It looks like the teenage girls of the world finally want to see some real girls in their magazine.
It all started when 14-year-old Julia Bluhm petitioned Seventeen magazine to stop Photoshopping their models back in April. While Seventeen magazine maintains they don’t use the digital tool to alter faces or body shapes, Editor-in-Chief Ann Shoket published a “Body Peace Treaty” in their August issue. While Seventeen will still use Photoshop to get rid of wrinkles on clothing, misplaced bra straps and the odd zit, the magazine promises to be more transparent and publish the before and after shots on their tumblr page.
Now, the attention has turned to Teen Vogue. Sixteen-year-old Carina Cruz and 17-year-old Emily Stydahar have started an online petition to make Teen Vogue print a similar promise in their pages. The younger sister of the magazine bible says they, too, don’t retouch photos. While that’s all fine and dandy, the girls want the magazine editors acknowledge their practices in the magazine for all their readers to see.
The online petition has just 28,000 online signatures. Cruz and Stydahar also hope to stage a mock runway today outside of Teen Vogue’s offices with “models” holding hand-written messages on dry erase boards.
While asking for a no-Photoshop policy is unrealistic, asking for transparency isn’t. Here’s to hoping the magazine’s high powered editors take notice. This is 21st century Girl Power at its finest.
Here’s some Beyoncé to get you in the Girl Power mood:
George Clooney was arrested today for something much more dignified than arrest by texting and driving or throwing an iPhone.
The actor and his father were hauled away at a protest outside the Sudanese Embassy in Washington. Clooney, along with a few other protesters, were warned three times not to cross a police line outside the embassy. When they did, they were handcuffed and placed into a U.S. Secret Service van. Will we ever see him again?
Clooney and the protesters accuse Sudan’s president Omar al-Bashir of provoking a humanitarian crisis and blocking food and aid from entering a key border region with South Sudan.
It’s very likely that Clooney knew the likelihood of getting arrested, so it served as a perfect photo op to draw more attention to his cause. So don’t feel bad… it kind of went according to plan. Clooney is just taking one for the cause.
While he was being arrested, scores of fans activists cheered him on. George Clooney is (somehow) even more awesome than before.
Watch the clip below:
Are you feeling alone in the Twitterverse today? Well, it could easily be the result of the latest social-media outcry or “protest” against Twitter’s recent announcement.
It basically outlines the powers at be over at Twitter are planning on blocking certain tweets in different countries, because the concept of “free speech” and “expression” is different around the world. Twitter doesn’t want any drama or legal complications.
Friday’s New York Times article “Censoring of Tweets Sets Off #Outrage” did the best job of explaining what international users can expect from Twitter’s new policy — and why it’s scary as shit:
So if someone posts a message that insults the monarchy of Thailand, which is punishable by a jail term, it will be blocked and unavailable to Twitter users in that country, but still visible elsewhere. What is more, Twitter users in Thailand will be put on notice that something was removed: A gray box will show up in its place, with a clear note: “Tweet withheld,” it will read. “This tweet from @username has been withheld in: Thailand.”
The infamous Anonymous group organized today’s protest, urging Twitter users not to tweet at all on January 28.
Although it can be argued that silence speaks louder than words – my timeline has already flooded with a plethora of Instragram’d pictures of cats this morning.
Miley Cyrus takes another step into adulthood by dedicating a video for her song “Liberty Walk” to all the Occupy Wall Street protestors.
The former “Hannah Montana” star posted the video on her official YouTube page. She writes the video is “dedicated to the thousands of people who are standing up for what they believe in.”
After turning 19, the controversial pop singer really wants to be taken seriously. Most of her fans are under 16 and have probably never been a part of a protest before (unless it’s to protest the breakup between her and Joe Jonas). So, by releasing this rather political video, Miley’s reaching out to a whole new audience. Either people will take this as a total joke or they’ll see a whole new mature side to Miley. But I’m personally going to go with the former.
With all the pot-smoking, cussing and protest videos, Miley will be fronting Rage Against the Machine in no time!
Check out Miley’s protest video below.
Bradley Cooper for the coveted title as Sexiest Man Alive by People Magazine earlier this week but a lot of people are disagreeing with it.
Proving that some people just have nothing better to do with their lives, they’ve started an online petition, demanding The Notebook hunk Ryan Gosling be given the cover of Sexiest Man Alive. They’re also marching outside the magazine’s headquarters in New York City in what they call Occupy People.
One person who signed the petition – a man, mind you! – wrote “together we can beat this cruel injustice,” as if it were an actual serious issue, like, you know, letting a convicted pedophile move into your neighbourhood.
So far, 3,500 people have signed the petition, verifying their insanity. Like I mentioned when the story broke, Bradley Cooper isn’t the celeb of my choice but I wouldn’t go as far as to create a public forum where we all whine and complain and cry ourselves to sleep.
Maybe next year, Ryan. Maybe next year.
Dr. Conrad Murray is getting a little love thrown his way, reports TMZ. The doctor, who is accused of killing Michael Jackson is scheduled to appear at a hearing in L.A. in order to have a date set for a preliminary hearing.
Pastors from the Houston area (where Murray does charity medical work) are organizing a rally in support of the doctor. The rally will be held at the Galilee Missionary Baptist Church, located in a poor region of Houston.
TMZ says that United States Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee will be there, along with what could be around 1,000 people there to support Dr. Murray.
The original plan was to bus people to L.A. in order to counter protests by MJ fans.
Rage Against The Machine’s singer Zack de la Rocha has started a protest group that opposes the state of Arizona’s new immigration law, reports NME.com.
The singer and other artists including Sonic Youth, Kanye West, Massive Attack and Serj Tankian say that they will not play gigs in Arizona until the bill, SB 1070, is amended. The bill allows Arizona police to confront anyone they suspect of being an illegal immigrant to prove their official status. If they can’t, they will be arrested.
Called The Sound Strike, the group of protesters has a petition going at Thesoundstrike.net.
On the site, de la Rocha states his reason for forming The Sound Strike.
“Some of us grew up dealing with racial profiling, but this law (SB 1070) takes it to a whole new low,” he wrote. “If other states follow the direction of the Arizona government, we could be headed towards a pre-civil rights era reality. This unjust law was set into motion by the same Arizona government that refused to acknowledge Martin Luther King Jr day as a national holiday.”
The list of artists who have already signed up to support the group are Cypress Hill, Juanes, Conor Oberst, Los Tigres del Norte, Rage Against The Machine, Cafe Tacvba, Michael Moore, Kanye West, Calle 13, Joe Satriani, Serj Tankian, Rise Against, Ozomatli, Sabertooth Tiger, Massive Attack, One Day as a Lion, Street Sweeper Social Club, Spank Rock, Sonic Youth, and Tenacious D.
So why do we feel that Haley Sales has such an interesting life? Well she has babysat Jack Johnson’s kids, met the Dalai Lama, and has been in a protest with the bass player from Nirvana. And she has a fairly successful and respected music career. Is that enough reason?
P. Diddy is getting ready to go back to school just like the rest of us. In response to protests about poor administration at Howard University, Diddy’s alma mater, he took to Twitter to express his support.
“NO JUSTICE! NO PEACE!!! Let me know if yall need me to come down there yall! I got yall BACK! Let’s go!!! (sic)” Diddy said via Twitter. “Do what we did and take IT OVER!!!! Let’s go! And do it in a peaceful way but DO IT!! … If your at HU go to the A building now and make sure they feel you!!! And send me updates!!! Let’s go!”
