Jezebel: Europe

Netherlands to Ban Burqas, Face Coverings

Erin Gloria Ryan — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 14:40:00 EST

The government of The Netherlands has announced plans to ban the wearing of veils that cover the face of the wearer that will take effect within the year, citing the need to see people's faces when greeting them on the streets. The French immediately scoffed at the announcement, as the law is just a French knock-off. More »

Finishing School: So You Don't Look Like A Jerk Around Rich People

Erin Gloria Ryan — Fri, 21 Oct 2011 13:40:00 EDT

Finishing school, once the realm of the tiny daughters of steel magnates training for a future in rich housewifery, is now a different animal. While finishing-school grads can still walk like non-water buffalos and clap after the opera in a way that doesn't cause mass monocle-poppings, the reason for mastering the rules of decorum has changed, and one school in Switzerland teaches its students that the road to wealth is paved with good manners. Or, maybe more accurately, the moat around existing superwealth is filled with obscure decorum rules. More »

European Court Bans Patenting Many Types of Stem Cell Research; Science Freaks Out

Erin Gloria Ryan — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 19:15:00 EDT

Europe's highest court ruled today that it's not legal for companies to patent any sort of research method that requires the destruction of human embryos. Christian groups are super psyched about this because God says cellbabies are exactly the same as grown up humans with faces and feelings. Scientists are upset because they say that this will drive research away from Europe. People who will end up dying of diseases that could have been cured using methods discovered through stem cell research could not be reached for comment. More »

European Union Bans Children From Blowing Up Balloons

Margaret Hartmann — Tue, 11 Oct 2011 22:43:00 EDT

According to a new toy safety directive in the European Union, unsupervised children under the age of 8 shouldn't blow up balloons because they may swallow them and choke. Furthermore, party whistles are now considered unsafe for kids younger than 14. (It's unclear if this is a due to a choking hazard as well, or the increased chance of being throttled after unfurling the paper tube into your brother's face for the 19th time.) EU regulators say the rules are meant to "prevent every parent's worst nightmare," but Frank Furedi, a professor of sociology at the University of Kent, says, the party toys help kids "become independent and self-reliant" adding, "These bans diminish the experience, both of having fun and learning, by turning play into a danger zone with rules that stifle life and adventure for children." More »

Poland's Ex-Prime Minister Warns About Ugly Ladies In Politics

Anna North — Wed, 21 Sep 2011 14:45:00 EDT

Poland's former Prime Minister has stirred up controversy by advising political parties to find hotter female candidates. More »

Silvio Berlusconi Slept With 8 Women In One Night, Claims Silvio Berlusconi

Erin Gloria Ryan — Sun, 18 Sep 2011 13:37:53 EDT

Italian Prime Minister and human embarrassment Silvio Berlusconi has fucked his way into another pickle. More »

Good News & Bad News About H&M's Plus-Size Collection

Dodai Stewart — Wed, 26 Jan 2011 13:04:00 EST

Plus-size shoppers rarely hear straight-up good news — there's always a caveat or catch — and the latest dispatch from H&M is no exception. More »

A History of Silvio Berlusconi's Sex-Scandal Sketchiness

Lauri Apple — Sat, 15 Jan 2011 13:35:00 EST

Prime minister of Italy Silvio Berlusconi has been involved in so many bizarre sex scandals over the years (and the past few days) that it's almost like creeping is his hobby. How to keep 'em straight? This time-line should help! More »

Being A Fat Guy Causes Infertility

Erin Gloria Ryan — Sun, 28 Nov 2010 11:35:00 EST

A European Science Foundation report found that mass infertility among European men is caused by a decreased sperm count, which is linked to obesity. At least this time, it's not our fault? More »

Arrested Dine-and-Dasher Was Only Trying to Impress His Girl

Lauri Apple — Sat, 20 Nov 2010 14:20:29 EST

Budding filmmaker Janis Nords wined and dined his ladyfriend at fancy London restaurants then ducked out on paying the bill—until a camera caught him, dun dun DUN, and he got busted. But maybe the crimes were her fault? More »

Advertising That Will Make You Want To Shut Your Legs

Lauri Apple — Sun, 31 Oct 2010 13:12:00 EDT

The Dutch clothing company Suit Supply came up with an innovative new strategy for selling its wares: make the ads all creepy and porno-like. Wearing a snazzy suit most def gets you free upskirt peeks and kinky kitchen play, guys. More »

European Men Love Romance, Tankinis

Anna North — Fri, 15 Oct 2010 13:43:00 EDT

Writes Katherine Chloe Cahoon, author of The Single Girl's Guide to Meeting European Men: "Girls, next time you face a bad breakup, take a trip to Europe. It's a perfect anecdote." Oh, that it is. More »

Mystery Investor Buys Every Cocoa Bean In Europe

Margaret Hartmann — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 09:46:00 EDT

Last week an anonymous investor bought 241,000 tons of cocoa, basically every cocoa bean in European warehouses. A group of traders may be trying to force the price of cocoa higher... or create the fabled "land of chocolate." More »

Foreign Romance: Have You Ever Fallen In Love With A Place?

Katy Kelleher — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 14:48:00 EDT

According to a recent study, the five happiest countries in the world are Denmark, Finland, Norway, Sweden and the Netherlands. This makes sense to me, seeing as I've been obsessed with this region for years. More »

The Long, Unwinding Road

Anna Holmes — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 18:10:00 EDT

[Vienna, September 22. Image via Getty]

Woman's Murder Raises Stakes In Headscarf Debate

Anna North — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 14:30:00 EDT

Since a pregnant woman was stabbed to death in a German courtroom, apparently for wearing a headscarf, the debate over Islamic women's dress in Europe has grown more urgent. More »

Female Basketball Star Goes To Europe, Makes History

Anna North — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 19:20:00 EDT

Rutgers basketball star Epiphanny Prince will be one of the first women to skip her senior season and play professionally in Europe before entering the WNBA draft — but is it a good idea? [NYT] More »

French Women Don't Get Fat (Enough)

Sadie Stein — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 16:30:00 EDT

"France has by far the highest proportion of clinically underweight women in Europe, but only half of them think they are too thin, according to a new study." [AFP] More »

Joe Biden's Daughter Needs A Better Class Of Friend

Megan Carpentier — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 10:00:00 EDT

Did Joe Biden's daughter Ashley, a social worker, really snort coke in Delaware with her boyfriend and some non-friends or is some dickhead just trying to exploit her noteriety? [NY Daily News, NY Daily News]

Size Queens

Maria — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 10:40:00 EST

A survey of European men found that French men have the largest claimed average penis length in Europe, where they come in on average at 6.09 inches. The Greeks came in with the smallest peens in Europe with an average of 4.89 inches. Meanwhile, a separate international survey reports that women consider Italian men to be the most handsome (American, Russian and Brazilians are runners-up). The position of French and Greek men on the list wasn't reported. [Telegraph, Reuters] More »

Natalia Antonova, a blogger from Ukraine,...

Maria — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 13:20:00 EDT

Natalia Antonova, a blogger from Ukraine, was outraged at a crawler question posed by the Ukrainian outpost of MTV. The formula is a simple one and is also incredibly popular across Europe: Viewers can text in responses to questions for a small fee and their answers appear throughout the program. The question that angered Antonova was "Can you beat girls?" Antonova feels that MTV is "normalizing" domestic violence and using it for entertainment. We agree, particularly because some of the responses aired on the channel provided "guidelines" to properly abuse women. [GlobalComment] More »

Amsterdam Hosts Pole-Dancing Championship • Texas Judge Orders Woman Not To Procreate

Maria — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 17:20:00 EDT

• Amsterdam hosted a European pole dancing championship last Friday in hopes of showing that the activity is a physically-challenging sport for "regular" women. • Ugh: A study of 4-year-olds in Australia suggets that parents are unintentionally enforcing "body ideals" in their children along gender lines (e.g., girls need to exercise more to loose weight; boys need to eat more to gain muscle). • A study of college students reveals that celebrity-loving can boost people's self-esteem because they assign celebrity traits to themselves. • A 35-year-old woman had a stroke after sex due to a possible combination of birth control pills, a venous blood clot, sex, and a heart defect. • More »