Aye. Two news stories have me reeling (well, more than 2 news stories have me reeling but these 2 are pertinent to what I deal with here. And, I reckon, they’re probably not really news in the grand scheme of things but still…)
#1 I can’t believe that the little girl who sang Ode to the Motherland for the Opening Ceremonies at the Olympics wasn’t allowed to actually perform during the Opening Ceremonies. A casting decision? Say it isn’t so China that on your evolution in the past decade, you adopted our sad, sad Western value of promoting pretty and perfect looking at all costs. Guess that value isn’t so Western anymore. Here’s the backstory on the Opening Ceremonies issue and here’s a great article by a Charlotte Observer columnist on the issue.
#2 J. Love? I hardly knew you. Seriously, you just can’t rip TMZ a new one in November for inappropriately critiquing your body (and it was inappropriate) and then grant US Magazine a cover story in August on how you lost 18 pounds in 10 weeks. Work out if you want to- have at it. I love a good workout. Heck, you might even lose weight during those workouts. Fine. But voluntarily becoming a cover model with your weight loss? You can’t have it both ways. It sends two very different messages in less than a year’s time and contributes to the confusion and mixed messages that are way too common in the body wars.