Jezebel: siberia

Rubber Soul

Anna — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 12:10:00 EDT

[Novosibirsk, Siberia; August 9. Image via Getty]

A referee prepares inflatable sex dolls for a funny swimming competition 'Rubber Baba Challenge' (Rubber Women Challenge) outside Siberian city of Novosibirsk on August 9, 2009. Men competed in an open water swimming on sex dolls during a day off. AFP PHOTO/ ALEXANDER KRYAZHEV (Photo credit should read ALEXANDER KRYAZHEV/AFP/Getty Images)

Siberian Inmates Compete For Prettiest Prisoner

Dodai — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 17:30:00 EDT

"A woman should always be beautiful," says Natalya Khapova, 26 (pictured at left). "Not just outside the fence. Even if she's in here, she should show her beauty. A woman is everything gentle and wonderful - or she should be." The "fence" Khapova speaks of? The one separating her from the population at large. See, Khapova has six-and-a-half years left of her eight-year sentence for assault. She lives in an all-women's prison. In Siberia. Since 1990, the jail has an annual beauty pageant with its own rules and three categories: Greek Goddesses, Flower Gowns and "Imaginary Uniforms," which lets inmates design their ideal prison getups. Guards and unit chiefs judge the contestants on their appearance and creativity, crowning the winner "Miss Spring." Runners-up are "Miss Charm" and "Miss Grace". Russia has 35 women's prisons and the female incarceration rate is almost five times as high as Britain's. Half of the women at UF 91/9 are doing time for narcotics. Does that mean it's OK for them to play dress-up?

When the pageant first started, over fifteen years ago, the inmates had no supplies. The winner made her dress out of plastic bags from the prison kitchen. Now the women are allowed to use hairspray, lipstick, nail polish stuff not usually allowed in the prison. The pageant is the subject of a BBC Two special program which airs tonight. There's something poignant about incarcerated women getting to feel special even if just for one day. But these women are criminals. And does the pageant emphasize the sexist idea that a woman is only valuable if she is pretty? Or is it worth it to have a much-needed bright spot in a drab, imprisoned Siberian existence?

Siberian Prison's Beauty Pageant [BBC]

R.I.P. Lady Bird

Jennifer — Wed, 11 Jul 2007 19:10:13 EDT

America's best-monikered First Lady, Lady Bird Johnson, died this afternoon at the age of 94. She was one of the first people (sorry, Al!) to bring environmentalism center-stage. [CBS News]
Queen Elizabeth got huffy with photographer Annie Leibowitz. [USAToday]
UN Secretary General offers up the following deep thought: "New thinking" is needed to deal with our current climate change problems. What, is the UN now the NY Times 'Sunday Styles' section of world events? Picking up on "trends" a good three seasons after their debut?! [BBC]
Shy guys: Not only are the less likely to make the first move, but they're more likely to die of a heart attack. Which leads us to the natural, however seemingly absurd, conclusion that the chances of a guy having a heart attack when you put the moves on him pretty damn high. [Daily News UK]

The latest in Spice Girls Mania: Redux: A BBC documentary on the group is planned for the fall. Meaning that Victoria Beckham now feels a little better about the downsizing of her NBC special on herself? [BBC]
When will J.Lo learn? Movies featuring herself and her lover du jour = really bad idea. [TMZ]
The photographer who grabbed at Heather Mills to snap a pic of her in July of last year was found guilty of assault. Mills offered some statement about blah blah blah justice being served. But we want to know what Paul McCartney has to say! [BBC]
Uh oh Moz! Compaing Madonna's adopted (African) son to a wild animal is no way to make a point about why you shouldn't wear fur! Suddenly, we wonder if PETA is somehow behind Morrissey's recent slew of concert cancelings. Well, PETA or the NAACP. [Best Week Ever]
Growing up, whenever we would start complaining about something, our aunt would ask us if we were in SIberia (like our relatives had been, in work camps, during WWII). The answer was always no. But we wish we had been! Then we could have been the ones to discover the baby mammoth!!! [CNN]
We hope to see something on TheKnot.com tomorrow on what the etiquette is when one of your guests arrives a year early for your wedding. [CNN]
It appears that someone other than us is bitter that kids are off for the summer while we have to work. [Slate]
Memo to our high school stoner friends: New information about Jim Morrison's death! (Spoiler: Heroin, not a hot bath) [USA Today]
Evil Knievel and Kanye West are going to try to hug it out. [USA Today]
A dog named Max, saved by a little backdoor entry! [CBS]
2 U.S. casualties identified. [DoD]