Gibbs explores the tricky task of picking an "official" name of sorts and sticking to it, as she finds it natural that different people in her life would address her in a different manner: "At work and out in the world, I'm Ms. Gibbs; at my daughters' school and the pediatrician, I am Mrs. May; to a few people who've known me since I was 2, Miss Nancy." Gibbs, who is married but retains her maiden name, also notes that "whether my children's friends call me Ms. Gibbs or Mrs. May or any combination of the two, I view it as a sign of respect and don't worry about the particulars. My husband never remotely suggested that he was bothered by my not taking his name; in fact, he's accustomed to occasionally answering to Mr. Gibbs."

Gibbs argues that multiple names aren't really a big deal, as the choice to be Ms. or a Miss or a Mrs. is the true feminist victory, whether or not people use these terms or not. "All these identities are me," she writes, "Ms. when I'm out slaying dragons, Mrs. when I'm in the company of those I love most, Miss when I want to stay home under the covers and daydream." I'm inclined to agree with her, as I think most people are trying to be respectful when using formal titles of any kind, but I'm a bit torn on how I would react if I'd chosen to keep my maiden name, and my Ms., and people still addressed me as "Mrs. So-and-So." I suppose it would depend on the situation; if it was someone, as Gibbs explains, like her child's friend, who is surely just trying to be respectful and assumes that the child's mother is "Mrs. Same Last Name As The Kid," I don't think it would bother me too much. But it it were a friend or family member who insisted upon calling me by a name I explicitly didn't choose, simply to push some sort of value system on me, the situation would be quite different.

What do you think, commenters? Are you a Miss, a Ms., or Mrs.? And do you mind when someone calls you by a name you don't prefer?

Who Am I To You? [Time]

As Dodai explored earlier today, sadly it's enough of a thing that feminist author Suzanne Braun Levine, founding editor of Ms.has penned the new book 50 is the New Fifty. 5itNF talks about the increasing ageism of society paired, paradoxically, with an increasing sense of opportunity for women in an age bracket that once spelled automatic retirement and a tacit societal asexualization. The title, as the author explains, is a response to bromides like, "Fifty is the new 30." Quoth she,

Fifty is an exciting, new stage of life where women are feeling more comfortable, more masterful, more full of hope and energy than they felt in their 30s. And I haven't met a single woman, truly, who would like to go back to her life when she was 30. We might like to go back to our lives when our bodies were a little different and we could wear belts, but otherwise, in terms of life experience, women are finding that their 50s and their 60s and even their 70s are a very exciting and authentic time.

Levine is also encouraged by the state of feminism, saying, "I think feminism is strong and pervasive and vibrant, and I think the fact that the generations are in dialogue over what the agenda should be and who is a real feminist is really not a bad thing."

All this is well and good, but the proof of the pudding, as someone once said, is in the eating. And by "eating" I mean "random links that Time.com puts at the end of each paragraph." Here is a list of Levine's quotes and the corresponding (randomly generated?) link that follows each:

I am watching to see whether being over 65 really changes my relationships with other women or not. (Read "Twins and Aging: How Not To Look Old.")

(I)n terms of life experience, women are finding that their 50s and their 60s and even their 70s are a very exciting and authentic time. (See pictures of the world's most celebrated senior citizens.)

I have a 22-year-old daughter who cannot really comprehend that when I got married, I was unable to take out a loan without my husband's signature, or that jobs were listed [as] male and female in the paper. It's inconceivable to her. On the one hand, that's a good thing because it means that she is somewhere else, that she doesn't have to deal with those things. On the other hand, it's a bad thing because she doesn't realize what a struggle women have in most societies. (See pictures of facial yoga.)

It's night and day now. Of course, women are still doing the most housework and the most caretaking. (See pictures of women in space.)

In all my years of working with material about women's lives, the two things that always hold women back are, one, the feeling that they're crazy if they want to do something out of the ordinary, and, two, that they are the only ones in the whole world who are experiencing whatever it is they are experiencing. Once we are there for each other, regardless of the similarities of our situations, we reinforce each other's courage.See pictures of Barbie at 50
See pictures of showbiz's sexiest blondes at LIFE.com.

Now, why would anyone want to lie about her age, again?
Should Women Lie About Their Age? [Time]
Related: What If Women Weren't Afraid to Grow Old?

First, here's where Suze is spot on: she says that credit card debt is the worst kind of debt, because it will destroy your credit rating. If you have savings, use them to pay off credit card debt, but you should never, ever raid your 401K. Even if you have to declare bankruptcy, do not take the money out of your 401K, since that money is protected. "That money is going to be there no matter what happens to you in life," Suze says. Also intriguing, Suze advises, "This is a great time to buy a home if, and only if, you get a deal of a lifetime — meaning someone is selling a home for $200,000 and you offer $140,000 and they say yes." Of course, you should only buy a house, even if it is a fantastic deal, if you can put down 20% or more and if you can get a fixed-rate mortgage.

But here's where I think Suze is giving bum advice, or at least advice I believe doesn't work in every circumstance. She doesn't really believe that couples should put all their money in joint checking accounts. Of herself and her partner, Suze says, "K.T. and I have been together for quite a while now, we don't have one joint account. Does it keep us from loving each other totally? No. Would it keep us from stepping in and helping each other? No." I don't think it keeps you from loving each other totally, but I do think not having a shared pot of money can cause a lot of unnecessary strife and haggling over expenses. According to Ms., "Splitting bills down the middle is unfair to the lower earner, says Orman, so she advocates that each person in the relationship pay the same percentage of their individual incomes — say, 25 percent — toward the common bills." I understand the reasoning behind this: half of marriages end in divorce, so even if you think you're going to last forever, there's a good chance you won't. But I picture scenarios like vacations in Cabo where you're wondering who paid for the proper percentage of margaritas, and that's certainly not any way to live.

Fall 2008 [Ms.]

Earlier: The Recession Is Bad For Almost Every Woman But Suze Orman

• Only a few more days until the election, and Barack Obama is doing us a solid by appearing with two of our favorites: Rachel Maddow and Jon Stewart.
• You know who is so not our favorite? Former Ms. editor turned turned Palin proponent Elaine Lafferty.
• John McCain is also on our shit list for his female-unfriendly health plan.
• However, we are totally in love with this Price Is Right-inspired Marie Claire fashion spread. Childhood nostalgia come on down!
• But truly, nothing says nostalgia like these pictures of our childhood Halloween costumes.
• Also making us nostalgic: thinking about raiding our moms' closets.

• Like the timelessness of our mothers' garments, the grossness of American Apparel founder Dov Charney will last forever.
• At least his name's not Tucker. He's got that going for him!
• A better kind of American apparel: Michelle Obama's J. Crew duds inspiring a shopping spree.
• You guys, it's Friday. So replay the Obama infomerical and cry big, hopeful tears. You deserve it!

Heldman states that self-objectification can lead to all or some of the following in women: depression, low self-esteem, less faith in their own capabilities, which leads to diminished success in life, low political efficacy, disgust and shame about their bodies... the list goes on. (To me, the most interesting side-effect is "low political efficacy", which is just a fancy way of saying that women who objectify themselves do not believe that they can create change, and thus rarely or never get involved with politics.)

Dr. Heldman, bless her soul, tries listing ways to combat self-objectification, but most of them seem fairly implausible, particularly if you're a television and movie lover. A "radical, personal solution is to actively avoid media to self-objectify, which, unfortunately is that vast majority of movies, television programs and women's magazines," Heldman writes. "My research with college age women indicates that the less women consume media, the less they self-objectify, particularly if they avoid fashion magazines. [Emphasis ours.] By shutting out media, girls and women can create mental and emotional space for true self-exploration." I guess the only solution is for women to make our own un-self-objectifying media to combat the other kind. Tina Fey and Diablo Cody? We are looking at you.

Self-Objectification — Seeing Ourselves Through Others Eyes — Impairs Women's Body Image, Mental Health, Motor Skills, And Even Sex Lives [Ms.]

Earlier: Memo To Women's Magazine Editors: White Women Hate Themselves After Reading Your Magazines

Hillary Clinton is a woman. Barack Obama is black. We've been talking about this for at least six months. If Traister had found a new way to look at the identity politics in this race, I'd be all ears. But she hasn't. Her essay doesn't draw any conclusions about this sexism — Traister merely points out its existence. And the simple demographic facts at this point show that most of the people who are voting for and supporting Barack are not these Jon Stewart-loving, powerful-women fearing upper middle class man-children whom Traister derides. There is a whole diverse country out there, many of whom could give a shit about Hillary's vagina and Barack's lack thereof.

Traister also talks a lot about second wave feminists, whom the media has largely portrayed as strident Hillary lovers. For many of her points, Traister relies on anecdotal evidence (for instance, she quotes Feministing founder Jessica Valenti, who says, "I pinpoint sexism for a living. You'd think I'd be able to find an example [of sexism against Hillary]. And I hate to rely on this hokey notion that there's some woman's way of knowing, and that I just fucking know. But I do. I just know."), and I will do the same. The two biggest Obama supporters I know are my mother and my boyfriend's mother. Both went to elite universities in the late 60s/ early 70s. Both have held high-powered jobs. Both live in liberal enclaves. And both these second wavers are so fucking PISSED at the Clintons for ruining the democratic party. My mother especially thinks that Bill completely neglected his presidential legacy and the health of the party to support Hillary's senate run, and later her Presidential run. She feels that time and again, Hillary has chosen self-promotion over party preservation.

That's just one example of Hillary dislike that has nothing to do with her gender. There are so many other reasons out there for loving or hating either of these candidates, and not just if you're white and a college graduate. Can we please, please start discussing those?

Hey, Obama Boys: Back Off Already! [Salon]

• (Photoshop of) Horrors! It's Drew Barrymore on the March Vogue and something just does not look right. [Just Jared]
  
• You won't be seeing Lily Allen in her underwear anytime soon: the rumors about her being the latest face of Agent Provocateur are allegedly BS. [Sassybella]
  
• The Gap's spring advertising campaign features Coco Rocha, Anja Rubik and other top models. Think this will finally be the advertising campaign that convinces everyone to start buying their crappy clothes again? [Sassybella]
  
• Because the Oscars are actually on (thanks WGA!), the WWD reports that all the big celebs are already headed out to Hollywood to primp for Sunday night — you know it takes a week of preparation for these things — meaning the biggest celebs that can be wrangled for the front row of the Milan shows are James Blunt and some soccer players who are not Beckham. [WWD, 1st item]

• And yet... Monica Bellucci, Naomi Campbell, Sheryl Crow, Fergie, Lindsay Lohan and French actress Fanny Ardant are all expected to show for the Dolce & Gabbana show. Because, uh, that other thing we just said about no big celebs was just some stupid angle we made up. You think it's easy filling an ENTIRE NEWSPAPER with material solely about the fashion industry every day? [WWD, 4th item]
• Kanye: Likes Chanel cell phones. [Chic Report]
• Isla Fisher on her upcoming starring role in Confessions of a Shopaholic: "I've done a lot of research." LOL. [Sassybella]
• Yay Bob Mackie! The man who dressed Cher, Carol Burnett, Diana Ross and Barbie in some of their finest frocks is being honored by the Costume Designers Guild today. [WWD, 8th item]
• Gemma Ward: The face of Karl Lagerfeld's spring line. It's all sorta suburban goth girl....so I'm weirdly into it. [Sassybella]
• J.C. Penney and Ralph Lauren have teamed up to create a new, "exclusive" label. Polo Penney! We can't say this aloud and not laugh. [NYT]
• Takashi Murakami: He's everywhere! First on Vuitton bags, then at the Brooklyn Museum of Art in April and then at the Museum of Contemporary Art in LA in October. [Fashion Week Daily]
• Isaac Mizrahi's designing the costumes for the New York City Opera's production of King Arthur, which could actually be enough to get our asses to the opera. [Fashion Week Daily]
• It's so hard to be a model: "Everyone sees you as merely another pretty face, and I work really hard every day to show I am more than that," says Vanessa Hessler. [WWD, 2nd item]
• Execs at Gianfranco Ferre are all grumpy that the fashion community is being all gossipy about the unexpected (and unexpectedly swift) exit of creative director Lars Nilsson from the label. Um, are they new to the fashion industry? Gossip always takes precedence over clothes. [Vogue UK]
• Fight MS! Wear lip balm! [BellaSugar]
• Playboy cosmetics: Definitely skeeve us out. [BellaSugar]
• Matthew McConaughey. Dolce & Gabbana. Video. LOL. [Sassybella]