40:00 -0500

The Buff werewolf has it down to a science: There's the screamer, the crier and the fainter. (He left out the sigher, the huffer, the eyeroller.) Oh, and remember when Taylor was posing wet on the beach? Guess what:

His Rolling Stone cover hits stands now-ish.

Taylor Lautner Covers Rolling Stone In A Wet T-Shirt [JustJared]

Earlier: Can Werewolves Swim?

GMA On Too Early For Leashes, Simulated Oral Sex [Glambert]

Margaret — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 12:30:00 -0500

Good Morning America has canceled an Adam Lambert appearance scheduled for tomorrow. An ABC News spokesperson explained: "Given his controversial live performance on the AMAs we were concerned about airing a similar concert so early in the morning." [Mediabistro]

Hot Shots: Basketball Team Photos Raise Questions Of Homophobia [The L Word]

Intern Katy — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 12:20:00 -0500

The picture at left is taken from the website for Florida State University's women's basketball team. While it looks seems inocuous enough, these glam shots have sparked a debate about the persistent problem of homophobia in women's sports.

The sexy pictures are part of a newly-launched campaign designed to appeal to both potential FSU basketball players and fans. The new website for the FSU team features many pictures like the one above. In the "meet the team" section, each player has her own profile page, which is overwhelmingly dominated by a shot of the athlete dressed in a satin dress, exiting a limo. Although some clutch basketballs - the only nod to the fact that these are basketball players, not debutantes - others are straight up glamor shots (the most obvious example is the image of Kayli Keough, guard/forward). The main page shows the entire team in a limo, perfectly coiffed and smiling at the camera. Yes, they look great. They fully live up to their claim of "Confidence. Strength. Beauty. We've got it all." But it is hard not to wonder, what does beauty have to do with anything?

This is the question posed by Jayda Evans. In her column for the Seattle Times, Evans examines the re-designed site for the No. 15 team, ultimately coming to the conclusion that the emphasis on femininity and beauty indicates an underlying fear of being viewed as anything other than straight. She mentions the documentary Training Rules, about former Penn State coach Rene Portland, who allegedly had just three rules for her players: No drinking, no drugs, and absolutely no lesbians. Portland may have been more explicit about her homophobia, but the FSU website reveals a certain desire to move away from the actual game - where players are sweaty, strong and accomplished, perhaps frighteningly so - towards a much more polished image of female athletes as celebrities first, players second. Evans points out that attempt to make female athletes appear "powerful, beautiful, strong and accomplished" is just another way to gloss over the fact that they are being overtly feminized. For Evans, "beautiful" is translated as "attractive to men," and implicitly, heterosexual.

In a press release for the newly launched website, FSU coach Sue Semrau explains their decision to depict their players en route to some fancy shindig: "We feel it is important to set ourselves apart as much as we can... We wanted to have a product that would stand out to the people we are trying to reach." The "product" being not only the game, but the individual players. At Carnal San Francisco, editor Tim McElreavy suggests that Semrau's attempt to "sell" the game reveals a disheartening focus on the bottom line: "While it would be naïve to believe that college sports isn't or shouldn't be concerned with the bottom line, such words, especially from a coach, really seem to instrumentalize the players' achievements. Add to this business rhetoric the stereotype of the pretty woman, and women's sports marketing moves further and further away from the actual sport," he writes.

And to drive home this point, take a look at the website for the FSU men's team, where the players are portrayed in a rather different light. There is no doubt that this is about the "actual sport." Their website features pictures of the players in action. Their faces are contorted into grimaces of concentration while sweat pours off their bodies. Okay, it's not unattractive, but it's also not purposefully sexy. The emphasis is on the game, not the dolled-up players. While FSU women have to be "sold" and "appeal" to the public, the men's team can safely coast on the knowledge that people watch them play for reasons other than their sex appeal.

Women's Hoops Media Guides And Web Sites Getting Sexier [Seattle Times]
Glam Photos Show The Ugly Side Of Women's Basketball [Carnal San Francisco]
Glammed Up B'Ball Stars Spark Uproar [Newser]
Florida State University Women's Basketball [Official Site]

In Bloom [Snap Judgment]

Anna — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 12:10:00 -0500

[Washington, D.C, November 24. Image via The Official White House Photostream]

First Lady Michelle Obama meets with Mrs. Gursharan Kaur in the Yellow Oval Room of the White House, Nov. 24, 2009. (Official White House Photo by Samantha Appleton)
This official White House photograph is being made available only for publication by news organizations and/or for personal use printing by the subject(s) of the photograph. The photograph may not be manipulated in any way and may not be used in commercial or political materials, advertisements, emails, products, promotions that in any way suggests approval or endorsement of the President, the First Family, or the White House.

Going Vogue : Anna Wintour Meets Alaskan Winter [Cover Lies]

Anna N. — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 12:00:00 -0500

Question: What do Sarah Palin's new book and Vogue magazine have in common? Answer: Both are glossy, insubstantial, and full of lies.

We know Sarah Palin isn't the biggest fan of Vogue, but we think she'd do really well guest-editing her own issue. So we've worked up a sample cover in the style of our Cover Lies feature (in which we expose how little relationship ladymags, like Sarah Palin, have to reality). While the real Vogue bows to the recession with its $300 "Steal" of the Month, Palin could show us how to get a $150,000 wardrobe for free — and how to pick a $700/night hotel, complete with robe and slippers. In lieu of book reviews, she could offer up a bunch of snide remarks about Katie Couric — "the perky one" probably can't read anyway. And for balance, Palin could add some media elite contributors, like Trig-birther Andrew Sullivan and Rebecca Johnson. (Johnson works for the fake America but the real Vogue, and says all Palin wanted to talk about in her much-maligned interview was "drilling for oil" — but what else is there, anyway?) In fact, right after a Jeffrey Steingarten piece on moose-meat, Going Vogue should include a free sample of premium Alaska crude. We hear it gets rid of both wrinkles and endangered wildlife.

Fact Check: Palin's Book Goes Rogue On Some Facts [AP, via Yahoo News]
Palin's Katie Couric Myths [Daily Beast]
Palin's Ego Trip [Daily Beast]