Part of the shock surrounding Murphy's death is clearly related to her age, though it may also be attributed to the fact that Murphy has been in the public eye for over 15 years, starting out in Hollywood when she was 14, when she booked guest spots on shows like Murphy Brown and Kids Incorporated before landing more substantial parts on sitcoms like Almost Home:



Murphy's big break, and perhaps her best known role, however, came in 1995, when she was cast as Tai, the outcast-turned-makeover-project-turned-popularity-queen in Amy Heckerling's Clueless. In watching Clueless, you recognize that there was something very unique about Murphy, most notably her famously scratchy voice, which also landed her a long-running voiceover role as Luann Platter on King Of The Hill, and was still apparently relevant enough for an SNL parody less than a month ago, even though Murphy's formerly formidable career had stalled as of late.



Though Clueless brought Murphy mainstream and later cult favorite status, her next big role in the 90s didn't come until 1999, when she cast in Girl, Interrupted as a suicidal incest victim living in a mental hospital alongside the likes of Winona Ryder and Angelina Jolie:

But after a decade of playing sidekicks and outcasts, Murphy reinvented herself as a romantic lead, dying her hair blonde and losing a dramatic amount of weight by 2001:



It was a shocking transformation for those of us who grew up connecting Murphy with her character in Clueless, and speculation over Murphy's weight haunted her for the remainder of her career. In 2005, she spoke out about rumors that her weight loss was connected to drug use or an eating disorder, claims she dismissed as ridiculous, noting, in a now-slightly eerie quote: "I have never tried [cocaine] in my entire life. I've never even seen it. ... I am also way too high-strung. I can't even take a Sudafed. Can you imagine? My God. I think my heart would explode."





Murphy's career soared following the dramatic makeover, kicking off with a dark love-interest role in the Eminem film 8 Mile and a romantic comedy she shot with then-fiance Ashton Kutcher, called Just Married. It was around this time, however, that reports of Murphy's "diva" behavior started to surface: in a "night out" piece for the New York Times, author Linda Lee noted that there was "no sign of the difficult star who was reported to have been fired by her publicist the week before."

After Kutcher and Murphy split, the actress continued taking on Meg Ryan-esque roles in films like Little Black Book and Uptown Girls with Dakota Fanning, as well as sexier parts in films like Sin City, and her career trajectory (or handlers) seemed to be guiding her toward America's Sweetheart status, though that never quite materialized. Following Sin City, Murphy's career stalled, and she began taking on roles in television movies (reminiscent of the career path of another early 00s starlet, Lindsay Lohan) and lesser known films where she was arguably the biggest star in the cast. The fact that Murphy was dropped by her agent and publicist around the time Sin City was released in 2005, alongside rumors of her drug use, may account for the dip in her career.

Murphy was engaged twice more before marrying screenwriter Simon Monjack in 2007, a marriage that sparked some controversy - there was speculation that the two had married in order for Monjack, a Brit, to receive his green card. It was not the last time that the couple found themselves at the center of tabloid gossip: in 2008, a source told Page Six that Murphy's on-set diva-like behavior was causing trouble, as was the ever-looming presence of her husband: "She's extremely difficult," said the source, "When she gets to the set, it comes to a grinding halt. She's so hot and cold, you never know what's going to happen that day."



Just last month, Monjack was rushed to the hospital for an alleged asthma attack, just after Murphy had left a film (she denied being fired) due to the old Hollywood standby, "creative differences."

TMZ is now reporting that Murphy was discovered by her mother, unconscious in the shower, and pronounced dead on arrival at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. Radar is reporting that an autopsy may take place as early as Monday, and the LA Times is reporting that the LAPD are launching an investigation to determine exactly what happened to Murphy. TMZ is also reporting that Murphy's husband doesn't want an autopsy performed on his late wife, though it does not look like his wishes will be honored.

Though details are still sketchy (we'll continue to update) speculation about Murphy's death and what led to her cardiac arrest will surely overtake the internet, if it hasn't already. Murphy's rumored drug use and long-discussed weight loss will certainly be thrown into the mix, and though the cause of her death is still unknown it doesn't take a genius to recognize that Murphy's story is as old as Hollywood itself: a starlet who works her way up from bit player to headliner, only to see her career fall apart, and all within a matter of years.



It's something we've watched in progress throughout this entire decade: young women who are held up as the next big thing (Lindsay Lohan, Britney Spears) and then brushed aside or openly mocked after they no longer fit an expected mold. It is both a story of self-destruction and mass-destruction, the business of creating and destroying a star; sometimes it's caused by internal forces, and sometimes it's fed by the rest of the world.

We don't know yet why Brittany Murphy is gone; for all we know, her death may have nothing to do with any of the Hollywood rumors surrounding the last few years of her life. All we know is that a woman who gave much of her life and herself to millions of strangers through her performances is dead at the age of 32, and that is truly a tragedy. For many, her passing will be just another addition to the "Year Of Celebrity Deaths," and her story will be added to the annals of untimely celebrity passings, alongside the likes of Heath Ledger and her one-time prom date, Jonathan Brandis. But to those who knew and loved her, Murphy's passing is more than just another Hollywood tragedy, more than just another name for the list, and seeing her name alongside the others will provide no consolation.

Brittany Murphy's Husband Doesn't Want Autopsy [TMZ]
LAPD Investigate Death Of Brittany Murphy [LATimes]
Brittany Murphy Body To Be Autopsied [Radar Online]
Actress Brittany Murphy Dead At 32 [LATimes]
Brittany Murphy Dies [TMZ]
Brittany Murphy's Husband Rushed To Hospital [TMZ]
Twilight: New Moon Actress Replaces Brittany Murphy, Who Was "Not Fired" From Movie [Vancouver Sun]
The Fix [Salon]
A Night Out With Brittany Murphy And Ashton Kutcher [NYTimes]
Brittany Murphy's Diva Behavior [Boston Globe]
Brittany Murphy May Have Married Her Husband So He Could Get Green Card [The Insider]
Jane Getting The Kinks Out In Memoir? [NYDN]

1.) Snooki is an honorary Latina.
George Lopez bestowed the honor on her because she "can take a punch."


2.) Pauly D wants to pose for Playgirl.
He said that he has to give the public what they want.


3.) Trivia is not one of the cast members' strengths.
Neither is math, really.


4.) Pauly D spends at least $60 a week on gel.
And his hair is very hard to the touch.


5.) They all upstage Mike Tyson.
And confuse him, as well.


6.) They're proud to be called guidos and guidettes.
It's a compliment, according to Snooki.


7.) Snooki believes she'd lose a fight against Kristin Cavallari.
But she also believes that she could party harder than Kristin.


8.) They're not bad actors.

1.) Wanda Sykes' Sarah Palin pop-up book

2.) Tyra's "big" holiday give-away show
First of all, she doesn't even give the presents to everyone in the audience, just one audience member per gift. Secondly, she sounds more like she's on the street corner trying to sell us shit that fell off the back of a truck.

3.) These shirts:

4.) Tuna

5.) Same shit, different drunks
I missed the first two episodes of the new season of Bad Girls Club while away on vacation, but I caught the new one that aired this week, and it seems like I didn't miss much.

6.) Extreme Bathrooms
There was actually an hour-long show all about "extreme" bathrooms. I watched the whole thing, because it seemed like a Homer Simpson-y thing to do, but it was basically all like this:

7.) Babs
I don't know if it's all the years on television and all the awards she's received, or the onset of dementia, but it seems like every time she speaks now—about anything—she expects everyone to be fascinated, or at least impressed, with what she's saying.

8.) That's my Mariah!

9.) Mom who grows weed
A woman sold her hair salon and asked her son how she should invest her money, and he bought her a piece of land and turned her into a medical marijuana farmer. She's enjoying it.

10.) Last-minute Christmas gift idea
The Shady Lady brothel has just added male prostitutes to its roster. The madam there is offering coupons.

The way Stone is talked about in this Vogue story — cover line "When Size 4 Is Too Big: A Curvy Model's Struggle To Fit In" — you'd almost think she was a plus-size model instead of a girl with the highly typical (for a straight-size model) measurements 33"-24"-35". Writes Rebecca Johnson:

'What they say is 'curvy,' but you know they mean fat," says Lara Stone, who is Dutch and so soft-spoken, you have to lean forward to hear what she's saying. However, she enunciates that word — fat — clearly and forcefully, as if it were caught at the back of her throat. The word hovers over the din of the hotel lobby where we are seated in downtown Manhattan, laced with irony and just a tinge of bitterness.

So that's 11 rather straightforward words from Stone, and 59 words from Vogue about what Stone said. (I guess when a word, having at last dislodged itself from the subject's throat, literally flies out of her mouth and floats in the air of a hotel lobby, it requires special treatment. Did she fling her arms in the air, too, Vogue? Because limb amputation sounds almost as painful as reading that sentence!) Anyway:

Worse than being called fat is a gaggle of stylists whispering in a corner after you've been trying on clothes for ten minutes. "That," she says, "is when I know I'm about to be canceled."

And even now that her position in fashion's firmament ought to be secure, given she has earned Karl Lagerfeld's favor, worked with the world's top photographers, and been on multiple covers of British, French, and American Vogue, she still encounters narrow-minded folks who make her feel like "the odd one out." "I was on a shoot just last week," Stone told Johnson, "and the stylist took out this tight corset dress and said, 'Here, put it on,' and I was like, 'Who are you kidding?' There was no way, so that was very rude of her. It's like, come on, she's a woman; whether you're buying jeans at the mall or wearing couture, you know what it's like for clothes not to fit. It's not an easy kind of rejection, because it's very personal. It's you, your body. You take it to heart."

What I guess a lot of people don't realize is that modeling is just manual labor with fancier clothes. The work is deeply bodily, and therefore the division between you and your work dissolves: everything you wear, how you present yourself, how you walk, every product you put on your face, every haircut, and, mostly, everything you put in your mouth, impacts your career. It is automatically a professional choice, not a personal one. There is no meaningful work/life balance, because your body is your work. Of course, women outside of the modeling industry have long been told that their bodies need to be their "work," too: that we all need to obsess over our arms and abs and thighs and do 30 squats on our lunch breaks and always take the stairs and use the Shake Weight and join gyms and buy athleticwear and Lose 12 lbs Before Sunday. It's just that for models, these imperatives are professional. Living is work. And that can kinda mess with your head.

Stone herself, being unable to budge from what must be her set point weight range with diet and exercise, began taking pills to lose inches. "But they made my heart race," she reports. So she started drinking. Nobody noticed, and her work didn't suffer, but soon she was waking up with the shakes. Stone did a month of rehab in January — the longest she'd spent in one place at a stretch in the two years since her career kicked into hyperdrive, she told British Vogue — and has not had a drink since.

What is elided in these kinds of stories that trumpet Lara Stone's "curves" and proclaim her to be a size 4 — because we all know clothing sizes are meaningful and consistent nation-wide standards, oh wait — is that Stone differs so barely, so incredibly tinily merely, so very little, from the accepted size standard for fashion models. She is slightly shorter, at 5'7", than most runway models, and her measurements are well within fashion's preferred range. While it's undeniable that she has a slightly different body shape than most models, her size is entirely typical of the industry. (Technically, her stated hip measurement, 35", is about 1" larger than the 34" it "should" be for her to model, but there are dozens of other models who have worked, and done the show circuit, with hips of Stone's size.) It's all well and good to call her the "curvy" model, and it is obvious from her runway work and every nude shoot she's ever done that Stone has breasts. When she slings one hip out, like for the photo accompanying this Vogue story, sure, she can indeed look kind of voluptuous. (When she doesn't, she doesn't: Would you call her the "curvy" one in this Givenchy campaign?) These stories never make clear that Stone veers from the accepted modeling standards only every so slightly, and that booking her for a shoot or a campaign is not some revolutionary act of body diversity. If anything, the fact that she is seen as a different kind of model for her size is the ultimate indictment of the fashion industry's standards. But Vogue would never make that point.

An item on Fashionista this morning points to two actual plus-size models, Crystal Renn and Amy Lemons, who are both busy working in Europe. Renn — whose struggle with anorexia and exercise bulimia is documented in her recently released memoir, Hungry — apparently went blonde for a shoot for Italian Vanity Fair, and Lemons, who also began her career as a straight-size model, is working for French Elle with the photographer Tesh. Her spread is apparently over 30 pages, and includes cover tries. Lara Stone is a fantastic model. I love a lot of her work. But seeing a plus-size model on the cover of a major fashion magazine, now that would be a real sign of change. Yes, plus-size models are still models, and the fashion industry still makes its money presenting women with images to aspire to that are, for most, unattainable and unrealistic. But if we can change the parameters of the beauty standard even just enough to accommodate tall, enviably proportioned young women who don't have 23" waists, then I'd still call that progress of a kind.

Fittingly, Fashionista asks: Italian Vanity Fair and French Elle are great, but where are the U.S. magazines? Aside from Glamour's admirable commitment to using plus-size models consistently in fashion spreads from issue to issue, and V's forthcoming January special issue, what is going at American Vogue, Elle, and Harper's Bazaar? Will we see a plus-size model in a fashion spread in an American magazine that isn't trudging through the clichés of its obligatory annual Love Your Shape issue? I have a feeling — call it blogger's intuition — that it might happen sooner than you think.

Hello, Gorgeous [Style.com]
The Tides Are Turning [Fashionista]

Earlier: Model Crystal Renn On Self-Acceptance, Size, & The Fashion Industry

1. Hardcore Career Woman Whose Heart Melts: Pity the loveless, career-driven shrew — that is, until the right man comes along. Best-laid plans, etc. As seen in The Proposal, No Reservations, What Happens In Vegas, Raising Helen, and New In Town, these hard-hearted women learn what really matters through a series of highly convoluted circumstances.

2. Falling In Love With The Help : It's a genre at least as old as Jane Eyre, but the last decade saw no sign of upstairs-downstairs eroticism abating. Often with the service-industry job in the title — Maid in Manhattan, The Wedding Planner, The Nanny Diaries, even Secretary, these movies were mostly Cinderella fantasies, spiced up with power differentials. Love Actually actually managed to fit several such romances into one movie (with Colin Firth, Hugh Grant and Alan Rickman's plotlines).

3. Quirky Girl Brings Adventure: It's good news that eighties-style makeover flicks were in short supply in the last decade. And maybe we can also be happy that in the place of the ugly duckling came the nominally indie, self-consciously quirky girl with the adventurous streak — see Natalie Portman in Garden State, (500) Days Of Summer (actually, this genre is essentially owned by Zooey Deschanel), Nick & Nora's Infinite Playlist, Juno, and even Serendipity and Along Came Polly.

4. Journalist On Assignment (Often Secretly): The traditional media may be in crisis, but on the silver screen, being a journalist remains glamorous, exciting, and the best way to meet a man. How else does one get into romance-ready scrapes? See: How To Lose A Guy in Ten Days, Confessions of a Shopaholic, Rumor Has It, Down With Love, The Ugly Truth, and even wedged into dual audience comedies like Mr. Deeds (an unconvincing Winona Ryder as a tabloid reporter) and Zoolander (Christine Taylor as an investigatory journalist.)

5. The Reformed Bad Boy. This genre allows both male actors and the audience to have it both ways: first, caddish masculinity and assurance that our hero is a guy's guy, then, the right woman to come along and transform him, unwillingly, into a softy. See, for example, Wedding Crashers, Ghosts of Girlfriends Past, Hitch, Two Weeks Notice, About a Boy, and What Women Want. Who said you can't change a man?

6. My Best Friend's Wedding (Stretched Over Another Decade). There is a strong correlation between the ballad of the overlooked best friend (or sometimes sibling) and the frantic drama of the wedding. Maybe we can blame Julia Roberts — if her character in the 1997 hit didn't get the guy at the end, well, we've spent the oughts making up for it. Movies like Made of Honor, My Best Friend's Girl, 27 Dresses, Definitely Maybe, Just Friends, and In Her Shoes make it clear from the trailer that the buddy will come to his or her senses in 90 minutes or less.

7. Dealing With The Hardass Parents: In-law jokes are a worn genre in and of themselves, but films like Monster in Law, Meet The Parents, Guess Who, You Me & Dupree, and Just Married took it to the next level with slapstick gags about overbearing parents jealously protecting their offspring. An implicit reaction to the new overparenting?

8. Male Lead, Stammering Charm: Whether you preferred him British (Hugh Grant) or Yiddish (Ben Stiller), it was all about the klutzy je ne sais quoi. Grant in particular owned this genre, starting in the 90s and persisting throughout the oughts with the wretched Music & Lyrics, the Bridget Jones' Diary movies, and now Did You Hear About The Morgans?, among others.

9. Fish Out Of Water: Nothing's hotter than being new in town and needing to be initiated by an attractive stranger. See: Save The Last Dance, The Holiday, The Prince & Me, New In Town, and Under The Tuscan Sun.

10. Time Travel: romantic comedies are all about putting road blocks between hero and heroine. And what's a better impediment than living in different ages? In movies like Kate and Leopold, 13 going on 30, 17 Again, and The Time Traveler's Wife, love proved it could triumph over the time-space continuum.

Anna H.:

Realistic: A new, aesthetically pleasing (read: contemporary and not embarrassing-looking - NO CARPET OR SISAL) cat tree or perch.
Fantasy: A first class ticket to Sydney because flying economy on Qantas for that long in such cramped conditions is inhumane for everyone and should be illegal.


Latoya:

Realistic: A gift card to a bookstore. Always appreciated.
Fantasy: $5,000 Gift Certificate to GameStop (one of my homegirls works there - it will last me years) and a month off from work. OR a free year of natural hairstyling services from Miss Jessies, provided they don't give me that poodle style thing they were doing for a while.


Margaret:

Realistic: New Strangers With Candy complete series DVD, because my friend borrowed a few disks and never returned them.
Fantasy: Tickets to California to retrieve my DVDs (and visit my friend, I suppose.)


Hortense:

Realistic: I'd really like a new record player.
Fantasy: A complete replica of the Imagination Room from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, with wi-fi and a big comfy chair/desk combo set up near the banks of the chocolate river, so I can write in between sessions of eating the scenery.


Anna N.

Realistic: some decent-quality black gloves to replace the ones I left in a cab. I think my mom is actually getting me this.
Fantasy: a Hedi Slimane suit


Dodai:

Realistic: I'm into headbands now and really any hair accessories make me happy. I like the headbands Tarina Tarantino is doing… I also have a crush on some Irregular Choice ankle boots (in red)! Oh, and the Diana F+ camera is something I'd never buy for myself but would LOVE as a gift.
Fantasy: To spend the rest of the winter in Mexico with the boyfriend! Or a personal trainer. Actually, both. The personal trainer can come with us.


Katy:

Realistic: A miniature meyer lemon tree, thick wool tights (preferably in bright red, but I haven't found any that fit this description) and the book "The Haunting of America: from Salem Witch Trials to Harry Houdini."
Fantasy: To find an apartment in Boston that is cheap, but still has hardwood floors, a decent sized kitchen, and lots of windows. Also, a fireplace would be very nice. As would a puppy.


Sadie:

Realistic: I love good caramels, and crave a batch from the Trappistine Monastery, which are the most delicious and keep the order self-supporting. Also, a membership to either the Center for Fiction, since my local library has a lousy selection, or the Film Forum, to get my revival kicks.
Fantasy: Besides a karaoke machine that has both the Pastels' "Nothing to be Done" and "Sometimes Always" on it? The Goodybe Babylon box set, or the complete New York Review of Books classics collection - even though I own some of them already, and there's something a little "books-by-the-yard" about it, and I have no room, and it's incredibly expensive, and I have a niggling suspicion that some classics are "forgotten" and "minor" for a reason.


Jenna:

Reality:Really delicious cookies and a scarf from my mum.
Fantasy: Jeans that are tight but not restrictive, closer to a straight-legged cut than "skinny," don't come in an embarrassing pre-weathered wash, have absolutely no stupid non-functional embroidery, give me neither a wedgie nor camel toe, are neither too low- or high-waisted, and have NO Lycra. And cost less than $100 at Loehmann's. I don't think these exist. Also I would like an office chair i could sit in comfortably for hours a day that also doesn't look like some piece of aeronautical equipment or get advertised so relentlessly on NPR that I start to feel like a someone with a tote bag collection, on the inside, but i don't think such a thing exists. Maybe the Herman Miller Aeron Chair!

The modeling industry went through a variety of dramatic changes during the last decade. It was in these years that two relatively economically underdeveloped regions — South America and the former Eastern Bloc — supplanted the West as the industry's main source of tall, skinny 16-year-olds. (And the skinny 16-year-olds became skinnier 14-year-olds.) Lots of stuff happened: models died. The industry hesitantly considered self-regulation. There was a recession that decimated the luxury sector.

Who were the faces that cropped up during these tumultuous years and stood out from the crowd? Think of the Brazilian bombshells who stomped into prominence on the runways of Versace in the late '90s and held sway over the industry for the first few years of the decade that is now coming to a close. Remember the post-9/11 mini-vogue for "intellectual"-looking Belgians? (Though some — An Oost — have been unfortunately largely forgotten, others — Hannelore Knuts — still work regularly.) The doll-like models of the mid-2000s (hello Gemma, hello Lily!) The Russians who gained prominence during the last years of the decade. Who will be remembered as the faces of the 2000s? Our money's on these ladies.

Gisele Bündchen

There's a strong case for calling Gisele the face of the decade. Although she technically rose to fame at the very end of the 1990s — she was Vogue/VH1 Model of the Year for 1999, and nabbed the November 1999, December 1999, and January 2000 covers of American Vogue in a rare hat-trick — Gisele has continued to dominate the entire fashion spectrum. Claudia Schiffer called her the only true modern supermodel. Gisele is a category-killer, pulling off high-fashion editorial work, commercial gigs, Victoria's Secret, and campaigns for Dior and Versace, with equal aplomb. (She is also one of the only contemporary models to have gained any kind of tabloid notoriety, which celebrity ironically makes her a more likely cover choice for fashion magazines, now that they don't put mere models on their covers.) Through every change in style, Gisele has remained on top. She goes by one name. She is the highest-earning model in the world. She has a line of sandals in her native Brazil. Her work ethic is highly praised, and an economist even made a Gisele Index to mathematically prove that companies that hire her make money. It outperformed the Dow! Other models should probably just give up now.

Crossover Stars Heidi Klum And Tyra Banks

Karl Lagerfeld may not know who Heidi Klum is, but millions of Americans do, thanks to Project Runway. Although Klum and Banks were both well-known models in the mid-to-late 1990s, thanks especially to their respective work for that august periodical, the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition, it was in the 2000s that their careers kicked into overdrive. In 2003, Tyra Banks debuted a little reality-television show called America's Next Top Model, and even if it was a little short on the reality, it certainly made great television. She parlayed it into her own talk show, a New York Times Magazine cover story, and continued to make occasional appearances in magazine editorials. Klum became the host and executive producer of Project Runway in 2004, and thus introduced the world to the magnificence that is Tim Gunn, and her own adenoidal catchphrase, Auf Weidersehen. Klum maintained her Victoria's Secret contract, and is currently the face of a rejuvenated Ann Taylor. Maybe these women recognized that modeling, qua modeling, was mostly a losing game in the oughts; maybe they knew their careers were dwindling into catalog obscurity anyway. Either way, they went and did their own thing, and are now more recognizable than ever.

Natalia Vodianova

After the Brazilians, came the Russians. And no Russian was more successful than Natalia Vodianova. A favorite of Calvin Klein, she walked every runway and cleaned up on the campaign circuit, starting in about 2004. With her spooky, wide-set eyes and thick hair, she could look alternately romantic and hard-edged. Unashamed of her impoverished background — she worked at a fruit stand before starting modeling in her early teens — she is an active philanthropist in her native Russia. Also she sometimes talks about how it's not a good idea to expect models to be so thin that they can develop disordered eating habits. We pretty much love her for that.

Gemma Ward

Gemma Ward had basically done it in fashion all by the time she was 19. After debuting as a runway exclusive for Prada, Ward saw covers, editorial work with Mario Testino (this shot comes from a Vogue Paris shoot with the photographer), Steven Meisel, and Patrick Demarchelier, and campaigns for brands like Burberry, Roberto Cavalli, and Dior all came her way. All told, she was on more than 30 different covers of Vogue around the world, including the debut issues of Vogue China and Vogue India. Her uniquely beautiful features commonly earned comparisons to those of a baby doll, and Ward originated the vogue for eery-looking, wide-eyed, pale girls, like Heather Marks and Vlada Roslyakova. Then, suddenly, in 2008, she took a break from modeling. She filled her time by taking a supporting role in the Australian film The Black Balloon, for which she was nominated for a Film Critics Circle of Australia Award in the category of Best Actress. She most recently popped into the news to quash — for a second time — rumors of her retirement; she says she'll return to modeling in 2010. Perhaps she can be a face of the next decade, too.

Liya Kebede

Liya Kebede burst onto the scene in 2002, when the then-largely-unknown was featured on the cover of Vogue Paris. And this Ethiopian model has continually been featured in editorials and campaigns during a decade that will probably go down in the fashion history books as one of the least diverse. (Kebede was the only black model before the fold on Vogue's supermodels cover from earlier this year.) She's been the face of brands from Estée Lauder to Tiffany's to Louis Vuitton (pictured), advocates for maternal health in the developing world, and has her own children's clothing line, which is entirely handmade in Ethiopia.

Daria Werbowy

With her cat eyes and multi-faceted nose, Polish-born, Canadian-bred Werbowy so captivated Steven Meisel that he put her on the cover of Vogue Italia twice in a row in 2003 (this is the first one). Plenty more work followed, including campaigns for Prada, Gucci, and Chanel, and a multi-year contract with Lancôme. She also is one of the bevy of supermodels who do ads for the jeweler David Yurman. Most recently, Werbowy motivated countless women to buy insanely colorful Matthew Williamson for H&M summer duds by merely glancing in Solve Sundsbo's direction.

Agyness Deyn

For a while in 2007, this girl's mug was inescapable. It seemed that Deyn — born Laura Hollins, some five years earlier than her agency had initially claimed — was in every editorial, on every billboard, and on every runway. With her highly recognizable haircut and signature mouth-agape look, she could radiate innocence or sex. Given she had oodles of style — or at least, a willingness to dress in really ridiculously 80s outfits in public — the obvious move would have been for her to transition from modeling into being a designer's long-term muse, a stylist, or to get a clothing line. Instead, she dabbled in music, did ads for Uniqlo, and dyed her hair black. Whether or not she makes a comeback, she's still got that 2000s look — po-mo anti-historical Salvation Army hipster — to a T. Her pictures will instantly conjure the period.

Coco Rocha

One of our all-time favorite model bloggers, the Canadian Rocha has been heavily featured in editorials and advertising for companies including Dior and Yves Saint Laurent since about 2006, and once did a jig on Jean-Paul Gaultier's runway. A favorite of Grace Coddington at American Vogue, she also dyed her hair red at the request of Steven Meisel himself. Rocha, who worked for several long years in secondary markets before making it big, is also one of the few models willing, like Natalia Vodianova, to talk about the industry's pressures regarding weight. (She herself has used diuretics to stay thin in the past.) Rocha practically has a patent on the open-mouthed, furrowed-brow, angry-cute expression we've seen so much of over the past few years.

Lakshmi Menon

When we first saw this woman's pictures, in 2008, we swooned. Menon worked in India for years to put herself through school while studying economics, and then hit the international circuit to do the occasional job for, well, Jean-Paul Gaultier, Alexander Wang, Stella McCartney, Givenchy, MaxMara, and H&M. At 27, practically elderly by the ridiculous standards of the industry, she became the face of Hermès and took pictures with an elephant. She even hammed it up for American Vogue, and all the while her unique look quietly worked its way into fashion's mainstream.

Lara Stone

A Bardot-ish blonde with gappy teeth, and features that can seem alternately androgynous and hyper-sexual, Lara Stone is a true model oddity. Cathy Horyn once compared her walk to Lurch's. We would love to disqualify her from this list for being in that God-awful blackface shoot, but the woman grabbed dozens of campaigns, a cover of British Vogue, two covers of Vogue Paris, and one group cover of American Vogue this year alone. Whether she's doing cannibal-zombie editorials or joking about pushing girls down the stairs, people seem to be fascinated.

Karlie Kloss

Karlie Kloss almost didn't make this list, because a lot of her work is very recent. After debuting as a runway exclusive for Calvin Klein and then Gucci in September of 2007, her breakout season was February of 2008, when the then-15-year-old walked for an astounding 66 designers in three cities. But editorial and campaign work, especially in the U.S., was a little bit slower in coming. No longer: Seems like someone up and became Anna Wintour's favorite. This year, Kloss racked up more international Vogue pages and covers than any other model, and she has been featured in some 23 editorials in American Vogue since first appearing in its pages this February. Add campaigns for Alexander McQueen and a Marc Jacobs perfume to the mix, and we can expect to see lots more of this 6' girl with the unusual eyebrows in the next decade.

Helprin says the White House crashers have given "a gift to the language in the form of a richly functional verb-to Salahi." He defines the new verb thus:

To Salahi: v. U.S. [after 21st century reality-show aspirants Michaele and Tareq Salahi] 1. intrans. to gain entrance to an event or gathering to which one is not invited. "They Salahied into the Bar-Mitzvah even though they didn't know the Goldblatt boy, and ate most of the chopped-liver sculpture of Elvis." Shakespeare, Sonnet MMIX. 2. in a general sense to appear where one is not welcome. "Michael Moore Salahied into George and Laura Bush's second honeymoon to lecture the former president about justice for the undocumented immigrants held at Guantanamo." Chomsky, Profiles in Courage. 3. to forge, fake or pretend, especially in hope of achieving a contemptible or pathetic objective that is simultaneously a comment upon the corruption and distastefulness of a particular individual and society itself. trans. "To elevate his chances of becoming a Chippendales dancer, Arnold Toynbee Salahied a letter of recommendation from Rosa Luxemburg. Al Franken, An Intellectual History of the United States.

Helprin also mentions a few other famous names that have become generally used words, like Ponzi of Ponzi scheme fame. Unfortunately, he forgot Santorum — a "sexual neologism" which, Dan Savage would be glad to know, now appears before Rick Santorum's official homepage in the Google results for the name. In the spirit of both Salahi and Santorum, we'd like to propose a few of our own new verbs, based on some of this year's luminaries.

To Heene: to exploit one's children for fame and/or financial gain, esp. to do so in a ham-handed or ridiculous fashion. See also To Suleman.

To NeNe: to strangle someone at Bow Wow's mom's boutique.

To Palin: to seek a job on the basis of being unqualified for said job. "Palining" has yet to gain popularity among firefighters, nuclear power plant employees, or brain surgeons.

To Bachmann: to allege that a seemingly harmless act, like giving money to a homeless person, will result in forced abortions for millions of American teenagers.

To Snooki: to launch a dispute via craniofacial injury. See also Tycho Brahe, War of Jenkins' Ear.

To Kardashian: to marry a celebrity after a very short courtship, possibly for the benefit of a larger empire. See also Marie Antoinette.

To Beck: to believe the government is spying on citizens through any or all of the above: car navigation systems, toasters, the Internet, leafy green vegetables, the census, that little eye on the back of the dollar bill, cats. See also To Schrute.

Of course, the above list cries out for a word that refers to the very act of turning a celebrity name into a verb. Perhaps "to Helprin?"

To Salahi Or Not To Salahi . . . [Wall Street Journal]

They can say whatever
I'ma do whatever
No pain is forever,
Yup, you know this.
These are the opening lines to "Hard." And the images we see in the beginning of the clip are of Rihanna in military gear. She wears a helmet — the function of which is to protect. She is also dressed as a sergeant, or some kind of ranking officer, addressing her (all male) troops.

For a woman who was beaten by a man, taking on war imagery and a position of power over men makes perfect sense.

In addition to her helmet, she wears a flesh-colored top with the nipples blacked out. On the one hand, there's only so much nudity you can get away with. But this could also be an acknowledgment of the boundaries she is setting: You can see this much, but you can't see everything. It's a tease — putting her, again, in a position of power. She chooses how much you can see.

Images of Rihanna walking through a literal battlefield not only mirror the minefield of her relationship with Chris Brown, but the dangerous territory of being in the public eye, with "bombs" about your private life dropping all around you. The lyrics here are:
I'ma rock this shit like fashion, as in
Goin' til they say stop
She's not afraid to forge ahead (or she wants you to think she is). The lyrics continue:
And my runway never looked so clear
But the hottest bitch in heels right here
No fear
And while you getting your cry on
I'm getting my fly on
It's as though she has picked herself up, dusted herself off, and realized her self-worth. She knows she is too special to let anything stop her. While we might be "crying" over her assault, she's busy getting back to — or keeping up with — the business of being fabulous.

The "stay away" spikes and warrior make-up hammer the point home.

And then there's a gun. Rihanna got a gun tattoo in March; she was assaulted in early February. Was the former a reaction to the latter? Some commenters on this site called the tattoo "advocating violence," "sad" and "misguided" and wondered if she didn't have any positive role models. Others noted that we don't actually know the significance of her gun tattoo and what it means to her. One commenter pointed out: "People get tattoos for all sorts of reasons and I think 'helping me get through a tough part of my life' is a pretty good one."

If you see a tattoo as a visual marker of a dream or ideal, her desire to be seen as a weapon — dangerous and to be handled with respect — makes a lot of sense. And firing off a machine gun in the video has the same effect; she is telegraphing a warning and taking a stance — refusing to be portrayed as a victim, but instead, the opposite.

On this rampart in the battlefield, she is the only one without a weapon. Either she is the weapon, or her army's one mission is to defend her. Or both.

Playing games with the other (lower-ranking) soldiers, Rihanna, of course, holds all the cards. At every turn, she feels the need to remind us that she is a winner.

Rihanna made this "small" gesture when she sang "Hard" on Good Morning America in November; our brother site Gawker called it "The last word on Chris Brown." She did it again when she was on SNL. The lyrics here are:
It's gonna take more than that
Hope that ain't all you got.
Insulting Chris Brown's penis size and therefore his manhood may seem like a cheap shot, but it's her prerogative. And she's making it clear that she's taking no prisoners.

The styling here — Mickey Mouse-eared helmet, paired with bandoliers — seems to say, I'm fun, not that you want to fuck with me. It's basically the driving theme of the entire video.

The tank, I think, is a misstep. It reads as penis envy — and maybe the smaller guns do, too, but a big pink phallus between her legs dilutes her message. Because if this song is about a woman declaring her strength and sexuality, she shouldn't need a cocked and loaded dick replacement to do it.

On the other hand: If someone like 50 cent made a video in which he was half-dressed and toting guns, would we accuse him of using phallic symbols? Or would we simply view it as being about power?

Toward the end of the clip, Rihanna waves a flag, declaring that she has conquered her territory. For someone who has spent the year being identified as a victim, this seems like a way for her to take back and reshape her identity.

She recently did an overtly sexual shoot for GQ, and she is topless on the cover of the magazine. Some people made comments like "I'm losing interest." But Rihanna's strategy — the manner in which she is maneuvering through this year is very interesting: She doesn't want to be someone you beat up and throw away. She doesn't want to be a victim. But she doesn't want to have to be a "good girl," either.

On the GQ photo thread, one comment read, "She makes boring pop music and boringly shows off her boobs. I fail to see what's new here?" Perhaps "new" is not the point. Or what's "new" is that she was beaten to a pulp and is moving forward the only way she knows how. Someone else wrote: "All of this Rihanna sexification as of late makes me think she's trying to reclaim a sense of power after the whole Chris Brown debacle. I think she's a beautiful and talented woman, but there has to be a better way for her to demonstrate her strength instead of just posing nude and making provocative comments in every interview." Maybe there is a "better" way, but maybe this is the way that feels right for her? When she hit the scene, she was a clean-cut, long-haired 17-year-old "Island girl," but that was mostly who her record label wanted her to be. In November, she told The New York Times:

Her appearance, down to her lipstick color, was monitored by the label, she said. "I was like, ‘What do you mean, I can't cut my hair? It has to be long and blond, like every other female singer in the game? No, I'm not doing that.' "

Is it any wonder her third album was called Good Girl Gone Bad? It's always tricky to channel and manage the feelings and urges one has when transitioning from a teenager to a fully-grown adult. To do it when you are a product/pawn in a capitalist/corporate structure must be even harder. As one commenter in the GQ thread put it: "…This is the way that works best for her so I'll support her on it. Taking control of her body (getting tattoos, posing nude, etc.) is probably empowering to her after being under Chris Brown's domineering thumb for so long. I think she feels powerful by being able to make these choices and decisions regarding her body."

Love it or hate it, she's doing it her way. As "Hard" goes:
And I want it all…
… I need it all
The money
The fame
The cars
The clothes
I can't just let you run up on me like that…
Right now, she's all about not letting anyone take anything away from her. But she's only 21, and she's had a tough year. Who knows what message she'll want to send next year, or in five years?

This morning Maggie Gyllenhaal was on the Today show. She said — and I'm paraphrasing — "In my 20s i felt like I had to be so strong, and that to seem strong was the most important thing." Now she is 32 and says, "Now I see that being vulnerable and open and emotional takes so much more strength." Maybe given time and perspective, Rihanna will be in a similar place?

Rihanna — Hard [MTV.com]
Rihanna: ‘Hard' Video World Premiere! [JustJared]
"Hard" Lyrics [Rihanna Now]
Rihanna: Fiercely Introspective [NY Times]
Related: Rihanna Goes Topless For GQ's January 2010 Issue

This sweater is kind of cute, even if you suspect it might be itchy.

God I am a sucker for a girlish dress. I grew up on Alice in Wonderland, Dorothy and Shirley Temple, and there's a part of me that can't let go of the classic, full-skirted silhouette. Advanced users can add a headband for full-on Blair Waldorf.

Then again: Sexy is cool, too.

There is never a colder, harsher light than that of the sun on January First. May as well throw on some sequins and drink all the champagne yourself, sweetie. They're not coming.

"One is the loneliest number… I tried to cry into my poncho, but I stabbed myself in the eye with a stud."

Oh, hello. I love you. No, not you. I'm talking to your red suede shoes. Gimme.

Sometimes I hate UO, but everything here looks really goregous, even though these models are doing their best to hide the awesome from us.

Wow. Wow! Yes on the coat, the blouse, the skirt and the floral wall hanging. No on the shoes, but everything else is so great, I'm in a forgiving mood.

Sorry, I only have one word for this, and it is: CUUUUUUTE!

Sigh. I like everything here, too! What is going on? Has UO changed? Right when I was counting on its overwrought fuggery?

Oh. Hideous Hipster Slanket Thingy. I knew UO would not disappoint.

Urban Outfitters [Official Site]

Earlier: Entertainment Earth: Bring Christian Bale & Joan Jett Home For Christmas
Harry & David's Merry, Mouth-Watering Christmas With A Crunch
Free People: Let's Pretend It's The Summer Of '69
Anthropologie's Hazy Shade Of Winter
Fetchdog, Drs Fosters & Smith: Howliday Humiliation For Dogs & Cats
Dear Santa: Have You Seen The December J. Crew?
Barneys: Wooing With Witticisms & Wallet-Emptying Wares
Ashro: Stop Being Such A Slob And Get Yourself A Suit, Hat & Wig

"There is a place like no other," says the voiceover, which is obviously Johnny Depp, even if you hadn't seen a hundred posters or didn't know that he's in every single Tim Burton film in a futile effort to not be considered incredibly handsome. By the way, I beg to differ: the underbrush of my parents' backyard looks a lot like this. Minus Puggsley Addams.


"Some say to survive it...you need to be as mad as a hatter!" No, actually, no one says that. Certainly not Lewis Carroll. That said, the Cheshire Cat face looks awesome.


"...which luckily, I am!" Heeeere's Johnny! With full-on smokey eye.


Alice, by the way, looks super disheveled and underdressed. No pinafores here!


This is just really cute.


This surly, Scottish March Hare gives me hope that the film preserves some of the story's just inherent, British weirdness.


Helena Bonham Carter's Red Queen is the apex of the continued quest to make a stunning woman grotesque that seems to be the goal of her ongoing collaboration with Burton. (That and their kids, that is.)


At this point, it appears to become an action movie. We hear the Mad Hatter say intensely, "help us make the world right again!" Seriously? I really think he just wanted to entertain some little girls on whom he may or may not have had a really unnatural fixation.


The battle scenes look intense.


And Anne Hathaway looks like Draco Malfoy's father and talks like Galadriel.


Also? I don't remember the Mad Hatter going all action hero on us. But what do I know?





New Alice In Wonderland Trailer Revels In Red Queen's Villainy [Wired]

1) Women don't take a backseat in his movies. While most action films relegate women to "handbags" or "girlfriend parts," Cameron's women characters can take central stage— starting with Sarah Connor in the Terminator movies. From The New Yorker profile of Cameron in October:

Gale Anne Hurd, Cameron's second wife, and the producer of his first three films, says that Cameron always found women more interesting than men as protagonists. "He felt that they were underutilized in sci-fi, action, and fantasy," she said. "And that just about everything you could explore in a male action hero could be explored better with a woman."

2) Not only does he like putting strong women in his movies, he has married five of them - whom he seems to stay friends with. From The New Yorker:

Wisher, Cameron's old friend, says that strong women are one of the constants in Cameron's life: "He likes to write about 'em and he likes to marry 'em. If there's one or two themes that run through his life and work, that's at the top of the list.

3) He has faith in the broader box office potential of spunky women. Rebecca Keegan, author of a Cameron biography, recounts another Hurd quote over at Vanity Fair's website:

"He was fearless in thinking a strong woman is not gonna turn the men off," his first producer and second wife, Gale Anne Hurd, told me. "Male audiences will still come. And they did."

4) Try as he might, he just can't help but make "chicks flicks," maybe because of his "feminine side." The New Yorker:

"With ‘Avatar,' I thought, Forget all these chick flicks and do a classic guys' adventure movie...Of course, the whole movie ends up being about women, how guys relate to their lovers, mothers-there's a large female presence," Cameron said. "I try to do my testosterone movie and it's a chick flick. That's how it is for me."

Avatar star Zoe Saldana told The Wall Street Journal's Speakeasy blog, "You can tell [Cameron]'s in tune with his feminine side. I've learned this about men who write good roles for women - there's a very beautiful sentimentality to them.

So how exactly is Avatar actually about women rather than cool special effects? Says Keegan,

On Pandora, the guys may wear the sharpest looking gear...but it's clear who's really in charge. Amid a sea of hothead military types, Lost's Michelle Rodriguez is the most coolly capable as a helicopter pilot named Trudy, a smoother update of Vasquez (Jenette Goldstein), the tough Latina from Aliens. Trudy's assured delivery of the line, "You're not the only one with a gun, bitch!" is this movie's "Hasta la vista, baby!" moment. Neytiri's mom, Mo'at, played by CCH Pounder of The Shield, is the shaman of her clan. And to whom does Mo'at pray? On Pandora, even God is a she, and her name is Eywa.

We'll see in the coming days and weeks if this obvious bid to get women in the theaters for Cameron's movie works. So far, advance sales have skewed even more heavily towards men than expected. So who's going to see Avatar this weekend?

James Cameron, Closet Feminist [Vanity Fair]
Man Of Extremes [The New Yorker]
Avatar Star Zoe Saldana On The State Of Women In Hollywood [WSJ]
' Avatar: Advance Ticket Sales Skewing Male [THR]

I'll admit it: I was never sold on Anne Hathaway as a woman of style, but her pure glam Armani Prive, at this year's Oscars, made me a believer. And how.


There was a lot of Glinda this year. Rose Byrne's Valentino Emmy iteration was among the best - "fairy princess" as a compliment, for a change.


More pure pretty? Olivia Wilde's Reem Acra confection at January 10th's Golden Globes.


People were sharply divided over Rihanna's November 23rd AMA frock - I thought it was a triumph for both the singer and Marchesa, both sweet and spiky.


I couldn't choose a favorite betwixt Natalie Portman's triumphant Rodarte, at the Oscars...


...or her more casual November 24th Vena Cava at the New York City Ballet. So I added both!


There was no arguing with Penelope Cruz's vintage Balmain, worthy of her Oscar win.


More stunning vintage? Thandie Newton, at the Baftas on February 7th.


In the sea of bugle beads that was 2009, Liv Tyler's May 4th Met Costume Institute Ball Stella McCartney stood out as classic, sexy, and fun.


Gabourey Sidibe had a number of amazing looks this year, but I particularly loved this vivid empire-waisted gown, at September's Toronto Film Festival.


Another example of a trend done perfectly: Leslie Mann's absurdly slinky screwball bombshell (by Pamella Roland) at the Oscars.


I loved Ashley Olsen's minimalist chic at the 5/4 Costume Institute Ball. A grown-up take on quirk! (By The Row.)


In the same school, Amber Valletta earns a place on this list for the second year in a row for her simple column at November 12th's NARS 15x15 launch.


And speaking of quirky elegance, how could I not mention Tilda Swinton, looking typically chic and idiosyncratic at Cannes, May 17th.


If I had to name a favorite? Probably Chloe Sevigny's Isaac Mizrahi Resort at the 2009 Emmys. As pretty as anything we saw but, on her, also totally fresh and pitch-perfect.


[Images via

The story you told was literally arresting - I felt like I could not pull my eyes away from the screen. How did you discover the Maldonado story, and why did you think this would be a good documentary?

The thing is I was looking to make a very personal film that dealt with someone having a finite amount of time. One subject that has always interested me was the idea of a person being sentenced to prison. I figured if I could manage to find someone that was out on bail and had a few days left before they turned themselves in, there might be something in there. So I just started reading the papers and searching the web. At one point I was all set up to head out to Florida to film this guy and he changed his mind, which was understandable - so I had to scramble a bit. I remember doing another Google search and reading about a woman that killed her husband. The subject seemed sensational but I knew I wouldn't make that type of film, so I thought let's see what happens if I fly up there and call up her attorney.

When I got to Oregon I drove to her attorney's office and he gave Wendy a call. Wendy and her family got some info about my last film, Mojados, and they figured they would at least meet with me. We met a few hours later at a diner in Grants Pass and I started filming the next morning.

What led you to use so much home video footage in your work?

Sincerity, pretty much. In HBO's version there are lot of home videos are included and I think it works really well. In the theatrical version there are less home videos and it works well there too.

The strong thing about these home videos is that there is no filter on them. It's not some staged interview nor is it a conversation that's being manipulated. They are 5, 10 or 15 years old and they add a great deal of sincerity to both versions.

In another interview, you mention that you noticed the home videos were tightly edited [mostly by Aaron] to remove any overt reference to violence. But what did you see in the videos that tipped you off to the edits?

Oh, it was just that you would see a scene with one of the kids and they would not be smiling and off camera you'd hear Aaron tell the kid (or Wendy) to smile. All of a sudden the camera would get shut off for a moment and when the picture turned back on everyone would be standing in the same place, but with smiles on their faces.

I called the family and asked about it and they kind of nonchalantly said, yeah that's how it was, just re shoot the scene so everyone looks happy.

The other thing is these home videos are incredibly well done. I mean they were lit properly, framed really well.

Did you have a chance to reach out to Aaron Maldonado's side of the family? Only Aaron's brother appears in the film. What was their reaction to the proceedings?

I reached out to them and the police. The police declined and I never heard back from Aaron's family. You have to respect that - they're entitled to their privacy.

That said, I tried to keep the film tightly focused on Wendy and her last five days. I reluctantly included the neighbors because Wendy referred to them in a casual conversation. It helped the story flow to include their interviews. I wasn't out to make a film defending her or examining the case. I wanted to make a personal film about her and I wanted to do it in an oblique sort of way.

Did you notice a difference in reactions when you screen the film? Do women react to the documentary differently than men?

Women can handle it - they don't blink. Generally, the men tend to look away.

What did you think of the statement of the judge who looked as if he was handing down a decision he did not accept? Do you think the governor could (or should) have pardoned Wendy and Randy?

The judge was just being a judge. He had the power to help enforce the laws, not make them. But he was still out there saying that people can look into getting these laws changed.

You mentioned in an interview that you did not want to intrude upon the lives of the Maldonados further, after they had already opened up to you for the film. Do you still keep in contact with them? Would Wendi appreciate letters? (Many of our readers wanted to write to her.) How are the other three Maldonado boys?

Well interviews and Q&A's are kind of strange in that people like to ask about things - about the family - things outside of the film. But looking at it, the family gave me five days and I made a film out of that and I don't feel right talking about how they're doing now or what they're up to.

There will be an announcement soon on Quintomalo.com and Oneminutetonine.com about a fund being established for Wendy's sons.

Tommy Davis [Official Site]
Mojados: Through the Night [Official Site]
SXSW 2008: Tommy Davis, One Minute to Nine [Spout]
Quinto Malo Productions [Official Site]
One Minute to Nine [Official Site]

Earlier: Every F-ing Day Of My Life: One Day Of Violence Is One Day Too Many

According to Chuck Schumer's office, he made an "off-the-cuff comment under his breath" on Sunday after a US Airways flight attendant told him to turn off his cell phone. According to a Republican aide who was lucky enough to overhear the exchange, that "off-the-cuff comment" would be the b-word. This was apparently enough for Republicans to accuse Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, who was sitting next to Schumer, of being a bad feminist. The National Republican Senatorial Committee says:

For a politician who claims to have a "family first" agenda and who claims to fight for women's rights, Kirsten Gillibrand's silence is stunning. It appears clear that when push comes to shove, she's far more worried about offending her political mentor, Chuck Schumer, than standing up for women in the workplace. It's our hope that those womens' rights organizations that have already endorsed her campaign for the Senate will ask Kirsten Gillibrand why she believes it's acceptable to call a female flight attendant a "bitch."

Why didn't she strangle him with her bra immediately? Sarah Palin totally would've. Kidding aside, though, the whole incident raises the question of whether "bitch" is a big deal anymore. On the one hand, Bitch Magazine and others have worked to reclaim the word. It's so much a part of common parlance that I hardly think twice when someone uses it casually. And it was hardly shocking when Double X ran a piece by Hanna Rosin yesterday under the headline, "The Rise of the Kitchen Bitch." Then again, that essay also illustrated some of the lingering problems with the word. Rosin says Sandra Tsing Loh uses the term "kitchen bitch" to refer to "a friend's husband who was anal and fussy and altogether too feminine-he belonged to an online fennel club, for God's sake." When a man gets called a bitch — as when he's called a pussy — it usually means he's acting stereotypically feminine. Which means, in turn, that simply being a woman remains a stinging insult.

But what of "bitch" as applied to women? Like "slut," women sling it around often enough affectionately. And many who say it without affection just use it as they would "asshole" — a word to describe someone whose behavior sucks. But it can also be used to put a woman in her place — to insult her, for instance, for rejecting a man's advances or for speaking her mind. The word "bitch" can imply that a man is too feminine, but it can also imply that a woman isn't feminine enough — and these connotations alone make its use problematic, even if the user doesn't mean to make any kind of gendered statement.

I'm a pretty conciliatory person, and I don't get in a lot of wars of words — or any other kind. But I do remember the first time (that I know of) that someone called me a bitch. It was early in college, and I'd been clashing with a fellow student who was my superior at work. After a particularly heated argument, I heard that my superior was telling our coworkers what a "bitch" I was. To be honest, I was thrilled. "Bitch" meant that I'd stuck up for myself, when I'd often been too passive to do so in the past. It meant someone thought I was difficult, and perhaps even insufficiently feminine — but it also meant I had a certain kind of power. I'd become someone who wouldn't back down, someone whose opponents' only recourse was to throw around a word whose meaning I could, in fact, choose to interpret for myself. And if bitch is to be truly reclaimed, that's what I'd like it to mean.

Sen. Schumer Regrets Comment To Flight Attendant [AP, via MSNBC]
Word Prompts Apology From Schumer [NYT]
NRSC Plays The Feminism Card [Washington Independent]
The Rise Of The Kitchen Bitch [Double X]
Bitch [Dictionary.com]

Will the choice of cover subjects on fashion magazines matter as much in the next decade? Probably not, not with every other medium, new and yet-to-be-invented, competing to give readers fresh images of the stars, and with all magazines struggling to survive the death of their business model. But in a decade that arguably saw the peak of their power (at least if you measure by circulation), the covers of Vogue, Elle, InStyle, Marie Claire, Harper's Bazaar, Lucky, Glamour, Cosmopolitan, and, until 2007, Jane were benchmarks of what was considered beautiful, relatable, and most of all, saleable. With the exception of top 15 runners-up Gisele Bundchen and Kate Moss, models were replaced by actresses. The key to winning this particular contest: longevity and versatility, with long-running romantic woes providing a possible alternative. Unless, of course, you're Gwyneth Paltrow or Nicole Kidman. Then your total is skewed by four to five Vogue covers.


15. Keira Knightley (12) (tied with Britney Spears)
Sexyface and exquisite bone-structure make a potent combination. But with the exception of Knightley's three Vogue covers in four years, women's magazines seemed to be constantly trying to find the cozier side of Knightley's clavicles.


14. Britney Spears (12) (tied with Keira Knightley)
Spears wasn't always a women's magazine mainstay, and even less so a fashion one, but the end of the decade saw her graduating from Rolling Stone peek-a-boo to relatable features about being a mom, including two covers of her pregnant. That, plus standing up her interviewer.


13. Sandra Bullock (13) (tied with Scarlett Johansson)
The endlessly likable Bullock isn't flashy. She transitioned better from a tomboy rep to a ballgown than to Cosmo's enforced sultriness. This was another turtle-and-hare-style, consistent player.


12. Scarlett Johansson (13) (tied with Sandra Bullock)
Although her men's magazine covers were unfailingly titillating, women's magazines vacillated between presenting Scarlett Johansson as the girl next door or showing off her curves.


11. Halle Berry (14)
Let us consider it some type of progress that the era of "Halle Berry, jungle girl," has apparently come to an end with the actress growing older. (Or maybe editors getting a clue?) That said, who knew it was possible to find an unflattering photo of her? Harper's Bazaar did.


10. Jennifer Lopez (15) (tied with Cameron Diaz and Gwyneth Paltrow)
Reportedly deemed too "trashy" for Vogue at the turn of the century, Lopez finally got her shot in 2005, but had to settle for spinoffs Vogue Living and Fashion Rocks for the rest of the decade. Harper's Bazaar and InStyle were only too happy to have their chance, putting Lopez on the cover three times each this past decade.


9. Cameron Diaz (15) (tied with Jennifer Lopez and Gwyneth Paltrow)
Diaz's ability to comfortably cover both W and Cosmopolitan three times each shows that playing both to the mass crowd and the fashion elite equals, well, lots of play.


8. Gwyneth Paltrow (15) (tied with Jennifer Lopez and Cameron Diaz)
Coronated by Anna Wintour and a fashion darling from the start, Paltrow was rarely found on the cover of the one of the service-y women's magazines, where the emphasis is on down-to-earth relatability. That unaddressed yearning, we can posit, is what brought us Goop.


7. Sarah Jessica Parker (18)
SJP is the classic example of an actress that women like but that will never be found on the cover of a men's magazine, unlike almost every other woman on this list.


6. Jessica Simpson (19) (tied with Renee Zellweger)
Jessica Simpson's prominence here can apparently be attributed to her inability to turn down an offer to be on a cover. Her range would be the widest — Elle several times, Jane, Lucky — except that sadly, Vogue has never come a-calling. And probably never will.


5. Renee Zellweger (19) (tied with Jessica Simpson)
A favorite of InStyle (four times), Vogue, W, and Harper's Bazaar (three times each), the star of the two Bridget Jones movies remained a fashionable choice despite her films' largely mass appeal.


4. Jennifer Aniston (22) (tied with Nicole Kidman)
It may seem like Jennifer Aniston has been on every magazine printed this decade, but when you subtract out the tabloids close-reading her every movement, it's impressive yet not game-changing. Known to be a reliable seller in magazine circles (if not necessarily at the box office), the key for Aniston was ponying up quotables about her love life. (The out-of-context "What Angelina Did Was Very Uncool" ending up on the cover of Vogue was a low point for everyone involved.)


3. Nicole Kidman (22) (tied with Jennifer Aniston)
Nicole Kidman never really went away, at least in the ladymag world. Her porcelain features may have lost some of their mobility, but there she was year after year, setting a record for the decade with five Vogue covers, yet pouring her heart out to Marie Claire about Keith Urban's alcoholism.


2. Angelina Jolie (24)
The evolution of Angelina Jolie's magazine covers neatly mirrors her own transformation: from revelations about blood and bisexuality to imperious queen of Hollywood. The Internet is rife with catfight-esque comparisons between Aniston and Jolie covers, and maybe Vogue was being impish photographing both of them in red dresses on the beach. In any case, in our minds, nothing has quite equaled the Vogue cover above.


1.Drew Barrymore (26)
The surprise queen of the decade has survived a lot more than magazine editors' fickleness. Having spent her entire life in the public eye and overcome early addiction, she emerged as both a likable actress and, increasingly, a Hollywood power to be reckoned with. Quirky, girlish appeal as well as the ability to pull off couture equals ladymag gold.

A Real Life Jersey Shore Protest [FourFour]

Related: New 'Nine' Trailer: Anyone Rooting For A Kate Hudson Comeback? [EW]

Hunt's article is in response to an earlier Guardian piece by Mark Kermode, who admits he isn't really a game player but draws parallels to the horror movie genre, and ultimately concludes that outsiders can't judge an art form they don't understand:

With almost any genuine art form, the most important works can rarely be taken at face value, and are only fully appreciated by those who have an affinity for the medium. Today, the British Board of Film Classification prides itself in bringing that kind of knowledge to bear when rating horror films.

Now videogames are the tabloid press's demon du jour. So, when I hear murmurings about "violent video games" such as Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (left), I tend to pay less attention to the opinions of MPs than to writers such as Charlie Brooker, who spends his life gazing at a TV screen. Brooker described CoD:MW2 as "the Citizen Kane of repeatedly shooting people in the face" concluding: "Don't worry, it won't turn anyone into a killer." I believe him. Why? Because he knows his subject. The game is rated 18, is not intended for kids and as far as I'm concerned it is no more of a threat today than The Evil Dead was 25 years ago.

Hunt was apparently moved to respond, pointing out that gamers are generally a hostile bunch (how is this news?) and gender based stereotypes can have a hazardous effect in the real world. As a feminist, anti-racist, and gamer, I concur - it's an ugly digital world out there. But I found myself sighing with frustration after reading the article.

Hunt's argument appears to hinge on two points.

The first, the idea that all video games contain content similar to RapeLay - the Japanese rape simulator game that made international headlines - is ridiculous. Hunt writes:

[Equality Now, Hunt's organization, led an] international campaign called on the Japanese government to ban games that promote sexual violence against women and girls. Fans of these games were outraged. They asked us why we were targeting RapeLay when, they said, it was mild compared to similar available games. In Japan there is a whole genre of extreme pornography, known as hentai, which takes in cartoons and comic books as well as videogames. Imagery includes women and girls being molested, stalked and gang-raped.

Yes. Those are games used for pornographic purposes, mainly, in the same way that major companies will use games as advertising, and educators can use games as an instructional tool. In this case, the video game is one type of format for that type of content - it isn't necessarily a reflection on the industry at large. And, just as no one is offering up the latest skin flick from Vivid Pictures to the Oscars, RapeLay falls pretty far outside of the boundaries of the types of games that would earn the title of "art."

The second point is a bit sticker - it deals with Grand Theft Auto, one of the gaming industry's top selling and most contentious franchises, arguing that the games help reinforce harmful stereotypes:

But if games such as RapeLay can now be classified as art, maybe the popular media promotion of sexual violence against women is so normalised that we don't even pay attention any more. Does "killing" a prostituted woman in Grand Theft Auto just reconfirm to a gamer the "lesser value" of women in prostitution generally?

And that it does. We make video games, and many of them follow the norms of our culture - so what the culture values is reflected within the gaming environment. It is true, with video games becoming a popular past time more and more, people are exposed to these virtual worlds - and more and more people are calling attention to the problematic aspects of gaming, like its whole-hearted embrace of sexism. And Grand Theft Auto is certainly no exception. However, there are a great many women who play GTA - and I include myself in this count. So while, it is easy for my gender and racial outlook to pinpoint a great many issues with the game itself - a lack of decent women characters outside of love interests and sex workers tops my list - I'm also listening to the criticism as a fan and player.

Here's what gender based criticism of GTA sounds like to someone who plays the franchise:

"Excuse me - I know you're busy attacking with people with chain saws, fleeing from burning crackhouses, acquiring new territory for your gang, and coordinating heroin shipments, but I'd really like to take a moment to discuss the deplorable way you treated that prostitute!"

Now, this isn't to say that Grand Theft Auto has no issues with gender and representation, or that an argument can't be made for normalizing images of violence against sex workers or reinforcing other harmful societal norms, including racial stereotyping. But it can be hard to launch that argument when the in-game norm makes places you in the role of a trigger happy underworld kingpin. This isn't an environment of moral, upstanding citizens.

When Grand Theft Auto IV released, it was seen as something far closer to art than entertainment. As many have pointed out, it isn't the violence that makes the game so special, but rather the intrinsic theme of moral ambiguity. The complex narrative of the game, combined with a lush background and the freedom to do as you will, presents an immersible experience rather than violence for the sake of violence. Rapelay was a game created as a masturbatory aid.

These things are not on the same level.

I do not object to Hunt attempting to critique a flourishing media environment, and make people aware of issues of gender and sexualized violence in video games. It will be work that is necessary if video games truly want to make the full transition (at least in some genres) from base entertainment to art. However, I do object to her flattening the full world of video games, which encompasses everything from Metroid to Little Big Planet to Super Smash Bros. to Spore, as if it is all one teeming mass of violence and perversion. There are many, many reasons why people are players. And, if one seeks to truly understand the difference between video games and pornography, I would suggest they start by picking up a controller.

These Videogames Are Not Art. They Are Extreme Pornography [Guardian]
Do Violent Computer Games Turn Us Into Killers? [Guardian]
Equality Now [Official Site]
The Best-Selling Video Games [Newsweek]
Open Letter Implores Games Industry: "Don't Forget Women" [Border House]
Reviews: "Grand Theft Auto IV" will change your life [Salon]
"Grand Theft Auto IV" is a dark urban masterpiece [Salon]
How Can Grand Theft Auto Transition from Base Entertainment to Art? [Cerise]

Earlier: U.S. Ban On Rape Simulation Game Not Likely

Ok!
Kendra was pregnant, and now she's given birth. Margaret says, "her baby is pretty cute, but I still don't care." The mag asks her how she'll lose the 55 lbs. she put on during the pregnancy, and she says she'll do martial arts, swimming and squats. "It's time to get my butt back into shape." Whatever. Also inside: A source says since things got serious between Jessica Simpson and Billy Corgan in November, she's telling friends that she wants to have his children. Billy is "very caught up in Jessica's mystique" and believes it's a relationship worth pursuing. Lastly: Lindsay Lohan was asked about the Gucci model she's supposedly dating, and proclaimed: "it's lame b.s."
Grade: F (flight cancelled)

In Touch
"Melissa Says 'I Do.'"
If you have the devotion required to read this eight-page article about the wedding of former The Bachelor contestant Melissa Rycroft, we salute you. Because we could only glance at all of the mind-numbing details. We do know that at the end of the ceremony, the bride and groom walked away from the altar to an instrumental version of the Monday Night Football theme song. Moving on: Madonna bought a $10 million 30-acre farm in the Hamptons. Jessica Simpson's "dangerous" new romance with Billy Corgan is covered thusly: "Jessica Simpson has always been a bit misguided when it comes to love. So when she was spotted walking out of the Ritz-Carlton in New York on December 4 with 42-year-old Smashing Pumpkins singer Billy Corgan, the world responded with a bemused 'WTF?'" An insider says they are not exclusive. They seem to have little in common, but they're both religious. Billy's "friend" tells the magazine that he's using the relationship to promote his new album. His ex-girlfriend, Tila Tequila, says: "I think Jessica Simpson is a waste of space. She can't even put two and two together. She doesn't show any female empowerment. She gets screwed over by her ex-boyfriends because she is all clingy. She should stop being so weak and stand up for yourself." In an interview, Tiger Woods' high school girlfriend says he broke her heart by dumping her via letter and writing that his parents were making him concentrate on his career. Next: A story called "Angelina's Desperate To Keep Brad" uses happy pictures from the Unicef Snowflake ball to illustrate how Angie is possessively clutching at Brad (see image 7). So a picture of her playfully grabbing his jacket becomes "she is trying to hold on to him for dear life." Angie wanted everyone to see how happy they were, but, according to the mag, "onlookers saw right through the Oscar-winning actress's transparent performance." Brad is smiling in every picture, yet the mag claims "Brad seemed visibly annoyed" by her "over-the-top antics." Body language expert Dr. Lillian Glass says: "His sad, non-smiling eyes and lack of a genuine smile also indicate his unhappiness." Brad took pictures with George Clooney and Matt Damon, and Angelina jumped into some of the pix, so the mag claims: "Brad wanted photos of him and his boys together. But Angelina insisted on inserting herself into them. It was obvious she was seeking attention." The lesson here is that Brad should learn to smize and Angelina should be a wallflower. Next, Gia, who's mom is Teresa from RHONJ, has a two-page spread of her closet (like mom did) and as for Jacqueline from RHONJ, "her son can rock any look." (See images 8 and 9.) Hey! Look who was quoted regarding that Sex And The City Photoshop Of Horrors on page 58! (See image 10)
Grade: D-, downgraded to F for irrelvant cover (flight delayed 6 hours)

Life & Style
"Baby Joy!"
An insider claims that Angelina decided, about four months ago, that she wanted to get pregnant again. "She basically told Brad that if it happens, it happens, and she wasn't going to concern herself with birth control. Angie's most at peace when a baby's coming." Nowhere does it say that she's actually pregnant, even though the cover claims "baby no. 7 is on its way." So "on its way" must mean "twinkle in the eye." Don't be fooled: the other two baby "exclusives" are old quotes from Kendra and Kourtney and no photos of their newborns. Moving on: Kate Gosselin's BFF Jamie says that at night when the kids are in bed, Kate is lonely. "That's when she calls and we chat. It gets lonely when you're the only adult." Oh, and Kate hasn't had sex in a year. Oh, and here's a picture of Jon eating Panda Express alone in a mall somewhere, which is sad and also HILARIOUS. Next, we present image 11 WITHOUT COMMENT. Famed fling Jamie Jungers spoke to the mag and says Tiger Woods is '"well endowed — above average. I would rate him an 8 out of 10 in bed. He used to call me 'Jamie Juices' or 'my little coffee cup.' We never used protection. We just got caught up in the moment. We didn't discuss it." FYI: Billy Corgan calls himself a "wrestlemaniac." Ooh, the mag casts the movie of Tiger Woods' life, starring Cuba Gooding Jr., Lindsay Lohan, Reese Witherspoon and more! (see image 12). You know how they're filming Sex And The City in Morocco? Well John Corbett was there. Spoiler! Aidan's back. Apparently European tabloids are reporting that George Clooney's gf, Elisabetta Canalis, was "getting cozy" with Dutch soccer star Clarence Seedorf over Thanksgiving weekend, but Cloons and the Italian chick are "solid as ever." Finally: "Mother-Daughter Plastic Surgery Brought Us Closer" is about Lynne Curtin from RHOOC getting a facelift on the same day that her daughter got a nose job. Lynne says "it was a total mother-daughter experience."
Grade: D- (flight delayed 2 hours)

Us
"Split! Why Reese Left Him"
Basically Reese and Jake had a "civil and measured" breakup. She felt pressured to wed again, but she wasn't ready, says a source: "She decided to walk away rather than walk down the aisle." The breakup transpired "over a series of phone calls." She couldn't commit, and even last year, she told Parade: "I'm not far enough out of being married to do it again." Also, when she was giving all of her energy to Jake, she felt like she wasn't giving her kids enough. She's "a Sunday-school teaching, take-charge personality" who "wants things the way she wants them"; while Jake is "really laid back." Moving on: A picture of Lindsay Lohan in India, holding a child! (See image 13.) Rihanna has a new tattoo on her chest, which says: "Never a failure, always a lesson" backwards, so she can see it in the mirror. Penelope Cruz and Javier Bardem are planing a "hush-hush" wedding in Spain before the new year; the bride will wear Balenciaga. Finally: A "source" says of the Jessica Simpson/Billy Corgan relationship: "She likes weirdos and anybody who's a 'real' musician. He's smart and intense, so she likes that. But they have practically nothing in common."
Grade: D- (flight delayed one hour)

Star
"Tiger & Jessica: The Shocking Inside Story."
Jessica Simpson attended a golf event with Tony Romo on July 1, so she met Tiger Woods. A "friend" says she'd actually met Tiger before, and thought he was really sexy. She was excited to see him again and "packed a bunch of slinky outfits so he'd notice her." Tiger liked what he saw and they were "touchy feely" and flirty! Jessica asked Tiger, "coyly," if he was available for private golf lessons and he slipped her his cell phone number. And she gave him her number. And what happened next was NOTHING. She's a good girl whose daddy was a preacher and would never date a married man, etc. etc. etc. But: She has a framed photo of her and Tiger (and Tony) in her bedroom. Moving on: Angelina smiled at Brad at the Unicef party and the smile "was the same one she'd given him" when she was pregnant before. So clearly she is pregnant now. A family insider says: "Angie hasn't been this happy in months." She's constantly laughing and chatty and "this is exactly like she was when she was pregnant with Shiloh and the twins." The insider adds: "She's got her pregnancy personality back." Brad Pitt walked her to the ladies room, and waited outside for her — and when they sat together, he stroked her hair. So: Pregnant. Leading body language expert Patti Wood says: "We rarely see photos of Angelina smiling like this. When you are joyful, your facial muscles go up, indicating a state of euphoria — which is exactly how she could feel if she's expecting again." Um, did she just explain what a SMILE is?!?! Recently, Star reported that the coupe had the fight to end all fights. But NOW Brad seems committed to being by Angie's side. Because you can leave six kids, but you can't leave seven. Next: Taylor Momsen was fired from Gossip Girl because they were sick of her late nights and unprofessional behavior. But she is telling people she is leaving for other acting gigs, and music. Her rep says she is NOT fired, but we'll see. Is Robert Pattinson the new James Dean? (see image 14) Rihanna called a friend and said she had a "sexy secret." She said: "Don't trip, but I hooked up with Justin." It was "good — hot and wild" and they had some of the best makeout sessions she's ever experienced. Justin's been calling her nonstop, but Rihanna says it's just for fun. "She's only out for the physical with him," says a source. "And she got it." HOT. Blind item! "Which fading reality starlet recently pulled a Britney? She shaved her head and was involuntarily admitted to a mental hospital in early December, but cameras missed the whole thing." Drew Barrymore and Justin Long were walking in NYC and it was really cold, and she asked if she could borrow his coat, and he was like, "No way, I'm freezing too." At the Gossip Girl Christmas party, Kelly Rutherford, 41, lured 24-year-old Chace Crawford away from doing Don Julio tequila shots with Ed Westwick and went into "full-on cougar mode." "They were getting kind of saucy." Lastly: A male model and aspiring rapper named Michael Girgenti, whose stage name is Primo Stallone, claims that he is the father of Kourtney Kardashian's baby. He also says he has "private kinky pictures" of himself and Kourtney, and when asked if there was a possibility that he had fathered Kourtney's baby, Michael said: "You could say that. Yeah." Apparently Kourtney didn't even know who the father was but her mom, Kris, told her to say publicly that it was her ex, Scott Disick.
Grade: D (turbulent flight)

Amber (featured in the first clip) dropped out of high school in the 11th grade when she became pregnant with her daughter Leah. She lives with Leah's father, and is dealing with what seems to be a particularly nasty case of post-partum depression. Now that her daughter is no longer an infant, Amber wants to complete her high school diploma, but learns that her lack of funds, her difficulty with math, and her busy schedule means that she will have to opt for a GED instead. While speaking with her career counselor, Amber realizes that getting a high school education is much more difficult to accomplish after one has dropped out. She breaks down and says that she "screwed up [her] whole life." While the scene is sad, I always wonder about people who talk about how they don't have any money, but have perfectly manicured false nails. Fill-ins and upkeep on that shit is expensive!

In the clip to the left, Maci is still dealing with the same issues with her fiancé she confronted in 16 and Pregnant. Her intended isn't an attentive parent, and he goes out with his friends all night long every night of the week. She stays up waiting for him until dawn—while keeping her baby awake with her. In the end, she writes him a Dear John letter, and moves back in with her parents.


Catelynn and Tyler's story is perhaps the most heartbreaking. They made a completely selfless decision by giving their daughter up for adoption, knowing that another family could provide her with a better life than they could. As part of the agreement, the couple were promised that theirs would be an open adoption, that they'd be able to see their daughter multiple times a year, and that they would be a part of her life. However, the adoptive parents decided to not disclose their last name to the couple, and didn't made good on any of their promises to include Catelynn and Tyler in the baby's life.