Like many celebrities before her, Miley Cyrus used her Twitter platform to rant about critics who've recently commented on her weight.
“By calling girls like me fat this is what you’re doing to other people,” tweeted Ms. Cyrus, attaching a photo of a "severely emaciated woman."
“I love MYSELF & if you could say the same you wouldn’t be sitting on your computer trying to hurt others.”
The 18-year-old child star then posted another shot: of Marilyn Monroe wearing a one-piece bathing suit. “PROOF that you can be adored by thousands of men, even when your thighs touch,” read the caption.
“I don’t wanna be shaped like a girl I LOVE being shaped like a WOMAN & trust me ladies your man won't mind either ;)”
While Ms. Cyrus was on the right track, she went wrong by insisting that women's body image hinges on male approval.
Good for her for speaking out. We need more young feisty women like Ms. Cyrus and her friend, fellow ex-Disney star Demi Lovato, who re-tweeted Ms. Cyrus, saying “AMEN!” to the anti-fat sentiment.
Ms. Lovato previously sought treatment in 2010 after losing her voice on stage from chronic purging. She too lashed out on Twitter following comments on her weight: “I’ve gained weight. Get over it. That’s what happens when you get out of treatment for AN EATING DISORDER.”
Feistiest of all was probably British actress, Kate Winslet, who shamed GQ magazine back in 2003 into apologizing for Photoshopping her legs into "tiny sticks."
Do celebrities affect your own body image, or do you feel removed from the pressure they're under to look thin?
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel is using shock tactics to raise awareness of the dangers of co-sleeping, the second leading cause of infant mortality in the U.S. city. The poster depicts a baby lying in a bed next to a large knife, and reads: “YOUR BABY SLEEPING NEXT TO YOU CAN BE JUST AS DANGEROUS.”
Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) often results from ”unsafe sleep” of bed-sharing with parents.
“Is it shocking? Is it provocative?” argued the city’s commissioner of health, Bevan Baker. ”Yes. But what is even more shocking and provocative is that 30 developed and underdeveloped countries have better [infant death] rates than Milwaukee.”
According to the report in The Journal Sentinel, Milwaukee's infant mortality rate in 2009 was 10.4 deaths for every 1,000 live births, and race certainly played a factor, with the rate of white babies at 5.4; 14.1 for blacks.
Co-sleeping advocates are not impressed by Milwaukee's efforts and stressed that responsible co-sleeping is perfectly safe for babies.
Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett told ABC News that he is willing to “take some heat” on the issue. “If the ads make some people uncomfortable, I guarantee it’s a lot less uncomfortable than having another baby die from co-sleeping.”
Do you think such scare advertising is effective or, like smoking labels, will largely be ignored by those who choose to engage in that behaviour?
Justin Bieber fans will heave a sigh of relief to hear that the paternity suit against the teen pop star has been dropped.
Although Bieber vehemently denied the claims that he impregnated fan Mariah Yeater, he offered to undergo DNA testing to prove he is not four-month-old Tristyn's dad.
It seems Yeater's lawyers, Lance Rogers and Matt Pare, quit her case once they discovered that Bieber's lawyer, Howard Weitzman, threatened to counter-sue her for making false accusations.
17-year-old Bieber insists he never even met Yeater, let alone engaged in sexual relations with the young mom.
"I'd just like to say, basically, that none of those allegations are true. I know that I'm going to be a target, but I'm never going to be a victim," said Bieber.
Let that be a lesson to all the gold-digging Mariah wannabes out there!
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