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Britney Spears is out doing press and magazine photo shoots, so it's time for another round of our nation's favorite game: Is Britney Spears Fat or Thin?
Though this dress (above) is reason enough to swoon, it has websites, from Us to Hollywood Life to The Examiner, once again chattering. All of this comes just after Shape magazine revealed its June cover featuring Spears in a killer white bikini and, of course, her famous abs. The internet has thus exploded with speculation about Photoshopping (which I won't dignify with a link here) as well as general panting about her once-again-toned physique.
This seems to be the price one pays for being a sex symbol in one's youth. Britney's so identified with her slamming body (I admit, I've watched the "I'm a Slave 4 U" video more than once for inspiration before ab work) that she may never escape this cycle as long as she's in the public eye.
The Shape article, at least, does paint a nicely realistic portrait of Brit's struggles to reach the impossibly high fitness standards the world sets for her. "I like it, then again, I hate it," she says in Shape. "I'm in my 30s now, so I have to work harder to keep it up." She adds, "Dieting is tough … because my specialties are spaghetti, brownies and chocolate chip cookies."
And as Us pointed out, back in a January 2009 issue of Glamour, Spears admitted that being a mom changed her workout priorities. "I have had to work hard at getting it back to where it used to be," she said of her body. "I used to be obsessed with working out. …[now], three days a week is cool, even two.”
Now that's some real inspiration: Even Britney Spears knows having a perfect body isn't easy — but it also isn't everything.
In case you need some gymspiration:
Hollywood.Com Correspondent Jennifer Keishin Armstrong Is The Author Of Sexy Feminism And Mary And Lou And Rhoda And Ted, A History Of The Mary Tyler Moore Show. Visit Her Online At JenniferKArmstrong.Com.
Follow Jennifer On Twitter @Jkarmstrong
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This week in Reasons to Talk About Beyoncé, we have a snippet of a new collaboration with The-Dream and the ubiquitous 2 Chainz called "Turnt." Though her forthcoming album has no official release date yet, she's been teasing fans with bits and pieces like the crazy-weird-(awesome?) "Bow Down," "Standing on the Sun," and "Grown Woman." While it’s not clear whether this new song will appear on her album, it is one of two tracks on The-Dream’s record, IV Play, featuring vocals from the great B.
Unsurprisingly, given her collaborators, "Turnt" features more of the laid-back street Beyoncé than the dance-friendly "Single Ladies" Beyoncé. It’s all slow groove, driving beat, and forbidden love: "People say I’m crazy but I love you 'cause you crazy too." There’s also a Destiny's Child reference, making us wonder about any future reunion plans: "Where Michelle at? Where Kelly?" But Beyoncé has a long to-do list already, what with touring this summer and answering constant questions about the state of her uterus as it relates to her belt choices. For now, we're happy with this perfect-for-a-summer-afternoon jam.
Listen here:
Hollywood.com correspondent Jennifer Keishin Armstrong is the author of Sexy Feminism and Mary and Lou and Rhoda and Ted, a history of The Mary Tyler Moore Show. Visit her online at JenniferKArmstrong.com.
Follow Jennifer on Twitter @jkarmstrong
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Is Abercrombie & Fitch still a thing with the young folks? I thought it had lived out its cool period shortly after the summer of ’99, when LFO sang-rapped about liking girls who wear the brand and also becoming ill due to Chinese food. Of course, A&F has made intermittent bids for my attention since then: I think they put out a risqué catalog once or twice in the early aughts, and I know they’re always attempting to asphyxiate me by pumping their noxious cologne into malls and assaulting me with bare-chested boys at their store entrances.
So it’s funny that the company systematically snubs anyone outside its thin, young, and beautiful demographic, even while it continues to pant for attention from the likes of me, a 30-something professional woman not about to need short-short cutoffs or cropped sweaters any time soon — and to be fair, from all of us, no matter our age or shape. The New Rules of Retail co-author Robin Lewis pointed out in a recent interview with Business Insider that A&F’s men’s line runs up to size XXL (to accommodate those rippling muscles, of course), but the women’s clothing goes only to a large, or the equivalent of a size 10. (Two-thirds of the clothes-shopping population falls at a 14 or above.) Why try so hard when you only want the skinny young things?
Actually, maybe it’s not such a surprise that an attention-hungry brand would clearly and publicly disregard the less-than-perfect specimens among us. Naturally, doing so is one more way of grabbing attention — and possibly becoming known as an elite club, a gross-but-effective marketing strategy. Lewis said A&F’s 68-year-old CEO, Mike Jeffries, “doesn't want his core customers to see people who aren't as hot as them wearing his clothing. People who wear his clothing should feel like they're one of the 'cool kids.'” Jeffries himself has suggested as much in the past, explaining that his stores hire only hot employees: “Because good-looking people attract other good-looking people, and we want to market to cool, good-looking people. We don't market to anyone other than that.”
A&F may be living in its 1999 glory days, however, while the rest of us consumers are hanging out here in 2013. H&M recently became the latest company to embrace the idea of more realistic models and standards of beauty by hiring “plus-size” — that is, size 12, and still crazy-beautiful — model Jennie Runk to promote its swimwear. Hail to the non-washboard abs!
So instead of buying A&F, I suggest you brighten your day with this video and then go buy an incredibly affordable, responsibly-marketed bikini from H&M:
Hollywood.com correspondent Jennifer Keishin Armstrong is the author of Sexy Feminism and Mary and Lou and Rhoda and Ted, a history of The Mary Tyler Moore Show. Visit her online at JenniferKArmstrong.com.
Follow Jennifer on Twitter @jmkarmstrong
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Teen Mom star Farrah Abraham is hardly the first reality star to also star in a sex tape, though most end up snagging the reality show because of the sex tape, not vice-versa. Abraham, on the other hand, has officially sold her own XXX video to Vivid Entertainment for a "seven-figure settlement," according to E! News.
And while there's something to be said for entrepreneurship and striking while the iron is hot, it's a little sad to see this girl reaching for the porn deal as her Teen Mom fame inevitably fades. It's great, meanwhile, to see her talking about getting her master’s degree and pursuing "culinary business endeavors." No doubt the seven figures will help with that. And heck, if Abraham really wanted to express her sexuality this way, so be it.
But this porn deal also indicates why so many young women are drawn into the industry: not because they want to be, but because it's one of their few options. It's hard to imagine that Farrah Superstar: Backdoor Teen Mom will emerge as a great artistic work that sheds a new light on modern sexuality. All Vivid is doing is playing into the fetishization of a young girl who's somewhat famous for being a "teen mom." And Abraham is likely trying to make a buck however she can.
Let's just hope that seven figures helps Abraham get a hell of a master's degree and a brilliant culinary venture. And let's hope Teen Mom ends soon so all these troubled souls — see Teen Mom 2’s Jennelle and her drug problems once again on display in last night’s finale — can get out of the spotlight and back to their real, if difficult, lives.
Hollywood.com correspondent Jennifer Keishin Armstrong is the author of Sexy Feminism and Mary and Lou and Rhoda and Ted, a history of The Mary Tyler Moore Show, due out in May. Visit her online at JenniferKArmstrong.com.
Follow Jennifer on Twitter @jmkarmstrong
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In an Internet world where expletive-laden, crazypants letters go viral for the sheer force of their vitriol, it’s heartening to see that saner, sweeter sentiments can catch some online attention as well.
Yes, that nutso Delta Gamma letter last week showed us all that at least one young woman thought it was okay to berate her sorority sisters for being "f***ing retarded" for not flirting with their chosen partner fraternity with enough vigor. But this week, an Illinois dad who’s also a psychologist takes too his blog to encourage his still-young daughter to ignore all that dumb advice magazines and books will someday spew at her about how to “keep [guys] interested” in her.
Dr. Kelly Flanagan explains that he was inspired to write the post after noticing “how to keep him interested” pop up in his Google window as one of the most-searched terms. (Anyone who has a blog and can see the analytics knows how heartbreaking it can be to find out exactly what folks are searching for on the Internet.) It upset him to think of his own little girl one day worrying about how to keep some dude interested, so he wrote her an open letter: “Little One, your only task is to know deeply in your soul—in that unshakeable place that isn’t rattled by rejection and loss and ego—that you are worthy of interest.”
He goes on to tell her that he doesn’t care what faults her future mate has, as long as he loves her the way she deserves: “I don’t care if he puts his elbows on the dinner table — as long as he puts his eyes on the way your nose scrunches when you smile. And then can’t stop looking.” It goes on for a while like this until we all start tearing up, and he ends with this: “In the end, Little One, if you stumble across a man like that and he and I have nothing else in common, we will have the most important thing in common: You.”
Of course, those of us who are more aware of inclusiveness would like to see him acknowledge the possibility that the love of her life might be a girl. And of course we hope he’s cool with her not marrying anyone at all. But girls, whether you have a dad like this or not, you should read this letter and take it to heart. You don’t need to keep anyone interested.
My mom used to tell me to look for the guy who looks at me like that. Like what? You’ll know, she said. And she was right. Dr. Flanagan is right, too: The guy who looks at me like that and my dad have startlingly little in common, but they do have me in common, and that is more than enough.
Hollywood.com correspondent Jennifer Keishin Armstrong is the author of Sexy Feminism and Mary and Lou and Rhoda and Ted, a history of The Mary Tyler Moore Show, due out in May. Visit her online at JenniferKArmstrong.com.
Follow Jennifer on Twitter @jmkarmstrong
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Anyone who’s seen Peter Dinklage act, or even heard him speak in that withering baritone of his, knows he is awesome. But the Game of Thrones actor seems to have mastered the Playboy Q&A as well as he’s mastered playing a dwarf nobleman with a nutso royal family and a soft spot for prostitutes. Here, just five of the many wonderful tidbits his interview reveals — but you should read the whole thing:
1. He does not enjoy swordplay. "There's a scene in the show when I chop a man's leg off from behind. The gentleman was probably about 70 years old. They filmed him from the back, so you don't see how old he is. Also he's an amputee. He had one leg, so basically I just knocked out the fake leg. I had a big dull sword, and I knocked a wooden leg off an amputee who was 70 years old. So to answer your question, no, I don't feel like a badass. The fight scenes are all a big lie. The whole time, you're trying not to get hit in the eye with a sword, and you wish you had on a welding helmet."
2. He does not, in fact, "get so much pussy," despite a video on YouTube speculating that he does. "By ‘pussy’ do they mean actual pussy? Or is it a metaphor, like for gardening? Because if that's the case, then yes, I've been doing a lot of gardening lately. If they mean sex, they might be getting me confused with somebody else. But if pussy means wearing old-man sweaters and watering my herb garden, then absolutely, I'm getting so much pussy."
3. He does not see himself as a sex symbol, nor even believe others do. "Honestly, I think there's an irony in all of this. I take it with a grain of salt. They'll say, ‘Oh, he's sexy,’ but women still go for guys who are six-foot-two. It's nice that people are thinking outside the box, but I don't believe any of it for a minute." [Editor’s note: He is sexy.]
4. He’s developing a biopic of Fantasy Island star Hervé Villechaize as a possible role for himself. "We're very different personalities. He had a desire that was definitely thwarted by the world, but I'm fascinated by him. He was quite outrageous. My friend, the movie director Sacha Gervasi, has been working on the script for a while, basing it on an interview with Hervé he did when he was a journalist. A magazine hired him to do a puff piece, but they ended up talking for hours. At one point Hervé pulled a knife on Sacha. He was like a pirate, an incredible character. Hervé killed himself about a week later, so Sacha realized the interview was actually a suicide note. It's a terribly sad tale, but there's something fun about getting into the skin of a guy like that, pretending to be him for a few months."
5. He and his brother did puppet shows for their neighborhood in New Jersey. "We basically did little puppet musicals with the loudest songs we could find. We did a puppet version of Quadrophenia, the Who album. We made drum kits out of tuna fish cans. It was fun. We would have haunted houses too. My brother, who's a violinist now, was the real ham, the real performer of the family. His passion for the violin is the only thing that kept him from being an actor."
Hollywood.com correspondent Jennifer Keishin Armstrong is the author of Sexy Feminism and Mary and Lou and Rhoda and Ted, a history of The Mary Tyler Moore Show, due out in May. Visit her online at JenniferKArmstrong.com.
Follow Jennifer on Twitter @jmkarmstrong
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Jay-Z, Shonda Rhimes, Sheryl Sandberg, Jennifer Lawrence, Mindy Kaling, Frank Ocean, Lena Dunham, Beyonce … Time’s annual list of 100 Most Influential People celebrates diversity, innovation, inclusiveness, and, of course, the requisite share of hyperbole. (Lena Dunham is cool, but is she already an "Icon"?)
Of course, we still apparently have some work to do in the gender parity department, with only 35 of the 100 being women. Does the list reflect that women simply still don’t get to hold as many power positions as men, or does it reflect a media bias against powerful women? It’s hard to say for sure, but it’s hard to imagine that, for instance, Hillary Clinton — the leading candidate for a presidential run in 2016 — didn’t make it the cut.
Speaking of Hillary, how is it that Christina Aguilera made it but Mrs. Clinton did not? Look, I love Christina more than, as far as I can tell, a lot of people. I think she’s a great role model, as far as pop stars are concerned: She’s unapologetically outspoken, she takes responsibility for her own career, and she’s sung an empowering song or two. Her talent is undeniable, as Time’s little piece "by Celine Dion" notes, but I’m not sure that even the most transcendent singing voice makes one influential.
In the other pop cultural examples on the list, those named stand for something greater, or do something greater, than themselves: Grey’s Anatomy and Scandal creator Shonda Rhimes broke into the white male-dominated world of TV writing and created shows that revolutionized how we portray race and gender. Mindy Kaling used her unique brand of comedy to become the first South Asian lead on TV — not to mention another woman of color running her own show. Lena Dunham is a young force to be reckoned with; she pushed the single-young-woman sitcom into places we never dreamed it would go. Frank Ocean changed the face of hip-hop. And Justin Timberlake has demonstrated uncanny business sense, evidenced by the way the release of his latest album, The 20/20 Experience, dominated the cultural conversation for weeks.
Maybe Christina is taking this season off from The Voice to plot her own world domination? Or her presidential run?
Hollywood.com correspondent Jennifer Keishin Armstrong is the author of Sexy Feminism and Mary and Lou and Rhoda and Ted, a history of The Mary Tyler Moore Show, due out in May. Visit her online at JenniferKArmstrong.com.
Follow Jennifer on Twitter @jmkarmstrong
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If you want a good kind of cry today, check out this new video sponsored by Dove called "Sketches." It features a project in which the beauty product company hires a sketch artist, the kind who usually puts together composites of criminals based on witness description, to draw women per the women’s own descriptions of themselves. He’s separated from his models by a curtain, so he never sees them.
Then, the artist draws the same women based on strangers’ descriptions of them. You see as the conversations shift from protruding chins and skin discolorations to shining eyes and nice cheekbones. You also see that the resulting sketches are sadder, chunkier — and also less accurate — when based on the women’s own descriptions of themselves.
Kudos to Dove for continuing what they’ve called their “Campaign for Real Beauty,” which is based on the radical notion that advertising can be good for the world — and can still sell us lotion and bodywash without making us feel badly about ourselves first. This is one more piece of hardcore proof that our media messages wear women down, and that The Beauty Myth is real and destructive. Of course, it’s also important to note that Dove’s parent company, Unilever, is hardly guilt-free in the fraught beauty industry. But this video and this project are certainly forces for good.
Watch it here:
Hollywood.com correspondent Jennifer Keishin Armstrong is the author of Sexy Feminism and Mary and Lou and Rhoda and Ted, a history of The Mary Tyler Moore Show, due out in May. Visit her online at JenniferKArmstrong.com.
Follow Jennifer on Twitter @jmkarmstrong
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The Internet has never been known for its class factor, but Details proves itself only a miniscule step above the likes of Vivid Entertainment with its list of The 10 Most F**kable Celebrities.
Yes, yes, it’s just a word. But there’s something invasive and assaulty about "fuckable" in this context. (And I say this as a fan and frequent casual user of the root word, "f**k.") First, there’s the one-way objectification of it — it is something you do to someone, and the word contains no implicit consent. Worse, there’s the crude judgment it signifies — you are worthy of sexual attention, you are not. It’s basically "I would hit that" in a single, even grosser word.
Interestingly, the "winners" here seem to have been determined in a poll asking readers which celebrities most appear in their sexual fantasies. Somehow, (even if this is not the height of journalism) this seems much less violent. Being the subject of someone’s fantasies, while it might make you feel a bit uncomfortable, does not evoke quite so much unwelcome action. Why not just "Sexiest Celebrities" or "Celebrities You Fantastize About"?
While I applaud the gender-neutrality of the list — it includes both women and men (congrats, Ryan Gosling and Mila Kunis!) — expressing unsolicited desire for male stars as well as female ones in strangely aggressive terms doesn’t make it any better.
This seems to be part of a possible trend this week, with Vivid Entertainment and XCritic.com telling us, apropos of nothing, that their users have voted and would really enjoy a Jennifer Lawrence sex tape. It matters not a jot what these people want, nor which high-profile people Details readers do not know but wish to bed. We’ve always seen our celebrities as sex objects, but maybe let’s tone down this Sexual Harassment by Internet Survey, okay?
Hollywood.com correspondent Jennifer Keishin Armstrong is the author of Sexy Feminism and Mary and Lou and Rhoda and Ted, a history of The Mary Tyler Moore Show, due out in May. Visit her online at JenniferKArmstrong.com.
Follow Jennifer on Twitter @jmkarmstrong
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When 20 grade-schoolers and six teachers died in the Sandy Hook Elementary shooting four months ago, public reaction came swiftly: We needed to do something. It seemed impossible then that those high emotions would fade by the time winter turned to spring, but here we are.
Now, as Congress prepares to vote on a version of the administration’s gun control proposals this week, even that watered-down-from-its-original-form measure — requiring expanded background checks — faces a blocked vote from some Republicans. So the White House is mounting a campaign for renewed public support, smartly putting first lady Michelle Obama front and center.
In an emotional speech Wednesday at a Chicago conference on youth violence, the First Lady compared herself to the honor student from her hometown who was shot and killed a week after she performed as a majorette in the inaugural parade. Breaking up as she recalled the story of 15-year-old Hadiya Pendleton, Obama called for Congress to take action as she drew parallels between her life and that of the Chicago girl.
"Hadiya Pendleton was me and I was her," she said. "But I got to grow up and go to Princeton and Harvard Law School and have a career and a family and the most blessed life I could ever imagine." That life resulted from simply having a safe neighborhood to grow up in, she added. "That was the difference between growing up and becoming a lawyer, a mother and first lady of the United States and being shot dead at the age of 15."
The speech marked a rare foray into major policy for Obama — and, it seems, an effective one in terms of garnering Internet attention. The question is whether it will be enough to counter the pro-gun lobby in time for real action.
Watch some of her speech here:
Hollywood.com correspondent Jennifer Keishin Armstrong is the author of Sexy Feminism and Mary and Lou and Rhoda and Ted, a history of The Mary Tyler Moore Show, due out in May. Visit her online at JenniferKArmstrong.com.
Follow Jennifer on Twitter @jmkarmstrong
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