The mother says three boys began calling her daughter (identified in the suit by the initials B.G.) "fat" in sixth grade, and that two more boys joined in the daily bullying the next year. Her lawyer Edward A. Olds elaborates:

The offensive comments explicitly and implicitly conveyed the message that B.G. was unattractive and overweight.The comments were sexual in nature or conveyed sexual stereotyping.

B.G.'s mom says a guidance counselor did nothing when told about the bullying, and that school officials began harassing her when she tried to homeschool her daughter. She also says that the boys' actions triggered the anorexia that landed her daughter in an inpatient program in February 2008, at a "dangerously low" weight.

However, Lynn Grefe, CEO of the National Eating Disorders Association, says it's too simplistic to say bullying causes an eating disorder. Rather, she says, "With eating disorders, we say you're born with a gun and life pulls the trigger." Carrie Arnold of ED Bites adds,

[T]he bullying didn't cause this poor girl's anorexia. It might have triggered it, yes, in the sense that the bullying caused her to throw her lunch away, which led to the energy imbalance, which led to anorexia. But it didn't cause her anorexia. Science shows us that genetics form the biggest risk factor for eating disorders, although many environmental factors can play a role in triggering the disorder. This type of bullying is sadly common, and if every case resulted in anorexia, we would have many more cases of eating disorders than we presently do.

The causes of eating disorders are extremely complex, and not fully understood — the question of whether skinny models actually "incite thinness," for instance, is still being debated. But the cause-trigger paradigm that Grefe and Arnold cite seems to be the most common one, and if we accept it, we need to ask how severe a trigger has to be in order to merit a lawsuit. Could an anorexia sufferer sue a magazine? Her parents? Since weight loss itself can be a trigger for anorexia, could someone sue the restaurant where she got food poisoning?

Of course, non-anorexic people sue restaurants for giving them food poisoning, and this brings up an important point: many triggers for eating disorders are bad things anyway. Bullying is a good example. Even if it didn't "cause" B.G.'s anorexia, the school should have put a stop to it. Law professor Bruce Ledewitz says the real issue is that bullying "deprives the victim of an educational opportunity." And Arnold writes, "Schools should refuse to tolerate bullying because it's harmful and wrong, not just because someone developed an eating disorder." So while the lawsuit brought by B.G.'s mom may encourage a simplistic understanding of eating disorders, it might also encourage schools to prevent their students from making each other miserable.

Image from the Highmark Foundation, via The Inspiration Room.

Mom Sues Over Daughter's Anorexia [UPI.com]
Mom: My Daughter Was Bullied Into Anorexia [AP, via CBS]
Cause Vs. Trigger [ED Bites]

Sarah Jane Ward sued the salon Rumi Simone Inc., where she had her hair bleached three times to a platinum blonde. Ward said when she showered, she noticed clumps of hair falling out and thought she might have cancer. She said she has colored her hair since fourth grade, explaining, "My mother told me my hair was dirty blond, and it wasn't attractive." She claimed that an inept stylist was to blame for her hair loss. A lawyer for the salon said Ward teased and hot-ironed her hair, and used hair elastics, against her stylist's advice. After listening to three days of testimony, a jury concluded 11-1 that the salon was not at fault and owed Ward nothing for her bad hair. [Oregon Live]

Page Six Magazine recently published a "Field Guide To Cougars" and it was hard to tell what the women on the list had in common: Madonna, Anna Wintour, Genevieve Jones? They "prey" on younger men, really? The stock character of a bawdy woman of a certain age has been around for centuries. One the one hand, "cougar" is rife with positive symbolism: Cats are always associated with women, and a mountain lion is a powerful, gleaming animal.

Radar's Lynn Harris wrote a story about cougars recently, and Harris quoted her friend, Cindy: "For years I have railed that we need something stronger than pink—essentially red with the life force sucked out of it—associated with women. And cougar is it, baby! It's powerful, aggressive, sexy—everything pink is not," Cindy explains. "It says, 'Oh, you're looking at me like I'm pathetic because I'm a middle-aged woman and single? Sorry, I didn't notice—I was ogling your younger coworker!"

On the other hand: Page Six Magazine is dubbing Anna Wintour a "cougar" for hanging out with 27-year-old Roger Federer, hiring 28-year-old Sean Avery and putting 23-year-old LeBron James on the cover of Vogue. As if an older woman is "preying" on young men by befriending them. And most of the language (and SNL skits) surrounding the term "cougar" is mocking and insulting: Are we meant to laugh off a woman's sexuality because she is a certain age? ("As an official feminist and sometime 'cougar,' I think the label is revolting," Tedra Osell of Bitch PhD tells Radar. "I mean, yes, congratulations, society, on realizing that adult women are sexual beings, but generally I find that the label is used condescendingly, as if women that age are a little past it and aggressive—predatory in a desperate way.")

We've used the word here and honestly, I'm torn. Is calling a woman a "cougar" offensive? Should the ladies suing G4 get a million dollars?

The Great Cougar Hunt Lawsuit  MUST READ!!!! [TMZ]
Ladies Of A Certain Age [Radar]
Trend: A Field Guide to Cougars [Page Six Magazine]

Earlier: Five Reasons Older Women Should Date Younger Men

Basically, everyone at Consumerist seemed to be operating under the assumption that:

1. 52 is old,
2. Macrida Patterson is overweight,
3. Old, overweight women shouldn't wear thongs, and
4. Old, overweight women cannot be sexy.

"52? She had better be a milf to be putting THAT on."
"Whale tail meets Cougar."
"Obviously it is a safety measure to blind people from 52 year olds trying on that type of lingerie."
"Why do I get the feeling that she's a bit, erm, portly and tried to stretch out the thong a bit too far, slingshotting the metal skyward?"
"ewwwwww. That garment is not age appropriate for a 52 year old woman. Time for some granny panties old lady."
"I think by the age of 40, people should realize they aren't in their 20s."
"can you sue someone for product failure if the size of your ass was really the culprit?"
"Please...I'm injured for life thinking about a 52 year old putting that thing on."

Look, I'll be the first to admit: a woman who would buy this thong ought to be mocked for buying this thong. But comments about her ass and her age? Not cool.

Woman Sues Victoria's Secret Because Of Thong Injury [Consumerist]
Dinged By A G-String? [Smoking Gun]

Actually, he's suing both Lindsay and Lindsay's mom Dina, since it was Dina's car that Lindsay was driving. We only hope that if this ever goes to court, the Ladies Lohan have the Faye-Dunaway-in-Chinatown moment that we've long fantasized about. (Daughter! Sister! Daughter! Sister!) That, and that the judge sentences them to some QT with ex-con Martha Stewart: As we saw earlier today, she'd straighten those bitches out in no time flat.

Lindsay Lohan Sued for Allegedly Hitting Photographer With Car [People.com]