"So why do these publications do so well? After appearing on the cover of US Weekly’s “Did They or Didn’t They? A Plastic Surgery Guide for Dimwits” issue and battling for a retraction, I learned that the magazine profited $1.4 million from the issue alone (money I felt should be donated to Operation Smile or an equally well-managed charity helping those in need of reconstructive surgery). The concept of ‘Stars Are Just Like Us!” makes us feel connected to lifestyles that can sometime seem out of this world. Yes, celebrities are just like us. They struggle with demons and overcome obstacles and have annoying habits and battle vices. That said, I would be absolutely mortified to discover that some 15-year-old girl in Kansas City read one of these “articles” and decided she wasn’t going to eat for a couple of weeks so she too could “crash diet” and look like Scarlett Johansson. I’m not normally the type to dignify toilet paper rags with a response, but in this case I feel it’s my responsibility to comment. In a way, I’m glad some dummy journalist (and I use the term “journalist” loosely) is banking on my “deflating” so that I can address the issue straight from my healthy heart. For more information on eating disorders and/or treatment options, please visit: http://www.nationaleatingdisorders.org/"

In celebration of Prada being one of the designers honored last night at the Met Ball (which I LOVE) I forced myself to look through all her beautiful collections on Style.com and, if you wanted to go to last night’s ball in one of Mrs. Prada’s looks from spring 2000 to resort 2010 that went down the runway on a model visibly of color, here’s all your choices. Every single one. (I think I’m missing one from the last resort collection because of tumblr’s limits, to note.) I used the shitty selection criteria of judging whether a model appeared white by my white USA-ian view. I was inspired to do this because Jourdan Dunn is my favorite model, and as the hype around this year’s met ball got even hype-ier and there were more interviews and laudatory discussions of Prada, I couldn’t help flashing repeatedly to one of Dunn’s accomplishments as a model: being the first black model in this millenium to walk for Prada. An accomplishment for Dunn, and for whatever reason, almost never mentioned in the write-ups and interviews for Prada. Granted, my google skills might suck here, but prada + racial diversity and other combos yielded one article.

Robin Givhan writes on the third page of her very profile of Prada: When she selects her models, Prada typically looks at the face, not the body. She looks for personality and eccentricity, though not always racial diversity. Not always. From 2000 to 2008, the only model identifiably of color was Hye Park. Until Jourdan Dunn. In one of Prada’s 2009 rtw shows she had no models I saw of color. Since then, though, except for resort and pre-fall smaller shows with fewer looks, there are multiple (one time it was FOUR) models of color, like Shu Pei Qin, Rose Cordero and Joan Smalls. Which makes it even weirder to me that no one brings this up. They’d get to pat her on the back for being so liberal! So diverse! 4 out of 46 looks is so much higher than many many shows do. (I’m depressed again.)

Another quote from the Givhan piece: Prada’s work reflects her own struggle with fashion, an ambivalence that many women share—particularly those in positions of power. Her style expresses a high-minded disdain for society’s restrictions and a repudiation of idealized beauty. “Those were the two topics that I realized I was always working on,” Prada says. “I realized my job is to define—well not to define because that’s so pretentious—but to understand: What does it mean? Beauty, today, for a woman?”

Prada’s non-casting of black models for over 8 years was a Big Deal because Prada is highly regarded by critics, other designers, she’s super influential. Also, the clothes are gorgeous. Seriously, I love Prada. Miuccia Prada is absolutely smart, identifies as feminist, extremely talented. And for over 8 years her struggle to understand what beauty means was an all white runway except for Hye Park sometimes. That’s fucked up. And since she seems to have changed and slightly expanded her vision for understanding beauty to booking models of color, it seems like it would be even more worthy of discussion with her. Bringing it up to her.

This isn’t a rant so much as a sad confusion thing. I don’t fucking get why it’s acceptable and unremarkable to send out 69 looks on a runway all worn by thin white women.

"Is there more to this than meets the eye?"

Janet Charlton’s Hollywood » Blog Archive » HOW DID ALEC BALDWIN GET SUCH A GOOD LOOKING STALKER?

[content: stalking] Janet Charlton wonders if Alec Baldwin is REALLY being stalked since the woman accused of the crime is actually conventionally attractive, unlike Madonna’s stalker. Because in celebrity gossip land, stalking is scary, but the price we pay for fame and surprising when it happens to someone we don’t think is famous or pretty enough and how does a woman who Janet Charlton thinks is pretty fit in that (utterly flawed BULLSHIT) narrative? It’s so confusing! It must mean something is AFOOT with the facts, not that, you know, Janet Charlton is writing things that diminish and marginalize a real crime that happens to non-famous people all the time, etc etc.

[edit - I should have said presumed cis in reference to the stalker.]

"Getting plastic surgery isn’t necessarily a sign of “deeper issues”, and beautiful people (whether they were born that way or were surgically enhanced) are allowed to be just as insecure as the rest of us. Moreover, a mother having plastic surgery does not mean her daughter will develop an inferiority complex — and that I can say with absolute certainty."

I Have My Mom’s Old Nose, And It’s Not Awkward At All | Styleite

THANK YOU.

"it’s the fact that it’s so focused on Megan Fox, pulling things about her from thin air and speculating far too much on her motives and on her capacity to love her own child."

It’s Going to Be Awkward When Megan Fox’s Baby Comes Out With Megan Fox’s Old Nose

I chose a comment rather than linking you to the post, because this is yet another post from Jezebel that makes me really really think less of people who still call Jezebel a woman-friendly place or link to it as such. It’s not just trigger warnings or lack thereof, it’s all of these things, the steady accumulation of body policing and slut shaming and tee hee at Ryan Seacrest’s speculated orientation.

"Yesterday afternoon Matthew McConaughey ran errands in the ‘Bu, but it looks like little Levi had no problem with that! We caught the inquisitive tot and his nanny on a nature walk nearby their home, and he seemed utterly enthralled with his surroundings. Okay, maybe he was curious about the cameras too, but he’s definitely not shy at all! P.S. Those are the tiniest laceless Converse we’ve ever seen…so cute! Where was his mama though? It’s not like she has a full time job or anything!"

Yeah, it’s not like the mom has anything to do besides being a mother! (Also, I LOATHE paparazzi pics of celebrity children when their parents aren’t present.)

This lovely crap piece of sexism comes from X17 online, October 26, 2009. I’m cleaning out my long saved queue and thought I’d share.

(Source: google.com)

Jessica Alba: Malfunction during Lanvin Show in Paris | eyeprime - high def celebs

I don’t mean to give anything away - but the “malfunction” is that Jessica Alba, wearing underwear, crosses her legs in a short skirt and photographers positioned above her snapped a picture that showed she is, indeed, wearing underwear. Cause you know, the malfunction is hers, not that photographers make money off taking shots of women from awkward angles to get any look at their underwear. Malfunctioning WOMAN in her CLOTHES!

"Wow, guys. I expect snide, “hee-hee, lookit the homos!” jokes elsewhere on the Internet, but not here. This is more appropriate to Faux News than Jezebel, IMO. Not impressed."

Oh Girl, Ryan Seacrest Just Loves Those Dresses

This is from Monday, but I thought it was worth noting that while a vast majority of the comments were along this line to Jezebel’s “tee hee” post, it hasn’t been edited or changed. And the same editor from Jezebel just posted something about how awful and vapid it was of Entertainment Tonight to spend half an hour on Angelina Jolie’s leg. (I don’t disagree with that, to be clear.) Apparently, it would not have been awful and vapid to make fun of Ryan Seacrest for his perceived sexual orientation, though, right? Right?

I’m just saying, I’ve been hating on Jezebel for a very very long time and I’d hate for these kind of “small” awful posts to be missed. They deserve a lot more scrutiny than what they already get, especially with so many sites linking to them as if they weren’t full of homophobia and slut-shaming among other crap.

"This is despicable parenting, I don’t understand how someone could report it for gossip use, but not report it to authorities."

Crazy Days and Nights: BuzzFoto Blind Item

If you read the blind item, please please be warned for violence and abuse. Which is why I chose to quote a comment which sums up my response completely and not the blind item itself. So either it’s made up, or someone decided it was better to tell BuzzFoto who, you know, don’t want to be sued and preferred the hits from publishing it to doing anything about it.

And this comment was not a majority sentiment - mostly the comments on CDaN stick to lamenting child abuse with wishes of violence or trying to guess who it is.