Celeb Culture Skewered by Canadian Social Services Campaign
The ads, which feature struggling single mothers from the Toronto area, ask a simple question: "What if we cared about those living in poverty as much as we care about celebrities?"
Being Stupid Is Not A Choice, So Stop Hating Me For It
Today, Thought Catalog, a blog that serves as a future embarrassment machine for self-absorbed 23-year-olds who don't know any better, ran a post called "Being Privileged Is Not A Choice, So Stop Hating Me For It" (it's just as bad — NAY, WORSE — than it sounds). What follows is the only logically possible response.
Racist Congressman Uses Fried Chicken to Defend Her Right to Be Racist
Now that politicians have solved all of the problems, it's lovely to see them getting down to the really important stuff — petty, childish gestures in support of a dying ideology. Come, little ducklings. Let's meet Republican Colorado Congressman-cum-professional-racist Lori Saine.
Tennessee's Terrifying New Plan to Punish the Families of…
Tennessee. What's up, friend? Quick question: How can the state that houses the happiest place on earth, aka Dollywood, be so fucking daft?
Yes, I'd Love to Get More Sleep and Be Skinny, But I Have Three Jobs
Yet another thing is working against you in your quest for an itty bitty waist (but probably helping you succeed at having a round thing in other people's faces): your sleeping habits. Everyone has different sleep needs, but the average is between 7 and 9 hours a night, and even getting an hour less than you need can…
Things That Trigger Your Class Rage (and What to Do About It)
We probably seem painfully ordinary or even invisible. We are middle-class-looking people (or "better") who drive unremarkable but reliable cars, usually conjugate verbs correctly and probably went to college. We might even have jobs and successes that make us seem like we sailed through the flaming hoops of the…
Super Mayor Cory Booker Starts Food Stamp Challenge, Already Missing…
Last month, Cory Booker announced that he'd be living off food stamps for a week, and today was his first day on the program. He has $29.78 for the week.
CB2 Sells Wallet Inspired by New York's 'Iconic' Homeless People
Crate & Barrel's CB2 chain wants you to buy this wallet because it looks just like the paper cups New York City homeless people use to beg for change from the indifferent population. Poor people! So cute, amirite?
Blonde-Haired Child Beggar in Mexico Sparks a Not-So Polite Discussion …
A blonde-haired girl begging on the street in Mexico has caused quite a Facebook stir, prompting some observers to renew a long-standing debate about racism in Mexico, where indigenous people, according to CBS News, "live in poverty and passers-by often barely notice the dark-skinned children begging in the street." A…
Study Finds that Poor People Have Really High Hopes for Marriage
A cabal of UCLA psychologists has gathered together to bring us a brand new marriage study, which finds that poor people in America value the institution just as much as their fellow middle class and high-income citizens. Published in the Journal of Marriage and Family, the study aimed to figure out whether or not $1…
Don't Bother Trying to Wife Your Way Out of Poverty
The Bush administration, those geniuses who brought us great ideas like a long, expensive war against a country that didn't have weapons of mass destruction and flying over Hurricane Katrina en route home from a vacay, had another Brains Turned Up to 11 idea that it now seems didn't work: a multimillion dollar federal…
Avengers Breaks Box-Office Records While Offending Indians
In the United States, The Avengers made $200.3 million over the weekend — breaking a record set in 2011 by Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2. The flick also made $441 million at foreign box offices — a very good reception — but some in India are upset about the way that country is portrayed.
Rates of Obesity in Kids Are Down… But Poverty, Pollution and Lack of…
The statistics tell us that one in six U.S. children are obese, and one in three are overweight. And when you look at an obesity map alongside a poverty map, you get the sense that the two are related. A new study in the May issue of the journal Pediatrics finds facts that support this theory.
Hunger Games Studio Sics Lawyer on Fans Trying to End Hunger
Uh oh. You know what they say: A good deed never goes unpunished. And so, when a bunch of fans of The Hunger Games books partnered with Oxfam to launch a campaign called "Hunger Is Not a Game," it was only a matter of time before they received a strongly worded letter from Lionsgate, the studio behind the movie.
These Stories of Anonymous Shoppers Paying off People's Layaway Toys…
In this big bah-humbug world of ours, it's hard to find a story that defies cynicism. But these tales of anonymous "guardian angel" shoppers who have been paying off the KMart layaway balances for poor families trying to buy Christmas presents for their kids is one of those bawl-inducing items that will make even the…
New Homeless-Inspired Fashion Spread Is Super Tasteful!
Oh, look: it's fashion, engaging with the social issues of the day again! Are you a homeless poor? Do you sleep on a flattened cardboard box? Do you tote your possessions from place to place in recycled shopping bags? You've just gone into style, darling.
The Decline In African Women's Height Is Bad News
It suggests, according to a study using height to indicate nutrition and overall health, that "poor women born in the last two decades, especially in Africa, are worse off than their mothers or grandmothers born after World War II."
Over A Quarter Of Women Have Children With More Than One Man
A new study of nearly 4,000 women has found that 28 percent of women with two or more children had them by different men. A longitudinal study, it took place over the course of 27 years, with 20 interviews.
Fun Facts About How Poor Women Are Denied Their Reproductive Rights
"I'm thinking of ways I can fall or what I can do to end this pregnancy," said one woman to an abortion fund counselor. Why? Because she's on Medicaid, and thanks to the Hyde Amendment, her abortion won't be covered.