Wimbledon. You may have heard of it. It's kind of a big deal in the tennis world. You'd be forgiven for thinking it was all about short-short whites and long blonde tresses. This year's Women's Singles champion, Marion Bartoli, sadly, fails to tick boxes on the 'looker' front, and instead of congratulating her on being a sporting virtuoso, the whole wide world, it seems—including the esteemed BBC—felt the need to point out her attractiveness fail.
A Public Shaming site posted numerous disparaging tweets about the 28-year-old French tennis champion. It makes for a substantive and vile compendium. Just goes to show, you don't need more than 140 characters to stage an all-out assault on someone.
The problem? Basically, the leggy blonde didn't win the title, and even non-advertisers were seriously put out of joint. How dare a world-class sporting event actually be about sports? (Well, they are for men, but somewhere between Navratilova and the Williams sisters, women's tennis ceased to be about tennis. Don't believe me, just check out Maxim's homage to the hot women of tennis...)
To be fair, Twitter is rife with sexist pigs, but even several women got in on the 'fun' of tearing into Bartoli:
Claire Grey @clairegrey95
"Bartoli is auch an arragant [sic] disrespectful masculine whore! I really dont like her"
Maya Paton @mayapatonn
"Bartoli oughtta wear a longer dress I can see her penis #man"
Lauren Arnold @arnoldlauren
"Seriously hate Bartoli. You look like a man. Get your penis removed then see if u can win Wimbledon"
But the champion is already proving she is thus both by name and by nature. When asked about the contentious BBC comment, Bartoli replied:
"It doesn’t matter, honestly. I am not blonde, yes. That is a fact. Have I dreamt about having a model contract? No. I’m sorry. But have I dreamed about winning Wimbledon? Absolutely, yes."
The three young women who were kidnapped and ritualistically abused for years as teenagers have found the strength to speak out publicly for the first time. And what did they have to say? Essentially, thank you.
In a video published in the New York Post, Amanda Berry, Gina DeJesus, and Michelle Knight all give moving speeches, thanking their community for their support and generosity (via the Cleveland Courage Fund), as well as the media for respecting their privacy since their escape from the home in which they were held captive by Ariel Castro.
“I may have been through hell and back," read Knight, who may have suffered hearing loss among other damage from her ordeal, "but I am strong enough to walk through hell with a smile on my face and with my head held high and with my feet firmly on the ground.”
Knight's faith is clearly helping her recover, as she and the other women insist they want to move on with their new lives rather than "be consumed by hatred.”
Their captor, 52-year-old Castro, is being held on several counts, including kidnapping and rape and aggravated murder—for ending Knight's pregnancy.
I still can't fathom the extent of torture endured by these young women. At least time is on their side. It's incredibly affirming to see signs of them rebuilding their lives, surrounded by love and faith.
Muffin top. Jelly belly. What can you do about the irritating post-baby jiggle that many of us are left with after giving birth—you know, the bulge that refuses to shift regardless of how many crunches you do? Well, you could wear this day and night. Or for those looking for less radical ways to conceal our flab, there's Tum-Tape.
Devised by a single mom of four, Karen Macauley eventually came up with the quick fix after resorting to duct tape on a night out. The result: an instant tummy tuck.
“When I pulled my trousers back up I thought, ‘Oh my God this really works,’” Macauley says. “[This happened] out of a sheer point of desperation because I did not want to go out and worry about my tummy all night.”
According to an article in Today Moms, realizing her need bordered on the universal, the 45-year-old then knocked heads with a local business incubator—Dragon's Den style—to breathe life into her product.
Imagine her braving her taped-up abs before of a panel of prospective investors in England:
“The moment I lifted my top up, [I felt like I wanted] the Earth to swallow me up because the last thing I wanted was [for people] to see was my tummy,” she says.
But her daring paid off. She got funding and shortly thereafter Tum-Tape was born: a glorified Band-Aid "with legs sticking out of it."
While the Tape is hypoallergenic and breathable, dermatologists caution against continuous use of any adhesive product, which could cause a rash.
Even men, provided they aren't overly hairy, can tuck away love handles using the tape. Of course the tape isn't a long-term weight loss solution.
But would you consider wearing Tum-Tape for a special occasion? Good news for those who would; Tum-Tape ships internationally.
Image credit: Tum-Tape
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