Jezebel: spring break

Some Young Women May Be Confusing "Confidence" With Carnality

Dodai — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 13:30:00 EDT

It's Spring Break in America, and you know what that means... Millions of college students are getting wasted. And, more often than not, this is the time that young women go from concentrating on history or communications to studying Sex Appeal 101. LA Times columnist Megham Daum went to Cancun a few years ago, to research an article; she writes: "The raunchy contests and general debauchery were something that these women had prepared for, almost as though for a final exam. They'd logged hours at the gym, in tanning booths and at body wax salons. They'd save up money for breast implants and then timed the surgery so they'd be healed by spring break." The interesting thing is that the women claimed to be doing it for their self-esteem.

"One word I heard again and again, oddly, was 'confidence,'" writes Daum."'If I can be considered hot here, I'll be hot anywhere,' a rather morose woman sitting on a bar stool in a bikini and high heels told me. 'I'm here to get confident.'"

As they psyched themselves up for wet T-shirt contests or debated whether a given guy was worth flirting with, a lot of women told me that they saw spring break as the proving ground for their attractiveness.

Here's where things get tricky. Is a woman who participates in the drunken hook-ups, wet T-shirt contests, body shots and other Spring Break events just celebrating being young, free and proud of her body? Or is she tragically falling victim to the age-old standard, that of a woman's worth being directly tied to her appearance?

Confidence has become an easy catchall-excuse for everything from dyeing hair blonde to nose jobs and breast implants. We're living in a world with so much pop psychology and issues related to self esteem that it's almost as if, as long as you feel better, whatever you're doing to get there is okay! But what of confidence gained through intelligence, talent, skill or bravery? Isn't there intense pride in working with what you've got (small nose, obesity gene, flat chest, mousy brown hair)?

And, seeing as how most of these women are working with liquid courage, aka alcohol: What's the difference between being "confident" on Spring Break and being plain-old drunk and promiscuous?

Raunch Is Rebranded As 'Confidence' [LA Times]

This Week We Talked Prostitutes, Poops, And Panties

Jessica — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 17:30:00 EDT

We discovered that ( now-former ) New York Governor Eliot Spitzer goes to whores.
We also discussed Ashley Alexandra Dupre, aka "Kristen", the woman who was allegedly the whore in question. Her new single is off the chain!
We commisserated with Spitzer's poor wife, Silda.
Bet disgraced Glamour blogger Mike Cherico is happy about the Spitzer scandal! It is one of the few things that makes him look like less of an asshole.
Speaking of assholes, did ya hear? Pooping is the new hot shit!

Salt n' Pepa said opinions are like assholes and everybody's got one. Well 1,400 of you and counting had opinions about this post.
But who cares what other people think! You're living alone and loving it.
And probably airing the ol' girl out 'cause no one is ever around.
But you guys, Anna Wintour put a big black guy on the cover of Vogue, so we know the apocalypse is neigh.
Whatevs to all that. It's spring break y'all! Pour some out for the homies and have a good weekend.

'Miss America' On Last Educated, Mystic Tanned Legs, But America's Pursuit Of Well-Rounded Ideal Persists

Moe — Fri, 30 Mar 2007 12:12:05 EDT

When the Miss America Pageant, ditched by Viacom owned CMT, finally goes the way of Elle Girl — online only (but so Web 2.0!) — some, like Nashville's Ralph Emery, may see it as a blow to that "little piece of Americana" that is the promotion of lofty goals (scholarship) alongside loftier ones (swimsuit-wearing!)

CMT will continue to promote athleticism alongside perky tits on its Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders Show [CMT] Donald Trump To Promote Smarmy MBA Types Alongside Former Cokeheads On NBC for the next 3 years [E Online!] Spring Break continues to promote consumption of branded products along with copious quantities of Jaeger. [Washington Post] American educators continue to promote fellatio alongside the Montessori method. [New York Times] Courtney Love promotes a psychotically-restrictive diet in conjunction with a highly sensible weight loss goal of between 6 and 11 pounds. [The Skinny Website]

Legend Laments Dropping Of Pageant [Tennessean]

Joe Francis's Worst Nightmare: Coed Shortage In Cancun

Anna — Mon, 05 Mar 2007 09:01:14 EST

Breaking! The Gulf Coast resort-area of Cancun may be experiencing a shortage of tits and ass, no thanks to Wilma (as in Hurricane) and the U.S. government, which have conspired to send the binge-drinkers of U.S. universities stumbling to other — less expensive — wet T-shirt destinations.

"A year beyond Hurricane Wilma, Cancun is trying to refine its image...You won't see the keg stands downtown or 10 kids to a room" that characterized spring break during its heydey in the late 1990s, says CheapTickets.com's Brian Hoyt.

The young exhibitionists and date-rapists in training are flocking instead, to the Florida panhandle, where "an estimated 300,000 students will congregate over a 40-day period that crests in mid-March." (Where no doubt, Girls Gone Wild film crews will follow).

"We decided back in 2000 that if we were going to have (spring break) here, we'd embrace it," tourism chief Robert Warren says. "The college students of today are the professionals, families and empty-nesters of tomorrow."

We don't consider ourselves at all religious but...Lord help us.

Higher Prices, Passport Rules Could Rain On Cancun's Party [USA Today]