I'm so excited for this! What's your favorite scary movie?

Selma Blair is mixing fun bags with shopping bags -- the former "Anger Management" star was unabashedly breastfeeding in plain sight at one of the biggest shopping spots in L.A. like it was no big deal.

Blair was spotted at The Grove with her almost 2-year-old son ... pumping the kid full of breast milk on a trolley, surrounded by shoppers.

The move is interesting ... considering earlier this week, a Chick-fil-A in Tennessee came under fire when an employee asked a mother to stop nursing her 5-month-old kid where other people could see.

Clearly, Selma's not shy when it comes to the matter -- but we gotta ask ...

Public Breastfeeding... Suckle Away or Put It Away

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rme. tmz is trying so hard

Christina Aguilera is back in her skinny jeans!

The singer was spotted leaving Barneys in Beverly Hills on Thursday showing off her impressive weight loss in some tight denim and a long-sleeved shirt that clung to her midsection.

It was definitely a more casual look for the judge of "The Voice" -- and we love the laid-back threads.

The 32-year-old mom whipped herself back into tip-top shape just in time for the upcoming season of the NBC reality show.

Aguilera was also rocking a shorter 'do, sporting shoulder-length hair under her Pittsburgh Pirates hat.















And here she was a few weeks ago at a baseball game with her son Max and her boyfriend Matt



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Ageless Diva

Jane Seymour, Jennifer Coolidge, JJ Feild, Georgia King, Ricky Whittle, Keri Russell, James Callis and Bret McKenzie

Keri Russell hits the red carpet at the premiere of her new film Austenland held at the ArcLight on Thursday (August 8) in Hollywood. The 37-year-old actress was joined at the event by her co-stars Georgia King, Jennifer Coolidge, JJ Feild (with partner Neve Campbell), Jane Seymour, Bret McKenzie, James Callis, and Ricky Whittle. Also in attendance at the premiere was Twilight author Stephenie Meyer.

Keri Russell

Tom Hiddleston JJ Feild with Neve Campbell

Bret McKenzie

Ricky Wittle

Jane Seymour

Clip from the movie

Keri Russell talks loving Jane Austen, starring in romantic comedy "Austenland," working with women directors on "Waitress" and TV series "The Americans," and why she can't fit into that Wonder Woman costume.

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Ariana Grande has been working hard on music ever since she was 13 years old, which she reminded her fans of recently. She shared a video of her first ever original song, hinting that she might sing it on her own tour. She clearly made no promises, but the song is called “Higher” and holds many memories for her as she finally makes her musical dreams come true. Here is what she had to say about the song, which she also shared the video of (which you can find down below).


This of course is exciting news for her, especially over the fact that she is actually making it now. It has to be weird for her to reflect on now. Just less than 10 years ago she started her journey and now she is finally where she wants to be. I hope that Ariana never loses her gratitude for moments like these when looks back at her start on this road. It just makes her all that more likable in my eyes when she reflects on moments like these.

How do you feel about Ariana Grande sharing her first, original song?

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After one year on Mars, NASA’s Curiosity rover has a great many scientific accomplishments to its credit. NASA hosted several online celebrations earlier this week to commemorate the occasion, and now they have teamed with toy maker Mattel to launch “Mars Explorer Barbie” in honor of Curiosity’s one-year anniversary.

This version of Barbie is kitted out with a space suit, helmet, and pack, and is accompanied by a cardboard cutout of the Curiosity rover, which, like Barbie’s space suit, is bedecked with pink accents.

Mars Explorer Barbie was released on August 5 as part of Mattel’s ongoing “I Can Be” line of dolls and has been named Barbie’s “Career of the Year” for 2013. “Adding to her resume of more than 130 careers, Mars Explorer Barbie doll inspires girls to be adventurous and to always reach for the stars!” Mattel said in a statement.

The packaging art for Mars Explorer Barbie includes facts about the history of female U.S. astronauts and encourages customers to go to NASA’s Women@NASA website, which includes profiles of women currently working at NASA; advice for careers in science, engineering, and mathematics; and opportunities for students.


Mars Explorer Barbie is the latest in a long line of space-themed dolls by Mattel, though it is the first created with NASA input. The first Barbie destined for space adventures was “Barbie Miss Astronaut”, which was released in 1965, two years after Soviet cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova became the first woman to journey into space, and 18 years before Sally Ride became the first American woman in space. “Barbie Miss Astronaut” wore a silver spacesuit based upon the pressure suits worn by the American Mercury astronauts.

Later space-themed Barbie dolls included a Special Edition Astronaut Barbie released in 1994 to honor the 25th anniversary of Apollo 11, the mission that led to the first moon landing, and Space Camp Barbie in 1998.

Mattel has also released a Hot Wheels model of the Curiosity rover in September 2012, one month after the rover touched down on Mars. Mattel also collaborated with NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory to produce five Action Packs in 1997 and 1999, which included Mars rovers, Apollo spacecraft, probes, and a space shuttle.



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By hpboy13

Friends by ~eliz7 on deviantART
As a fandom, there are many things that we have come to agree on over the years. Neville is a BAMF. Voldemort is a Drama Queen. The Prince’s Tale makes us cry. The Epilogue kind of sucked. But there is one question that divides us to this day, one that I have long intended to address in an essay but kept putting off: is Harry Potter a feminist text?

Every fan will have an opinion on this, and they are all different – I’ve heard the gamut of them, from “totally feminist” to “anti-feminist.” I will give my views on the matter, and beg everyone to keep the debate in the comments civil, since this is a touchier subject than most.

The way I see it, whether HP is feminist or not depends on three factors:

1. Are the female characters strong? Do they all sit around fussing about dresses and waiting to be rescued, or do they kick butt and take names all on their own?

2. Are the women independent? Is the #1 goal to find a man to settle down with, or is it okay to not give two hoots about men?

3. How are the women treated within the universe of the books? Are they treated as no more than housewives and homemakers, expected to stay out of the “men’s business”? Or are they treated as equals?

Let’s get one thing out of the way first: there are many more males in the series than there are females, and most of the important characters are male. If you think of major female characters in the first four books, you get: Hermione, Ginny, McGonagall, Mrs. Weasley, Aunt Petunia, Cho Chang, Rita Skeeter, and Fleur (and yes, I’m stretching the “major” in “major characters” here). This slightly improves with Order of the Phoenix, when we get the addition of Luna, Tonks, Umbridge, and Bellatrix, and later on Narcissa Malfoy. Oh, and Lily Potter plays a significant role in the series. In any event, you can see why there are a dozen of each one at large costume events: the pickings are slim.

Compare that to the major male characters, and we don’t need to do any stretching: Harry, Ron, Neville, Draco, Dumbledore, Snape, Sirius, Lupin, Voldemort, Pettigrew, Hagrid, Lucius, Fred, George, Cedric, Viktor, Slughorn, Lockhart, Moody, Fudge, Bill… you get the idea.

Much of this can be attributed to the fact that Harry himself is a boy. Therefore, many of the adults he connects with will be male, and many of his friends will be male. While there is clearly a male bias in terms of overall characters, Hermione single-handedly proves that women are indeed significant in the series. So let’s move on from this.

Let’s also take a second to appreciate the variety and depth of the female characters who are present. Some are brainy, some are athletic; some are popular, some are socially awkward; some are overemotional, some are stoic; some are very feminine, others are less so. We have homemakers, teachers, journalists, politicians, and criminals. So this automatically puts the Potter series head and shoulders above many other books.


HP Girls by `alicexz on deviantART

1) Are the females strong?
In a nutshell, yes. No female in Harry Potter is content to sit around just waiting for men to get things done. Hermione is the most proactive one of the trio – doing the research, coming up with the plans, doing the preparation… it’s all her. We can all agree that Harry would not have survived the first 200 pages of Deathly Hallows without Hermione at his side. We even see Hermione’s strength when she is tortured by Bellatrix Lestrange, and still does not crack.

Similarly, Ginny and Luna fight alongside the Trio and Neville time and time again. Luna is shown withstanding being held captive by the Death Eaters. Ginny is shown time and again to be incredibly powerful, with men afraid of her Bat-Bogey Hex. This is good because it shows that a girl can be very pretty, as Ginny is, and still be intelligent and skilled – the two are not mutually exclusive.

Mrs. Weasley raised seven children, including the twins – if that’s not strength, I don’t know what is. Tonks is an Auror, which puts her among the elite of the Ministry. McGonagall fearlessly leads the Hogwartians in the Battle of Hogwarts. Narcissa actually tricks the Dark Lord to protect her son.

None of the women are afraid to stand up to men. Hermione, Ginny, and Luna always tell the boys, in no uncertain terms, when they’re being idiots. All of the Weasley men cower before Molly’s rage. Petunia won’t let Vernon throw Harry out. Lily tells off the Marauders in Snape’s Worst Memory, and then tells off Snape for hanging out with Death Eaters. Even Bellatrix will not take orders from anyone short of Voldemort, and feels perfectly comfortable bossing Lucius around in his own house. In short, the women of HP are ferocious and opinionated, and have no inhibitions about making their feelings known.

One of the most pleasant things about the HP series is how little the girls fuss about their appearance. Hermione only dresses up on two occasions in the series: Bill and Fleur’s wedding, and the Yule Ball. And really, who doesn’t want to look spiffy at events like this? Yet afterwards, Hermione makes her views very plain: “she confessed to Harry that she had used liberal amounts of Sleekeazy’s Hair Potion on [her hair] for the ball, ‘but it’s way too much bother to do every day,’ she said matter-of-factly.” (GF433)

This is so wonderfully refreshing! A girl who thinks that constantly fussing with her appearance is too much bother. Similarly, while Ginny and Luna are also happy to get all dressed up when the occasion calls for it, we otherwise don’t hear them fussing about their looks. It’s important to have young girls read books like this, that emphasize being smart and brave over appearance.

Are there girly girls in the series? Of course there are, because it wouldn’t be realistic otherwise. Every single school will have a Parvati and Lavender, girls who love nothing better than a good gossip. And there’s nothing wrong with that – they are portrayed with affection and humor. However, let it be noted that when the going gets tough, both Parvati and Lavender join Dumbledore’s Army and fight in the Battle of Hogwarts.

The one girl in the series who is a stereotypically vapid one – Romilda Vane – receives a very negative portrayal. We are clearly meant to roll our eyes at her along with the characters, when Ginny relates, “Three dementor attacks in a week, and all Romilda Vane does is ask me if it’s true you’ve got a hippogriff tattooed across your chest.” (HBP535)

Ginny’s contempt for Romilda aside, one notable thing about the HP series is how it shows women relating to each other. Too often, women are portrayed as not getting along well with other women, blaming them for stealing men and so forth. Not so here – when Ron and Lavender hook up and draw Hermione’s ire, it is exclusively directed at Ron. Hermione acknowledges that Lavender is not at fault, which is very sensible on Hermione’s part.

Nor are the women petty beyond reason. Hermione saves Lavender in the final battle (DH646) even after everything they’ve been through. Cho Chang does show up at the final battle, despite her messy breakup with Harry (DH582). In short, the women of HP have their priorities straight, and it’s refreshing. The exception is Rita Skeeter, who is the definition of petty… but then, she’s a contemptible character in general, and certainly not meant to be exemplary.


Fleur by `alicexz on deviantART

Fleur Delacour
The girly girl we see with the largest role is Fleur Delacour… who, in fact, is portrayed very negatively to begin with. She is very focused on her appearance, fretting about gaining weight, and is very vain in general. She is critical and superficial (both qualities evident in her Yule Ball date with Roger Davies), and just isn’t very nice.

“It is too ‘eavy, all zis ‘Ogwarts food,” [the Trio] heard [Fleur] saying grumpily as they left the Great Hall behind her one evening […]. “I will not fit into my dress robes!”

“Oooh there’s a tragedy,” Hermione snapped as Fleur went out into the entrance hall. “She really thinks a lot of herself, that one, doesn’t she?” (GF404)

But we see her come around throughout Goblet of Fire – it’s actually a great redemption story for her. This all starts when Fleur fails at the second task, getting attacked by grindylows. Suddenly, she isn’t worried about her appearance, but only about her sister; moreover, she shows some humility for the first time.

Fleur had many cuts on her face and arms and her robes were torn, but she didn’t seem to care, nor would she allow Madam Pomfrey to clean them.

“Look after Gabrielle,” she told her.

[…]

“I deserved zero [points],” said Fleur throatily, shaking her magnificent head. (GF505-506)

There is a big change in Fleur after this. She “was clapping very hard too” when Harry was awarded a lot of points for the task (GF507), and becomes quite likable toward the end of the book.

When we see Fleur again, in her capacity as Bill’s fiancé and then wife, she is quite different. Sure, she still owns the fact that she is beautiful – “I am good-looking enough for both of us, I theenk!” (HBP623) And she doesn’t exactly ingratiate herself to the women of the Weasley household – then again, conflict with mothers-in-law is very much the norm, and we shouldn’t hold this against her.

But she is also more gracious to many of the characters. She continues to love Bill despite his good looks being ruined, which shows how far she’s come from her superficiality in Book 4. She risks herself in the Battle of Seven Potters. She opens her home to the Trio, even putting up with Griphook for their sake.

Fleur pops up a lot in conversations about feminism in HP. Because though she is a Triwizard champion, but she is far and away the weakest of the four. Interestingly, I find that this argument usually breaks down along the gender lines that Harry and Hermione present to us.

“I know,” said Hermione, dropping her voice. “She’s so full of herself.”

Harry […] could not blame Ron for saying angrily, “Can’t you two lay off her for five seconds?” (HBP91)

“And [Tonks is] more intelligent, she’s an Auror!” said Hermione from the corner.

“Fleur’s not stupid, she was good enough to enter the Triwizard Tournament,” said Harry.

“Not you as well!” said Hermione bitterly. (HBP94)

The guys usually agree with Harry, that Fleur being a Triwizard champion shows that she is smart, capable, and has accomplished much of note. The girls usually disagree with this, lamenting that Fleur, as the only female champion, was absolutely pitiful. She couldn’t get past the grindylows, for Merlin’s sake!

I fall somewhere between the two. I tend to agree that having Fleur as a champ is a point for feminism, when considering that means she was more capable than any of the guys in Beauxbatons. Sure, she failed miserably (Hogwarts third years learn how to defeat grindylows!). But I don’t think this is a knock on women – rather, I think Jo put this in because Fleur personally needed to be humbled. Her flaw was arrogance, and she needed to fail so she could lose that arrogance (more or less) and become a decent person.

If anything, I think Fleur’s performance might be a subtle knock on the French, in keeping with the Anglo-French rivalry. After all, if Fleur is the best competitor that a French school could put forth, that’s not saying much for the school, is it?


You Must Be A Weasley. by ~elbarien on deviantART

Ginny Weasley’s Sexuality
One thing that real-world feminism has yet to correct is our attitudes toward female sexuality. There is an appalling double standard, where promiscuous men are heralded as “players” while women are degraded as “sluts.” The Potter books tackle this head-on, by having Ginny confront Ron about it.

“Right,” said Ginny, tossing her long red hair out of her face and glaring at Ron, “let’s get this straight once and for all. It is none of your business who I go out with or what I do with them, Ron —“

“Yeah, it is!” said Ron, just as angrily. “D’you think I want people saying my sister’s a —“

“A what?” shouted Ginny, drawing her wand. “A what, exactly?" (HBP287)

Ginny similarly tells off the twins and Ron on page 121 that it’s none of their business how fast she moves through boyfriends. Ron actually appears as a somewhat sexist character on several occasions (more on that later), and here tries to slut-shame Ginny for snogging her boyfriend in a deserted corridor. Ginny is having none of it, and gives him a piece of her mind. It is a good thing to see Ginny being completely unapologetic for her sexuality.

As a side note, it’s slightly upsetting that the HP fandom at large seems to have taken Ron’s side in all of this – I expected better of us. One of those things that most of the fandom agrees on, like I mentioned at the beginning, is that Ginny is slutty. It has become such an ingrained part of fanon, that the wizard rocker Witherwings even had to write a song “In Defense of Ginny Weasley.”

Ginny dated precisely three guys in her entire life – Michael Corner for a year, Dean Thomas for approximately eight months, and then Harry whom she marries. And we don’t even know which of these relationships actually included sex. This is the polar opposite of promiscuity – Ginny should be a poster child for relationships, not a recurring sex joke.


best feeling of all by *viria13 on deviantART

2) Do the women need a man in their lives?
This is the point that gets debated the most in my experience. None of the women in the HP series make it their goal in life to find a husband and settle down. Rather, it just seems to happen of its own accord.

However, there is one major problem: all of the single women are portrayed as horrible. Almost all of the women in HP end up married; the notable exceptions are Dolores Umbridge and Rita Skeeter. Umbridge is a career woman: she has achieved a high-ranking position within the Ministry and devotes her energy fully to that, without a husband by her side. Same goes for Rita Skeeter: she is a very well-known journalist, and has published several best-selling books, without a man by her side.

If HP were a feminist text, women like this would be celebrated. Instead, both of them are villains – they use illegal methods to advance themselves, and make life a living hell for people. In short, we are very clearly supposed to hate both of these women.

In isolation, there is nothing wrong with having female villains. However, when the only two important unmarried women in the series are the two most detestable ones, we have a problem.

Moreover, it seems like all the marriages that we see – the Potters’, the Dursleys’, the Malfoys’, the Tonkses’, and all of the Weasleys’ – are quite happy ones, where the wife’s priority seems to be standing by her husbands side and being a housewife. (Admittedly, we don’t know what Lily and James’s careers were, so that might be an exception.) The one marriage we see where the wife cares about more than just being there for her husband is the Lestranges’.

Bellatrix is not content to stay at home and breed pureblood babies. She goes out to fight for the cause she believes in; she is one of the most fierce and independent women I’ve read about. And once again, we are very clearly supposed to detest her.

Are there any single women on the side of good? Well, almost: there is Minerva McGonagall. In the series, we never get any mention of love interests for her, and her focus seems to be pretty exclusively on her career at Hogwarts. She was the beacon of hope for the single women out there for whom marriage just didn’t happen for whatever reason. And then came Pottermore, revealing to us that McGonagall had indeed been married. So it seems that a woman is only allowed to be single and career-focused, and have it be a good thing, if she has been honorably widowed.

Perhaps this is why we don’t see any young and eligible bachelorettes on the Hogwarts teaching staff. Whereas single young men are at Hogwarts in ample supply – Lockhart, Lupin, Snape, Quirrell (assuming he’s single), etc. – all the women are getting on in years. Think McGonagall, Sprout, Grubbly-Plank, Umbridge, and even Madam Pince. All the young women must be busy being housewives and starting families.

So while I loved McGonagall’s backstory, I was thoroughly peeved upon reading it. Because it seems to me that the HP series is telling girls, if you don’t get married, you end up an Umbridge or a Rita Skeeter.

Jo’s missed opportunity was with Nymphadora Tonks. Her appearance in Order of the Phoenix seemed to be a godsend to the female readers. Here was a young adult woman who was undeniably a badass, who was one of the elite Aurors and an Order member, who didn’t have a man in her life and didn’t seem to need one. After Book 5 came out, no one could argue that HP wasn’t feminist. And then it all went to pieces in Book 6.

In Half-Blood Prince, Tonks decides she’s in love with Lupin. But she doesn’t stop there. She so desperately needs him, she falls into a complete depression, becoming anti-social and having her powers weakened. Oh, is that what happens when a woman can’t get a man to love her? And how is this resolved – with Tonks moving on? No, it’s resolved with Tonks nagging Lupin until he finally agrees to be with her. A month later, she gets pregnant, and sits out the remainder of the war at home. She shows up in the final battle, chasing after her husband and getting killed. So, essentially, Tonks is completely useless in the last two books, and a complete waste of a really cool character.

Let me reiterate: none of these characters are a problem in and of themselves. But when you consider that the only irredeemable female characters – Umbridge, Rita, and Bellatrix – are also the only single ones (Bellatrix being single has an asterisk, but the point still stands), then it’s an issue. And meanwhile, all the good female characters get married off like proper ladies: Hermione, Ginny, Luna, Tonks, Fleur, and even Cho Chang all have their happy marriages.

Honestly, all I’d want is one female equivalent of Charlie Weasley, who just never married because he cared more about dragons according to Jo. If you look at the single male characters, you have Charlie, Sirius, and Hagrid among all the less likable ones. Whereas if you think about the female characters who we can be fairly sure remain single, we have the aforementioned ones, and gems like Alecto Carrow, Aunt Marge, and Hepzibah Smith.

I can’t say whether it was Jo’s intent to paint this picture, of all the single women being despicable and all the good ones finding husbands. But this is all a decidedly anti-feminist message.


Dumbledore's army by *viria13 on deviantART

3) How are the women treated within the series?
This question is perhaps the easiest to answer – the wizarding world is VERY far from feminist. This is neatly encapsulated in one passage from Deathly Hallows, showing how Ginny is treated when she wants to fight in the Battle of Hogwarts: they try to pigeonhole Ginny into the role of damsel and love interest, keeping her out of the action.

“You’re underage!” Mrs. Weasley shouted at her daughter as Harry approached. “I won’t permit it! The boys, yes, but you, you’ve got to go home!”

[…]

“Mum’s right, Ginny,” said Bill gently. “You can’t do this. Everyone underage will have to leave, it’s only right.”

“I can’t go home!” Ginny shouted, angry tears sparkling in her eyes. “My whole family’s here, I can’t stand waiting there alone and not knowing and —“

Her eyes met Harry’s for the first time. She looked at him beseechingly, but he shook his head and she turned away bitterly. (DH604-605)

“Ginny,” said Harry, “I’m sorry, but we need you to leave [the Room of Requirement] too. Just for a bit. Then you can come back in.”

Ginny looked simply delighted to leave her sanctuary.

“And then you can come back in!” he shouted after her as she ran up the steps after Tonks. “You’ve got to come back in!” (DH624-625)

I have to say, this whole bit infuriates me more than almost any other passage in the series. Ginny is nearly seventeen, and has admirably acquitted herself in the Department of Mysteries, the prior year’s battle at Hogwarts, and leading Dumbledore’s Army in the past year. And she is expected to sit in the Hog’s Head with her hands folded, patiently waiting to hear what’s going on.

And as Mrs. Weasley tells her this, a whole crew of guys (some of who are barely older than her) nods sanctimoniously and says she can’t stay and fight. Oh, how I wished Ginny would Bat-Bogey Hex the lot of them.

And worse, then Harry tries to boss her around into staying in the Room of Requirement. EXCUSE you, Harry Potter! As I recall it, when you were a good five years younger than Ginny, you went after Quirrellmort single-handedly; then went into the Chamber of Secrets a year later; and competed in the Triwizard Tournament all while significantly younger than Ginny was. And he has the gall to tell Ginny to sit out the action.

Moreover, Ginny’s companion in all this is Tonks, who was expected to sit at home but instead sits in the Room of Requirement awaiting news of her hubby. Funny, I thought that Tonks was an Auror, and fighting in the Battle of Hogwarts would be right up her alley. But that’s all forgotten about as soon as she marries Lupin; now being a housewife is Duty #1.

This is especially bad because it so clearly contradicts who Tonks was as a character in Order of the Phoenix. Instead of following her established character as a fighter for the good guys, Tonks is now pigeonholed into being little more than Lupin’s wife. Not good.

As usual, the only woman to call the guys out on their sexist BS is Hermione. When Ron is going through another one of his infernal self-pity-fests, Hermione finally speaks out.

“I notice I’m always the one who ends up sorting out the food, because I’m a girl, I suppose!”

“No, it’s because you’re supposed to be the best at magic!” shot back Ron.

Hermione jumped up and bits of roast pike slid off her tin plate onto the floor.

“You can do the cooking tomorrow, Ron, you can find the ingredients and try and charm them into something worth eating, and I’ll sit here and pull faces and moan and you can see how you —“

“Shut up!” said Harry, leaping to his feet and holding up both hands. “Shut up now!”

Hermione looked outraged.

“How can you side with him, he hardly ever does the cook —“ (DH293)

Harry shushed her because the goblins were near, and afterwards Ron abandons them and we never see the resolution of this little tiff. But honestly, if I hadn’t been holding the book I would have applauded this scene. Hermione refuses to be pigeonholed into performing the “woman’s role” of cooking and so forth. Ron’s behavior is remarkably similar to a shmuck my cousin married, and I wish my cousin had half the guts Hermione does to stand up to him.

The good news is that the girls of HP don’t take this kind of treatment lying down. Nobody tries to diminish Hermione and gets away with it, and Ginny always fights tooth and nail for recognition (with varying degrees of success). But the guys’ attitudes are clear: women are not expected to fight in battles; but to sit at home with the family and cook food. And the older generation seems to have accepted that as the norm.

Even though there are a select few women who have risen through the ranks and achieved great things – McGonagall, Dilys Derwent, Millicent Bagnold, Artemisia Lufkin, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, Gwenog Jones, and Amelia Bones – they seem to clearly be the exception, not the norm. Think how many people in the Ministry are male versus female, or how many Headmistresses Hogwarts has had… looks like women have a long way to go in the wizarding world.

This is probably why there was only one female Triwizard champion out of four – because fewer girls must have entered to begin with. The only one we know of who entered from Hogwarts is Angelina (GF261).

I don’t know whether this is intentional or not, but to me Voldemort always seemed one of the most sexist characters. Notice that in his multitude of Death Eaters, there are only two females, and none of them are there on their own. The first is Alecto Carrow, who is there with her brother Amycus. And the second is Bellatrix, who is there with her husband.

Why is this? On the one hand, I doubt many women apply to be Death Eaters since they’re so busy being housewives in this world. Alecto is one of the few single women we know. And I would really like to see Rodolphus try to tell Bellatrix to stay at home and make dinner.

But I also think that Voldemort probably thinks very lowly of women, stemming from his mommy issues, and probably doesn’t let women become Death Eaters unless there is a man vouching for them. We see that even though Bellatrix has obviously risen through the ranks to become his favorite Death Eater, he still derides her in front of all the Death Eaters in Chapter 1 of Deathly Hallows (pages 9 to 11), humiliating her by talking about Tonks’s marriage to Lupin. We don’t really see Voldemort mock other Death Eaters in the series, it’s usually just torture, but he really goes at Bellatrix and the Malfoys.


new seeker by *viria13 on deviantART

Women in Quidditch
One of the things that most clearly illustrates how far women have yet to go is the Hogwarts Quidditch teams. It’s frequently pointed out that there “were no girls on the Slytherin team” (CS110) – presumably, it’s because Slytherins come from wizarding families and have not yet embraced the slightly more progressive muggle attitudes about women playing sports. As for Ravenclaw, “Cho Chang, was the only girl on their team.” (PA259) And Cho Chang is an absolutely dismal player. We know very little about the Hufflepuff team – only four players are ever mentioned – and therefore can’t really judge them.

The Gryffindor team, at least, seems to have a decent ratio of girls to guys, though we don’t know if this is the norm. In almost all the rosters we see, there are three females (and except for Ginny substituting for Harry, always Chasers): Angelina, Alicia, Katie, and Ginny and Demelza later on. I think we’re to assume that Gryffindor has been fairly accepting of girls, since McGonagall played on the team in the 1940s. Certainly under McGonagall’s leadership of Gryffindor House, the team would be very girl-friendly, even having a female captain in Book 5 (Angelina Johnson).

But despite the Gryffindors’ inclusiveness, it’s plain to see that girls don’t have even nearly equal representation on the Hogwarts Quidditch teams. I wonder where the Holyhead Harpies do all their recruiting, since we see an average of one female Quidditch player graduate each year.

However, I think that the mere presence of Quidditch in the books is a huge point towards the HP-is-feminist side, because it is a co-ed sport. This is remarkable, since there are almost no co-ed sports in the muggle world; muggles seem to be under the impression women couldn’t compete on a level playing field with men.

Quidditch has men and women playing together with no differentiation. And it seemingly has always been that way – Quidditch Through the Ages has no mention of when Quidditch became co-ed, but it does say the Holyhead Harpies formed in 1203 (QA34), so it’s safe to assume Quidditch has always been co-ed. The need for an all-female team shows that women are underrepresented in Quidditch. But the women that do play are as good as any of the guys, and are treated as such.

This has even translated to Muggle Quidditch, which (like its roots) is a co-ed sport. And some of the best players I’ve seen are girls, finally given their chance to shine on an equal playing field with guys. My team has almost always been fifty-fifty guys and girls, and the girls have proven to be equal to the boys. The fact that the HP books have inspired a real-life co-ed sport is a huge accomplishment on Rowling’s part, in my opinion.


HP as MIB by ~hueco-mundo on deviantART

The Men
One point of feminism that occasionally gets forgotten is that it is about equality between genders. So, in the interest of fairness, we should take a look at how the men are portrayed in the HP series.

In my opinion, Jo does a fantastic job portraying the men, because none of them are obsessed with their own masculinity. A book I’m reading now, which shall remain nameless, has the protagonist forever worrying about how manly he is. HP is a refreshing change of pace, with guys who show their emotions and are never worried about how manly they are. I can’t recall a single instance of the word “manly” even being used in the series. There is also no derision of femininity in the series, no “you duel like a girl!” or riding brooms sidesaddle or anything like that.

Because of the element of magic, characters are evaluated based on magical prowess rather than physical strength. The two male characters who are the stereotypical cavemen – Crabbe and Goyle – both get a very negative portrayal in the series. In fact, they are portrayed far worse than the girly girls; Jo is clearly not appreciative of guys who are all brawn and no brains.

Moreover, for a story that takes place in a school, there is a surprising dearth of jocks as we know them. All of the guys, even the athletic ones (Harry, Cedric, Oliver, Krum, the Weasleys, Draco, etc.), are fairly intelligent. Many of them are also quite emotional – Harry, Draco, and Oliver are all shown crying in the series. And while the Quidditch players are understandably popular, they are not hero-worshipped at Hogwarts.

Since the impressive thing in the wizarding world is magical power, let’s examine the most powerful people. The five most powerful characters are Dumbledore, Grindelwald, Voldemort, Snape, and Bellatrix. So out of five, one is a woman and one is gay, so only three of the five fit into the stereotypical ideal of heterosexual masculinity. There is thankfully no correlation between masculinity and magical power here, so props to Jo for that.


HP group by ~greendesire on deviantART

Final Verdict
There is certainly a lot about the HP books that can be interpreted as anti-feminist. The wizarding world has clearly not quite caught up to the muggle one, in this as in many other things, and it would appear that the expectation in the world is for women to be housewives. However, I anticipate that changing, as more enlightened muggle-born witches (like Hermione) just won’t stand for it.

The biggest point against is the very negative portrayal of all the single women in the series. This is very unfortunate, and one of the only things that I wish were different in the series.

Despite that, we cannot ignore how awesome the female characters in this series are. There is a wide variety of female characters with plenty of depth, not just token love interests. Hermione, Ginny, and Luna are fantastic role models for girls – tough, independent, and proactive. Having girls who don’t spend their time pining for men and fussing about their appearance is something more books should have. When my niece is a bit older, I will read HP to her in the hope that she grows up to be a Hermione.

So, my final verdict is that the HP books are ultimately a feminist text, because it presents women who are equal to (if not superior to) the men, and that is what feminism is ultimately about.

SOURCE

Kelly Clarkson recently shared this behind-the-scenes video of the 2013 Honda Civic Tour with Maroon 5. The 34-date tour kicked off in Missouri on Aug. 1 and ends with a sold-out show at the Hollywood Bowl on Oct. 1.

This week Clarkson also joined tourmates Adam Levine and James Valentine at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia to meet with fans from the Ryan Seacrest Foundation.


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Queen Kelly thanks you for your time. Anybody have tickets for this tour? Seeing 'em Sept. 13!!

Harrison Ford suggests that "Star Wars" and "Raiders of the Lost Ark" wouldn't have been the same if they'd had the Internet and fandom to contend with.

These days, any self-respecting nerd movie property pencils in an appearance at San Diego Comic-Con in its promotional calendar -- Maybe even more than one, depending on just how eager producers may be to court the genre audience. But how would the classics have fared in that kind of environment? Not too well, according to someone who'd know: Harrison Ford.

Talking to the New York Times to promote his new movie Paranoia, Ford suggested that if Star Wars or Raiders of the Lost Ark had debuted in the kind of genre-aware, front-loaded pop culture of today, "everyone would be ahead of it, and everyone would know what it was, and it would be no fun at all."

He went on to describe Comic-Con as "another form of engagement" that is "based on the partnerships between the fans and the service providers, the entities -- I won't necessarily call them filmmakers - that supply the film product that supports their particular interest, whether it's vampires or science-fiction fantasies or Transformers or whatever is going on."

Don't worry, filmmakers; Ford didn't just reserve his disdain for you. The audience got some, as well, when he complained about today's moviegoers not going to enough movies. "People still went to the movies in those days," he said about the era of Star Wars. "People went to movie theaters. It was a community experience, and that was part of the fun. Now people see a movie on their iPad, alone, with interruptions for snacks.")
It's hard to imagine just how Star Wars or the original Indiana Jones movies would have fared in today's environment, it's true -- Not necessarily because of a commodification of the movie experience (Star Wars pretty much pioneered that, let's face it), but the mind boggles considering how the Internet would have dealt with plot twists like the Vader reveal at the end of The Empire Strikes Back. Think of how many spoilers, real or otherwise, would have flooded the fictional Tumblr of the time afterwards…!

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It’s a long-held gripe in Hollywood that there’s a dearth of great roles for women. A handful of actresses have devised a clever cure for the problem: steal the guys’ parts.

That’s what Jodie Foster is doing. Her character Secretary Delacourt in Elysium, Neill Blomkamp’s dystopian action blockbuster that hits theaters this weekend, was originally Secretary Rhodes… and originally male. Foster’s not the first actress to inspire a gender change in the script. From Glenn Close to Angelina Jolie, here’s a history of actresses playing parts originally written for men.




Jodie Foster in ‘Elysium’

Jodie Foster was such a fan of director Neill Blomkamp’s film District 9 that she told Entertainment Weekly,“I was just like, ‘Whatever Neill does next, I’ll do.” The one catch: initially, there wasn’t a strong female role in Elysium, Blomkamp’s District 9 follow-up. A middle-of-the-night epiphany, however, led Blomkamp to realize that the fictional Elysium’s ruthless defense secretary could be—and perhaps might be more interesting—played by a woman. When producers approached first-choice Foster to take over the part, they were shocked to find her immediately nodding her head yes.




Angelina Jolie in ‘Salt’

When one A-list star exits a major movie, it’s fairly routine for another actor of similar looks and fame to step right in and takeover: Jamie Foxx for Will Smith (Django Unchained), Scarlett Johansson for Emily Blunt ( Iron Man 2), Katherine Heigl for Anne Hathaway (Knocked Up). But Angelina Jolie for Tom Cruise? Cruise was originally attached to star in Salt, but left the project before production started. That’s when Jolie got her hands on the on the script, convinced writer Kurt Wimmer to change the character of Edwin to Evelyn, and when the film was finally released in 2010, Jolie cemented her status as Hollywood’s go-to female action star.




Sigourney Weaver in ‘Alien’

Ellen Ripley was a man. No, that’s not some sci-fi twist you forgot about from one of the Alien films. The character, indelibly played by Sigourney Weaver and routinely held up as the iconic female movie character, was originally written as a man. It’s hard to imagine, as Ripley now tops lists of film’s greatest female characters, but originally all the characters in Alien were written as men, with the caveat that the crew’s genders could be interchangeable. When Sigourney Weaver auditioned, she was so strong that the movie’s team decided to gamble and make her not just a crew member, but the lead—a move director Ridley Scott later called “a masterstroke.”




Jodie Foster in ‘Flightplan’

In Flightplan, Jodie Foster plays a mom frantically looking for her missing daughter on transatlantic flight. Initially, however, the film was supposed to be about a father looking for his missing daughter on the flight. Sean Penn was even attached to star. After he dropped out, Foster stepped into the role. So, Elysium isn’t the first time Foster’s played a part conceived for a man. Entertainment Weekly even says that she used to have her agents specifically seek out scripts for leading men that could be tweaked to star a woman instead.




Glenn Close in ‘The Paper’

Screenwriters David and Stephen Koepp originally wrote a script about a newspaper editor facing the pressures of putting out a bold, truthful publication while facing financial pressures and still trying to tidy up a messy personal life. Ron Howard signed on to direct and made several visits to The New York Post and the Daily News to prepare for the film. In the newsrooms, however, he found himself more often drawn to the stories of the female journalists, and thus decided to swap the gender of the film’s lead. All the dialogue remained the same—it would just be the gender that changed. Glenn Close eventually was cast in the role.




Kathy Bates in ‘Harry’s Law’

When Oscar-winner Kathy Bates made the decision to star in her first regular TV series, the now-defunct legal drama Harry’s Law, she told the Today show that she waited so long to transition to the small screen because she “had to wait for the right part.” The part she finally found, however, had been written for a man. When she signed on for the series, its writers began changing the character’s name in scripts to “Harriet,” which Bates immediately put an end to: “I said, ‘No, no, no, it’s gotta be ‘Harry.” That’s who I fell in love with.”


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Joshua Morrow Brings Us Up-to-Date on Nick Newman's 'Y&R' Story!



Joshua Morrow is at the center of a huge storyline. Nick recently discovered that his daughter Summer is not his biological daughter, but rather the daughter of Jack and Phyllis.

Phyllis is the only person who knows that it was Sharon, who changed the results of the DNA test before it was mailed out -- but she is in a coma, having fallen down stairs on her way to tell Nick the truth: Summer is his biologic daughter.

What do we have to look forward to for Nick?
I think just the fallout from this incredibly difficult situation for all the characters. Nick may not be the best husband in the world, but he takes being a father seriously and loves this little girl so much. She grew up into this beautiful woman and somebody took her from him, essentially, and little does he know that she's his, and I think how they find out that he was lied to is very interesting television. I can't give you more than that, but it's an awesome story.

Jack thinks Summer is his daughter. So how is that when everybody finds out that it's not so?
It's the genius of the story. I knew that they were going to take Summer away from Nick. I didn't know that they were going to take her away and then eventually give her back to him. It is going to be a lot of fallout for all the characters involved. It's going to be tough. You put this little girl through the ringer emotionally and Jack and Sharon -- everyone's going to be jacked up from this. I'm looking forward to playing it.

How crazy is Sharon?
Right now she's looking coo-coo for Cocoa Puffs. Who knows? She's off her meds, I think, doing a lot of crazy stuff. Her character's ill and she needs to address it. The people who love her need to help her get healthy. I so look forward to watching Sharon finish this story, because it's a great story to tell.

What do you think is the most interesting change in daytime since you started?
I think the most interesting change they made is the pace at which we tell our stories. How fast the stories are now. When I first started if I wanted to do three or four takes, I got to do it. Now, you better come out there prepared and get yourself done in one take no matter how much material you have, no matter how many places you need to get emotional. You've got to move fast and lean. These are not the high-flying days of the '90s. We've got a budget; we've got time restraints. That's the biggest change that I see. We've got to change our model and, I think, we've made the necessary steps.



Jason Thompson and Kirsten Storms preview GENERAL HOSPITAL baby drama!


It’s been the summer of baby-mama (and -daddy!) drama on General Hospital — and an inevitably sudsy climax is on the way, stars Kirsten Storms and Jason Thompson reveal to TVLine.

“Lots of baby drama going on right now,” laughs Storms, whose Port Charles alter ego Maxie is currently carrying her own child but passing it off as the unborn baby of her best friend. “And the next few months are going to be pretty crazy for me.”

Up next for the GH fave: “Maxie gives birth, which is going to be huge,” Storms teases, noting that Maxie’s little bundle of joy will arrive in the not-so-distant future. “There’s drama as soon as her water breaks, [when] things go awry in the midst of labor.”

And once Maxie’s little girl makes her debut, “The downward spiral of the truth [about the baby's identity] coming out” finally begins, shares the daytime TV vet.

Thompson’s leading man Patrick, meanwhile, has some bundle-of-joy woes of his own — he just doesn’t know their extent yet.

“Sabrina still doesn’t believe the baby is Patrick’s, but he’s just trying to get her to back off a little bit,” the actor says. That said, “I’m just as interested as everybody else to find out how this is all going to be happen, because I honestly don’t know,” he jokes.

One thing about which Thompson is sure: His desire to see Kimberly McCullough return to GH as his “late” love Robin — General Hospital Robin Returnsa prospect that looks likely considering recent storyline twists. (Various characters are searching for Jerry Jacks, the man — unbeknownst to them — holding the presumed-dead Robin captive.)

“There’s talk of her coming back for a little bit,” he tells us. “Selfishly, I hope it happens. I love working with Kimberly, We had a great relationship for six, seven years, and it’d be fun to do another story.”



Y&R’s Michael Muhney Doing His Part To Find Cure for Pancreatic Cancer!


On Sunday, October 27, Michael Muhney (Adam Newman, “The Young and the Restless“) will host “The 16th Annual L.A. Cancer Challenge” (LACC), which benefits the Hirshberg Foundation for Pancreatic Cancer Research. This marks the sixth time the actor has hosted the event. LACC is one of Southern California’s largest and most popular charity races with thousands attending each year.

“Since my uncle’s passing, we’ve made progress in research, but we still have more to accomplish before a cure is found,” said Muhney. “I am determined to assist in any way I can to further research and eventually find a cure.” Fans from all over the world are welcome to join Muhney’s team in the fight to find a cure by making a donation at www.lacancerchallenge.com/michaelmuhney.

In 2008 on “Y&R,” Muhney’s character’s mother, Hope Wilson (portrayed by Signy Coleman) died of pancreatic cancer, which Muhney says, “That addition to the storyline makes playing this character more meaningful and powerful.”

“Having Michael Muhney on our team makes it a little easier when we are in the ‘trenches’ creating awareness about this devastating disease,” said Lisa Manheim, event director. “We are honored to have him join us again this year and with him on our team it seems as if we are one step closer to finding a cure.”

The “Challenge” will be held at the Veteran’s Administration Grounds in Los Angeles, CA.



OWN schedule change for AMC & OLTL!


In what many fans have called the most confusing schedule in the history of daytime soap opera programming, OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network has adjusted the scheduling of “new to OWN” episodes of “All My Children” and “One Life to Live.”

Effective Monday, August 5, the network will remove the repeat airings that preceded each “new” episode and the re-airing of the “new” episode that immediately followed. Additionally, “AMC” and “OLTL” will now air back to back with said “new” episodes as “OLTL” is changing timeslots.

According to recently released listings, “AMC” will continue airing at 1:00 PM ET/PT and “OLTL” will immediately follow at 1:30 PM ET/PT.

OWN began airing both soaps on Monday, July 15 as part of their summer soap fling. Ratings weren’t that stellar in the first week, but both shows increased their audiences in week two.



CBS Blocks TWC Subscribers from Viewing CBS.com to Watch Full Episodes!


Things are getting even uglier in the dispute between CBS Corp. and Time Warner Cable (TWC), which has resulted in 13 CBS Owned & Operated TV stations in the eight markets covered by TWC, cable networks Showtime, The Movie Channel (TMC), Flix and Smithsonian, which are wholly or partly owned by CBS, to go dark. A CBS spokesperson has confirmed reports that CBS has blocked TWC subscribers from viewing CBS.com, which would enable those affected by the dispute with a different avenue to view their favorite CBS programs.

“If Time Warner Cable is a customer’s internet service provider, then their access to CBS full episode content via online and mobile platforms has been suspended as a result of Time Warner Cable’s decision to drop CBS and Showtime from their market. As soon as CBS is restored on Time Warner Cable systems in affected markets, that content will be accessible again,” the CBS spokesperson said.



DAYS Alum Welcomes Baby No. 3!


Christie Clark (ex-Carrie, DAYS) and her husband, Thomas Barnes, have welcomed their third daughter, Charlotte Joy. Tweeted the proud mom, "Baby Charlotte." Charlie" Joy was born on Aug 6 th 2013! 8 Pds 4 oz! Everyone is thrilled to bits over here!!!!" Charlie joins older sisters Hannah, 5, and Emma, 2.



Angelica McDaniel makes Glamour's "Meet the Women Who Run Your Favorite Movies and TV Shows"!


The TV Programmer: Angelica McDaniel, 35
As senior VP of daytime programing for CBS Entertainment, she oversees more than 1,000 episodes of TV every season for the network—and checks her BlackBerry for the prior day's ratings before she even gets out of bed. CBS president Nina Tassler calls her a "force of nature."

Words she lives by: "Don't get stuck in the frenzy of the day to day. You have to be aware of the bigger picture."



Young and the Restless Star Christel Khalil Sues Agent for Sending Her on Y&R Audition!


Christel Khalil filed a complaint against her talent agency in California Superior Court Tuesday, accusing it of stealing money and failing to send her on auditions -- except for the one show she already had a contract for.

Khalil says her agents, Mavrick Artists Agency, have repeatedly failed to uphold their end of the contract. She charges that during a very busy pilot season this year, she was only sent out on two auditions for series regular roles. She was not sent on any commercial auditions.

Khalil accuses the defendants of intentionally not paying her for a guest spot on 2 Broke Girls. The complaint also alleges the agency stole money from the actress above its 10 percent.

Perhaps most egregiously, MAA allegedly sent Khalil out to audition for a role on her own show, Young and the Restless, which "collectively embarrassed, if not mortified" the actress. She has four times been nominated for an Emmy in that role, once winning for the role of Lily Winters Ashby.

At the time, Khalil was in a contract role on the soap where she had been for 10 years, according to the documents. This, the plaintiff argues, proves how neglectful the agency has been with her career.

Khalil's attorneys say that the agency is in breach of contract. However, the defendants have denied termination of their contract.



The Bold and the Beautiful soap opera star opens car dealership in Roy!


Before he moved to California, got an agent and landed award-winning roles on a variety of popular soap operas, Jacob Young grew up in the small town of Roy.

After years away, Young returned to his hometown with childhood friend Justin Cruz to start J Star Motorsports car dealership in Roy, which officially opened last week.

Young said his family has deep roots in Washington, including four generations that have lived in Roy.
Growing up in Roy, Young attended McKenna Elementary School with Cruz. The friends participated in choir together, and Young gained an appreciation for acting while participating in school plays and musicals. It led to him pursuing acting opportunities after moving to California as a teenager.

It didn’t take long for Young to gain representation through an agency and start auditioning for roles, he said.

“I was one of those lucky numbers,” he said. “Maybe it was timing, maybe it was the right look. It just happened to all fall in place for me.”

In 1997, after three months of auditioning, he landed the part of Rick Forrester on The Bold and the Beautiful. At just 17 years old, he was nominated for a Daytime Emmy for the role. He left the show in 1999.

In 2002, he took on the role of Lucky Spencer on General Hospital, for which he won a Daytime Emmy.
He left General Hospital in 2003 and appeared in the 2004 film The Girl Next Door, before moving to New York and joining the cast of All My Children as JR Chandler, a role he played for almost nine years before the show was cancelled.

In 2011, Young came full circle, reprising his role on The Bold and the Beautiful.

Despite his success as a soap opera star, Young said a piece of his heart always belonged to Roy.

“The further you go away from home, the more you wish to be (there),” he said. “Every time I came back home I missed it that much more. Sometimes in life you take for granted things that you have, the simplicity of life that’s around you. Something’s to be said about the day-to-day of a small town in a community, and how it thrives and works together. It’s like a puzzle that fits together sort of neatly. And I miss that.”

Young and Cruz first started kicking around the idea of opening a car dealership together about two years ago. Young has always been passionate about cars, and Cruz has been selling cars at a profit since high school, so a car dealership seemed like the perfect opportunity.

Roy seemed like the right place to turn the idea into a reality, and also afforded Young a remedy for his homesickness.

Young is the business owner, and Cruz is his partner and day-to-day operations manager of the business.
Young said they didn’t want to start out too ambitious.

“We started small,” he said. “We’re a small business that is looking to broaden and become a company that hometown people can trust, hometown consumers can trust and rely on us.”

Young said as the company grows, he’d like to have more opportunities to communicate directly with customers, whether they’re directly from the Roy area, or as far away as Tacoma or Parkland.

“With today’s technology — Facebook and Twitter and all that — we have ways of being able to reach out to the customers and I think it’s important,” he said. “I think it’s important to get feedback and communicate.”

The duo plans to double its current inventory of about 13 vehicles within the next two months. They plan to have 20-30 vehicles on hand at any given time, while providing great pricing, friendly service, and fair prices on trade-ins, Cruz said.

Young said they’re interested in organizing a community meet-and-greet barbecue sometime in the future to properly introduce themselves to the community over hamburgers and hot dogs.



Amber Tamblyn Joins TWO AND A HALF MEN as Charlie's Long-Lost Lesbian Daughter!


Two and a Half Men has found its little woman.

After an exhaustive search, TV vet Amber Tamblyn (Joan of Arcadia, House) has been cast as the long-lost, lesbian daughter of Charlie Sheen’s late bachelor, TVLine has learned.


The character, Jenny, shows up in the CBS comedy’s Sept. 26 premiere upon moving from New York City to Los Angeles to pursue a career in showbiz. She ends up crashing with her Uncle Alan (Jon Cryer) and Walden (Ashton Kutcher).

“She’s somewhat of a chip off the old block,” explains exec producer Chuck Lorre of Jenny. “She’s having a good time and doesn’t care about the destruction left behind her. Decadence from the other side felt long overdue.”

Tamblyn’s role is recurring (she’s booked for five episodes so far), with the option to become a series regular — ostensibly filling the void left by Angus T. Jones’ full-time exit.



'Wicked'
good time with former GUIDING LIGHT star Kim Zimmer!


On TV, Kim Zimmer battled amnesia, time travel and being cloned.

Now the former soap star is reinventing her real life.

The Emmy winner has taken to the stage as Madame Morrible in the current tour of “Wicked,” which opens tonight at the Boston Opera House, with the hopes of igniting a late-in-life career on Broadway.

“When ‘Guiding Light’ went off the air, people said, ‘Are you going to retire?’ I was 54. Are you out of your mind?” said Zimmer, now 58. “I hope I get to work the rest of my life. Broadway is on my bucket list.”

Her turn as Madame Morrible, the headmistress at Shiz University, where the “Wicked” witches study, has been a thrill for Zimmer, who hasn’t tired of the live audience experience since taking the role a year ago.

“My understudy hates me because I’m never sick,” she said. “Time flies when you’re having fun.”

A zealous Yankees and Jets fan (the assistant prop manager is dragging her to Fenway Park), Zimmer loves getting into Morrible’s “wonderfully threatening character”— heavy makeup and wig included.

“I do it myself and it’s a gas. Most of the stagehands and dressers don’t even know what I look like,” she said. “When I walk out the stage door, unless (fans) are looking for me, I can blow by the autograph line.”

Though “Wicked” fans can rarely place her, loyal soap buffs still recognize Zimmer four years after “Guiding Light” ended its 72-year run. But Zimmer isn’t nostalgic for the past. Instead, she’s hopeful that her role as Morrible will translate into increasingly dynamic roles.

“I always said I wanted to be Olympia Dukakis, who won an Oscar at 62 (for ‘Moonstruck’). I don’t need to win an award, but I want a role like that,” she said.

And if the Broadway thing doesn’t work out, Zimmer, a self-described “football freak,” might consider consulting for the NFL. Espousing on the upcoming football season, she said:

“(The Jets) should have made (Tim) Tebow a fullback when he was with us. If anyone can make this poor kid a football player, it’s (Patriots coach Bill) Belichick.”



Jake Tapper gets soapy with 'All My Children'!


JAKE TAPPER, the host of CNN's "The Lead," may be Queen Village born and bred, but his next project takes him to Pine Valley, the fictitious setting of soap opera "All My Children."

Tapper really stretches his acting muscle in a cameo in an Aug. 12 episode playing - what else? - an annoying journalist named Spencer Phillips, a faux business reporter.

Alas, his plotline involves no evil twins. And he's never coma-ridden. Not even once.

All My Children was canceled in 2011, but the show was resurrected online and is available through the Online Network via Hulu, Hulu Plus and iTunes. Episodes created for the Web also recently started airing on Oprah's OWN, Monday through Thursday at 1 p.m.

"For months, we at 'The Lead' have been covering the different ways content is provided in the modern world - from interviewing ["Doonesbury" cartoonist] Garry Trudeau about his sitcom airing on Amazon.com to covering the rise of Netflix," Tapper told me via email. "We were interested when we heard that two soaps that ABC had canceled were finding new lives online - so I went up to Connecticut to report on that.

My cameo came as a fun way to immerse myself in the soap experience. (I confess I had to be talked into it by my staff.)"

Catch Tapper at his weekly gig Monday through Friday at 4 p.m. on CNN.



What I Wore TODAY: Susan Lucci!


Actress Susan Lucci joined Kathie Lee and Hoda on Tuesday to talk about her new role as the host of Investigation Discovery's true-crime series "Deadly Affairs." The former "All My Children" actress was sporting a simple, chic black dress for the occasion.

Did you like what Lucci was wearing? Here are the details:

Gucci dress
Jimmy Choo shoes
Cartier watch

Lucci, 66, said her wardrobe is often affected by her mood, but the roles she plays on television are also a frequent influence.

"When I get ready to play a character, I'll actually go shopping with the mindset of that character," Lucci told TODAY.com. "But this is simply me ... Like most women, we have a lot of ways we feel when we wake up in the morning, and this is what I was feeling today ... I'm happy in my simple black dress."



Chandler Massey: his win, his role, his future!


With his 23rd birthday approaching soon, Chandler Massey (Will) of Days of our Lives is a three time Emmy Award nominee and a two time winner. He also has tackled a very controversial role that he portrays so eloquently. As a gay character, he has dealt with tough issues including coming out and sorting through his inner feelings. The scenes are so well written and his performance has been nothing but exuberant. He is the first actor to ever win an Emmy for playing a gay character, taking the role to new heights.

"I am honored. I cannot even tell you how much. I was so nervous I didn't even hear my name at the Emmy's. I cannot believe two wins. I don't know if I was more nervous now or then? As for playing Will, it has opened my eyes, especially about being equal. I'm all for equality," Massey said. "I feel lucky and blessed. When I was told of the role, I loved the opportunity, and it was so well presented. Also this was really bringing the character of Will to the forefront. I really wanted to reach out with this role."

One of Massey's greatest moments was this past June. He was an invited guest to Columbus, Ohio., where he participated in his first Pride Parade. He said he was floored and called this, "A celebration of life and freedom." He also participated in many local events, including throwing out the first pitch at a Columbus Clippers game.

Massey is from Atlanta, Georgia., and has loved the entertainment business most of his life. While attending Norcross High School, he participated in many stage productions playing the lead, and is also a singer and dancer, saying "the more I acted, the more I wanted."He also plays the piano and has a keyboard in his dressing room, and said that he is known to tickle the ivories on the piano on set.

He guest starred in several shows like One Tree Hill and Army Wives to name a few. And he starred in the movie 16-Love and recently completed Angels in Stardust with hopes of being released soon.

Massey graduated high school in 2009. He told his father that he wants to be an actor, and to his amazement, he was very supportive. "My dad really was. You know, like most kids that tell their parents they want to be an actor, usually the reaction is go to school and study," Massey said. "I was very grateful. My dad was like go for it and he offered me all his love and support."

Massey's intentions are to go to UCLA, which he enrolled to study Mandarin Chinese and International business, but upon arriving in Los Angeles he made the rounds of getting an agent and hit the audition scene. He tried out on Days of our Lives for Will and of course, the rest is history. His education plans are on hold, but his ultimate goal is to earn a degree.

Soapdom needs to know…In December 2013 your contract at Days is up and the rumor mill is a buzz you are leaving. Can you comment? “(Laughing) I know. It began at the Emmy’s, where I commented that I want to go back to school, which I do, and everyone just assumed I’m leaving," Massey explains. “This is what I meant! My contract is up in December. Right now, I will tell you that no decision has been made. I will weigh all my options and hopefully work it all out. I will tell you, I love the show. I love the story and Will. No matter what decision I make, Will is always going to be a part of my life. But at this moment, nothing is official.”

Massey also added that he would really like the storyline to go in the direction of Sonny (Freddie Smith) and Will getting married. "I think this needs to be shown. I want them to get married. Even if another actor were to play Will, this is what I'd want to see for the characters."

Massey noted that his mom, dad, and family in Georgia are proud of his work and accomplishments, as are Papa and Mimi, his grandparents. "I love them. You know they are from a whole other generation that was not so accepting of differences, or given the opportunity and they really took to this with much understanding. I'm so proud of them."

Besides his talents, it might be his humble personality and his Southern charm that has won the hearts of fans throughout the country. In Hollywood, the versatility of his accomplishments is being recognized. And one can only predict that the road ahead will be paved in gold.

If Massey decides to leave Days, his plans are to remain in the business. He said one of his goals is to get back to his roots which is the stage. "I love the stage and the audience. I have to tell you, I was in New York and saw the Lion King, and I was like this is it for me. I'd love to do Broadway," he said. "I also want to continue with films. I want any role, and I want to play a lot of roles. That is what being an actor is all about."

Soapdom asked, with all your success and all the adoring fans, do you have a message for them? "Yes!" he bellowed. "I Thank You. I never felt such support. Before it was only from my family. I love you guys!"



Crystal Chappell previews Season 4 of VENICE!


"I always say to myself when I start the next season, I kind of want to scale if back because it’s a really big production, and I always end up going bigger. So there you go. You know what, there’ a lot of love in it. Just a lot of change. The entire family dynamic changes this season. It’s pretty pivotal. Ani, Lara, Gina, there is a lot of push and pull that will go on there. Ani’s brother Jake is heavily involved in that. Gina’s not happy that Sara is there, so there is a contentious relationship growing. There are some surprises with Sara as well."



Tamar Braxton Names Son After Bold and Beautiful's Brooke Logan!


In true Braxton family style, Tamar's delivery of her first child -- Logan, with husband Vincent Herbert -- was a circus. "Vincent had a Hugh Hefner robe on and was doling out orders to everyone," The Real host, 36, reveals to Us Weekly.

Enlisting Dr. Jacqueline Walters, who appeared on Bravo's Married to Medicine, to deliver her son, Braxton tells Us she was initially hesitant to bond with her infant due to his fragility. "I remember being shocked. I could not believe that this is my baby and I had to take this baby home with me," admits the TV star. "I remember not wanting to hold him at first because I was scared I was going to drop him, so Vincent did a lot of the holding because he was just so little and fragile. I was like 'Oh, my God, I'm going to break his bones."

Daddy Herbert also had a heavy influence in naming his firstborn. "Vince loves the soap opera The Bold and the Beautiful. We tape it every day," says Braxton. "There is a character named Brooke Logan, and we got Logan from her last name because we wanted the initials LV. Logan kind of stuck with us -- we really like it."

The TV star tells Us her son is a "perfect mixture" of his parents. "Logan is the best newborn ever. I know -- I have 13 nieces and nephews!" Her only issue: "He's quiet, so not like me at all," jokes the outspoken first-time mom. "Very disappointing!"



Laura Bell Bundy Joins ANGER MANAGEMENT As New Female Lead!


Tony nominee and former GUIDING LIGHT actress Laura Bell Bundy has joined the cast of FX's ANGER MANAGEMENT as a new series regular, producers Lionsgate Television announced Monday.

Bundy, who begins filming this week, will play Charlie's new sex-study research partner, Dr. Jordan Denby. The character is described as a brilliant psychologist whose recent divorce, fondness for alcohol and wild mood swings turn Charlie's life into an emotional roller-coaster.

The role initially was conceived as a recurring part with series regular option.

Bell replaces Selma Blair in the comedy series. Blair was dismissed from the series after clashing with Sheen in June.

Bell recently signed a record deal with Big Machine Records in Nashville and will release her first country single on Aug. 19. She's currently on tour with Rascal Flatts.



WATCH: Premiere of Michelle Stafford's New Web Series THE STAFFORD PROJECT!


Michelle Stafford's last episode as Phyllis in THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS aired on Friday, August 2nd. Now we get to watch her in a brand new web series, THE STAFFORD PROJECT, a satirical comedy where she plays "Michelle Stafford", an exaggerated version of herself.

THE STAFFORD PROJECT was created by Stafford, Paige Long and Paige Dorian. Check out the premiere episode ("Technicalities") below.



The premiere featured Michelle Stafford as Michelle, Michael Walker as Steve, Mike Randleman as Richard, Natalia Stafford at Natalia, Sevier Crespo as Marcus, and Rob Filios as Jonathan.



GH’s Kirsten Storms & Jason Thompson Video Interview!


On-Air On-Soaps Michael Fairman sat down with two of General Hospital’s most popular stars, Kirsten Storms (Maxie Jones) and Jason Thompson (Patrick Drake) for this video interview at the ABC Summer Press Tour event (premiering the fall season) for the Television Critics Association (TCA) just a few days ago.

During the conversation, Kirsten and Patrick discussed the topic that is one of the most forefront on GH fans minds … what is going to happen when Maxie has her baby and all the deceit surrounding it? And, what is going to happen when Britt (Kelly Thiebaud) has her baby, that is supposedly Patrick’s? Here now are some excerpts from what the stars had to say about all the drama, followed by the video!

KIRSTEN: “I think in my storyline, I don’t think there is one resolution that everybody is going to be happy with. The fans are pretty divided on what they want the outcome to be. I think no matter what … things are not going to go well for Maxie. She has lied to just about everybody in her life, and in the situation. Obviously, things are going to have to start coming out because a few people know the truth, and I don’t think they are going to be able to keep that in for very long. But that is kind of what we do this for … the big explosion of the storyline, and just to see the fallout of everything. I am ready for it to happen though.”

JASON: “I am ready for the next part of this story, for sure. I honestly don’t know how this all plays out. We are back to work not this week, but the week after, and so I think it will start to shift going into the next couple of weeks. So, I am kind of excited to read how this all plays out. There are a lot of questions that Patrick has right now about the situation that he is in. There was a scare on the health of the baby, and so I think he is really trying to zero in on that, and to make sure that this child is born healthy. I am sure once we find out that is the case, or maybe even before, there will be some fallout. Whether everybody’s happy about it, I don’t know, but I am probably sure most people in my situation would probably be happy that the baby is not his. I personally, hope it’s mine… I just want another kid! It would be fun, why not? (Laughs)”






The Week In The Year 2000!



Dimitri told Dixie that he would fight for his life. Edmund told Dixie that he planned to ask Alex to marry him. Dixie tried to stop Edmund, but she ended up passing out on the floor at Wildwind before she could say anything. David took Dixie home and warned her to take care of herself. Becca and Leo agreed to appear on a reality-based segment of Wave. Becca almost gave in to her desire to make love to Leo. Adrian told Joe, Tad, and Gillian that Jake had been located, but that he didn't want to return to Pine Valley. Brooke and Eliot shared a kiss as Eliot struggled with his need to tell Brooke "the truth." Erica and David painfully decided to end their relationship.





Winston suffered a fatal heart attack while struggling with Carly. Simon and Lily overpowered Celia on the island. Hal arrested Bryant for reckless driving. Carly arrived in Oakdale just as Julia was confessing to Jack that Carly had been in touch before. Holden confronted "Lily" with the photos of Beloved and Rose.





C.J. told Amber that he wouldn't let anything happen to her, and they shared a kiss. Thorne told Kimberly she needed to do a makeover to cheer up and invited her to dinner. Kimberly showed up for dinner completely made over and told Thorne she wanted him to see her as a woman; she kissed him. Stephanie told Ridge that Morgan was nine weeks pregnant. Ridge confronted Morgan, who told him he was the father of her baby, and no one was making her have an abortion. Morgan told Clarke that Ridge knew the truth about the baby. Morgan was worried about what was going to happen when the truth was revealed. Ridge told Stephanie about Morgan's treachery to get pregnant and that he was the father of her baby. Stephanie told Ridge not to say anything to Taylor, and she would take care of Morgan.





John had some explaining to do when he "borrowed" baby John from Hope to get a DNA sample. Belle, Philip, and Shawn were perplexed over Chloe's behavior, as it seemed she was turning into the cruel person she disliked in everyone else. Nancy's problems with Chloe and Craig escalated, as Chloe and Craig seemed to draw closer. Fay couldn't seem to get to Abe, but connected with Roman to discuss Nicole's bad influence on Eric. Fay tried to defend Nicole to Roman. Roman walked in on Nicole and Rex as she continued to pressure Rex for her money. Lily returned to Salem to comfort Greta, as Greta prepared to tell Lucas the truth about Nicole and Eric's relationship. Dr. Rolf took matters into his own hands to get Isaac's DNA for Stefano. Stefano talked his way out of Isaac's "kidnapping scare," but Abe was furious and suspicious of Stefano. Dr. Rolf awaited the results of the paternity test.





Chloe and Jax made plans to leave town, but Helena arrived at their island hideout first. Meanwhile, Helena's hit man had tracked down Stefan. Emily wondered if she had done the right thing in telling Juan her secret, as her other friends worried about Juan's trustworthiness. Nikolas paid Gia to help them find the guy who had murdered Ted; later, she recognized Zander talking to Elizabeth. Bobbie was angered when she saw Carly and Roy flirting; later, she wondered about his further involvement in organized crime. Mike asked Carly for help with his gambling debts, and she agreed to ask Sonny for the money. Edward attempted to have A.J. arrested for insider trading. After telling Emily of their plans, Monica and Alan began fertility treatments.





Josh and Reva's lawyers turned their divorce proceedings into a fiasco at Millennium that took the entire group straight to the police station. Olivia tried to make it up to Josh. Harley started her job back at the force. Phillip managed to alienate just about everyone he cared about over the custody suit for baby James. Beth, Jim, and the kids moved out of the mansion. Harley and Phillip argued over Zach and ended up making wild, passionate love -- and seemed as if they might be headed toward reconciliation. Susan and Harley reached an understanding. With advice from family and friends, Harley considered getting back together with Phillip, ever after Alan's harsh assessment of her inadequacies as a Spaulding wife. Maria and Carlos set up Danny into believing he had "taken care of" Carmen's killer, and then were delighted to learn his marriage to Michelle was over as a result. Selena might have a past connection to Miguel Santos. David and Ruth connected. Phillip tried to reach an agreement with Beth and Jim, but Jim's attitude toward Phillip might ruin things for everyone. Edmund rescued Beth.





Jessica and Cris made wedding plans. Melanie told Sam about Lindsay's "breakdown." Lindsay gave Nora the memory-altering drug. Todd convinced Will to leave the country in a cargo container. In a dream, Nora went on "trial" to save her memories. Colin gave Nora another drug he hoped would help her. Viki had her last chemotherapy treatment. Joey asked Kelly for a divorce. Renee told Asa to clear Will's name, or she'd divorce him. Judge Fitzwater refused to drop the case against Will without the tape. Will called Sam and told him Nora was alive. Sam rushed to Colin's house, but Nora was gone. Daniel caught Rae searching his hotel room. Antonio called in a tip that R.J. was involved with a drug shipment. Todd was the one that had taken Nora. Sam returned home and found Asa talking to Matthew.





Sheridan shot Les and saved Luis' life. Theresa went into Ethan's bedroom, and he drew her into a kiss. Julian went to Pilar's house, determined to get Ivy's attaché case. Theresa saw Sheridan sleepwalk in the Crane living room. T.C. went to his secret shed. Julian was suspicious when he discovered that Ivy was hiding at Pilar's house. Julian found Theresa's keys and was determined to break into Pilar's house. Kay taunted Whitney by saying that Chad loved Simone. Gwen went into Ethan's bedroom as Ethan dreamt about Theresa. Julian found Ivy's attaché case. Sheridan asked Luis to help her uncover her past. Simone was crushed when Chad couldn't remember telling her he loved her. Gwen gave Theresa an expensive gift for filling in for her maid of honor. She later told a delighted Theresa that Ethan had apparently been dreaming about a mysterious woman.





Lily felt confused as to why her parents could not live under the same roof. Neil was upset that Malcolm and Dru were involved. Neil admitted he still had feelings for Dru and had high hopes that they would get back together for their daughter's sake. J.T. comforted Brittany about Billy's wandering eye. She ended up getting drunk, and she and J.T. had sex. Jill found out that Mac had signed for the missing Express Mail letter. Katherine wondered if Jill was out to destroy Mac by finding Mac's mother. Jill booked a flight to St. Louis. Michael and Phyllis rekindled the wild romance they had once shared. Christine began to reassess her position in the firm, since Michael had taken on Brad as his new client against Victor. Victoria received another letter from Gary, who wanted to make amends with Victoria. Victor created a signed document to prove to Ashley that he would not go after Jabot if the Abbotts let Brad go.




PREVIEWS FOR NEXT WEEK!



Monday
Sami's life is threatened; JJ adds something extra to the treats for the girls' book-club meeting.

Tuesday
Eric's (EJ's?) plan goes awry; Sami receives a touching video from Rafe.

Wednesday
Kristen begins work with Eric on the scholarship program, and worries that he may remember what she did to him.

Thursday
Sami receives both good and bad news at her hearing; Brady and Nicole talk openly and honestly about Madison's death.

Friday
Sami and Kate stumble upon Stefano's actions; Jennifer, JJ and Abigail come together to honor Jack.







Monday
Michael delivers difficult news regarding he and Kiki's familial ties; Dante and Lulu attend birthing classes with Maxie, as well as Patrick and Britt.

Tuesday
A surprise wedding is in store for Felicia and Mac, but the couple's nuptials may not be the only surprise awaiting the group

Wednesday
Duke becomes critically ill, and the group eagerly awaits his test results; Patrick tries to cheer up a miserable Emma.

Thursday
Maxie refuses to let Mac and Felica cancel their special day; Britt demands to know what mischief her mother has been up to.

Friday
Mac and Felica's wedding is interrupted once again; Luke discovers a hidden door, and attempts to enter it.







Monday
Rick misses Maya's debut in 'Room 8 The Series.'

Tuesday
Maya finds comfort in the arms of Carter.

Wednesday
Bill pursues Brooke through the streets of Monte Carlo.

Thursday
Maya is torn between Rick and Carter.

Friday
Wyatt makes a surprise visit at Spencer Publications; Bill reveals his future plans to Brooke.







8/12, Victor changes the game on Billy; Dylan and Chelsea deliver the baby.

8/13, Hilary's agenda is questioned; Avery's absence helps Sharon get closer to Nick.

8/14, Tyler and Abby become closer; Adam turns to Sharon for help.

8/15, Chelsea and Anita face off; Nikki decides to confront Victor.

8/16, Billy is willing to do anything to win Victoria back; friends and family come together for an important homecoming.







All hell breaks loose when a drunken Jesse crashes the Gala

Celia and Colby square off

During a dire situation, will David come face to face with his son?

Jesse finds support in the last person he'd call a friend




The Buchanan family tries to keep things together as the drama at the hospital escalates

Viki and Jeffrey ponder whether Clint's actions should be made public

Blair turns to Tea after her very emotional day with Todd

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10

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Someone photoshop this to say mattyb

Earlier, Katy Perry released the artwork to her long-awaited single "Roar" that hits the airwaves on Monday. Critics across the board have praised Perry's artwork as groundbreaking, fresh and artistic. The reaction to a preview clip of the single has also been positive across the board.

Unfortunately, for Lady Gaga, things aren't looking so bright. Her song "Burqa" has received almost universal bad press. Some have even gone as far to say that the song promotes raping Muslim women. Others have noted that the song sounds like a desperate attempt to latch onto the EDM phase.

Speaking of desperate, Lady Gaga released a pornographic video depicting herself making animal noises and running naked through the forest. Some of Lady Gaga's fans consider the clip "art," but most people consider it a desperate attempt to promote her already poorly received album ARTPOP.

Lady Gaga is going to take the stage at the MTV Video Music Awards on August 25. It's said to be the first performance since her claims of cancelling her tour due to hip surgery. However, many have claimed foul play and suggest the hip surgery is a cover up for bad ticket sales and facial plastic surgery.

Source

Source: 1

'Duck Dynasty' Daughter Sadie Is Designing Prom Dresses and Hitting the Fashion Runway

Will camouflage be all the rage this season?

Could be, with “Duck Dynasty” star Sadie Robertson teaming up with designer Sherri Hill to create a line of prom dresses!

The pretty Robertson daughter is finding herself in the spotlight once again after “American Idol” winner Scotty McCreery serenaded Sadie at her Sweet 16 party last month.

The “Sadie Robertson Live Original” collection, available next spring, will feature retro-inspired dresses with hem lengths that are “Willie approved.”

That’s very important, as Sadie’s protective papa has vetoed her prom dress choices in the past. In last season's “Duck Be a Lady" episode, the 16-year-old struggled to find a gown that both she and the stern Willie liked. Now, Sadie and girls like her across the country won’t have to worry about finding appropriate evening wear.

Not only that, but Sadie will model her designs on the runway at Sherri Hill’s New York Fashion Week on September 9.

Source

Something tells me this will sell like hotcakes in flyover country.And boy is she turning into her mother, quickly.

Edit: Fixed the headline.

Throughout my life, I’ve felt the pressure of having to define my multiple identities for myself and for others. I love words, yet I know that words often fail us. At times, words are unable to fully encompass who we know ourselves to be. Knowing this, I felt immense empathy for B. Scott when I heard him [B. welcomes the following preferred gender pronouns (PGPs): he/him, she/her, they/their] announce after several years in the media spotlight that he is transgender.

B.’s personal announcement arose in the midst of his “gender identity discrimination” lawsuit against BET. According to B.’s open letter to fans, the network hired him as a red carpet style correspondent at the 2013 BET Awards in June, forced him to change into more masculine attire and ultimately replaced him with Adrienne Bailon, a cis Latina woman (cis is a term used to describe those whose assigned sex at birth aligns with their gender identity). He wrote that the day’s events “made me feel less than and that something was wrong with who I am as a person.”

Though BET released a statement citing “miscommunications from both parties” and stating they “regret any unintentional offense to B. Scott and anyone within the LGBT community and we seek to continue embracing all gender expressions,” B. pushed the network for a “true public apology” and “fair remuneration.” The lawsuit has spawned many headlines, but what struck me is the discourse B.’s transgender revelation has sparked.

“As a society we’ve been conditioned to believe that a person has to be ‘exactly’ this or ‘exactly’ that,” B. wrote, before adding, “My spirit truly lies somewhere in between [male and female]. It is that same spirit that has allowed me to become so comfortable in my skin, choose how I express myself, and contributes to how I live my day-to-day life.”B. cited GLAAD’s definition of transgender, an umbrella term that clusters diverse groups of people (transsexuals, like myself, cross-dressers, gender-variant and genderqueer people and many more) whose gender identity and/or gender expression differs from the sex they were assigned at birth due to the appearance of their genitals, as a catalyst for his announcement.

“It is by that definition that I accept and welcome the ‘transgender’ label with open arms,” B. wrote, igniting discourse, debate and discussion among B.’s adoring fans (whom he calls “Love Muffins”), his detractors and general bystanders within and outside of the trans, queer, wider LGBT community and of course within the overlapping people of color, specifically black community, we both belong to.

I found much of the conversation on both sides to be misguided: Many people seemed reluctant and skeptical about B.’s transgender identity; many trans people questioned whether B. was trans enough or whether his embracing of the transgender label was a ploy for a stronger gender identity case; many fans seemed to be confused by the idea that a previously gay-identified feminine person was now identifying as transgender yet wasn’t seeking to become a woman; and many trans women knew B.’s announcement would further muddy the waters for transsexual women who often combat widely popular images of drag queens, cross-dressers and other male-bodied folks who express femininity.

As a multiracial trans woman of color (I self-identify as a trans woman, though specifically I am a transsexual woman, which is part of the transgender umbrella label), I immediately embraced B. because I understand the journey of self-revelation. His announcement resonated with me on many levels: the idea of gender and trans-ness, the idea of race and blackness, the need to announce who you are to the world, and when that definition collides with others’ perceptions of you then you must defend yourself, your identity and your existence.

It is this very personal journey that framed my conversation with B. about his road towards self-revelation, about what brought him to announce that he is a transgender person, about the conflation of gender and sexuality, about embracing labels, pronouncing self and seeking definitions.Ultimately, I wanted to share space, stories and experiences with B. to show the ways in which our experiences as trans people of color intersect, diverge yet neither of our experiences or identities negate the other.

I hope the transcript of our phone conversation provides clarity on the lived experiences of two openly trans people of color, one a transsexual woman, the other a transgender person whose “spirit truly lies somewhere in between.”

Janet: I assume it must’ve taken you a long time to come to this place of definition, where you’re announcing that you’ve “welcomed the ‘transgender’ label.” What led you to embrace transgender as part of your identity?

B. Scott: I feel my spirit is somewhere in between, so I thought that that in between-ness didn’t fit the term transgender. I thought that because I didn’t want to become a woman that I wasn’t transgender but just a feminine gay man. It was hard to pin down, label and classify myself. I had a lot to learn but when I finally read that transgender also meant “neither or both,” I was like, “Wow, that’s me!” For the first time, I found something I was included in.

J: I definitely resonate with this process of discovery. When I was a tween, I spent a year or so identifying as gay because that was the only label that was available to me. I had no idea that trans, transsexual or transgender existed to describe my experience, so I grasped at the only definition or label available, which described my attraction to boys. My misunderstanding was also reflective of society’s conflation of sexual orientation (your attraction to certain bodies and people) and gender identity (your self-conception, embodiment and expression of gender regardless of assigned sex at birth). How were you able to unpack this?

B: Me being transgender is more about my expression of who I am, and that manifests itself in how I act, how I present myself in terms of hair, makeup, clothing, and my overall essence. My sexuality relates more to what makes my heart flutter. Transgender actually defines me more than my sexuality does. It encompasses my whole essence. It’s how my spirit is presenting itself.

J: After I heard your announcement, I embraced you because I understood your journey of self-revelation. At the same time, I was also cognizant of the vast diversity of the transgender umbrella term, and knew that people would make all kinds of assumptions, like “I thought B. was gay, now he wants to become a woman?”

B: So many people have asked me when am I transitioning and have called me slurs over the years. People have been labeling me as transgender for years. So many transgender girls, some of my Love Muffins, have come up to me and said that they love me and that me being me actually helped them. I believe they saw my gradual self-perception through my videos and saw themselves in me and my journey of discovery. They are my sisters, and so are you, long before I even identified as transgender. It’s funny how God works because over time I was gradually embracing a group of people that in fact included me.

J:I think that many people assume that transgender only means those of us who are transsexual, folks who medically transition. It’s necessary for us to state and embrace the fact that trans people have various relationships with gender. Some people are men, some are women and others refuse to be either and self-determination should be embraced.

B: Exactly! I had a reluctance to label myself period. People have yet to truly accept transgender people, and I am so aware of that. There is just so much work that needs to be done. For a while it’s like I wanted to just be gay because I wanted to be part of the acceptance of gays in America. I asked myself so many times, “Do I really want to make my journey harder?” I feel like Sophia in The Color Purple: “All my life I had to fight!” Because of my experience with BET, it led me to the realization that I am transgender because of my gender identity and expression. It was specifically because of my gender – not my sexuality – that made me a target and I realized that I am not alone in this discrimination and treatment as a trangender person.

J: I want to check my own assumptions and perceptions really quick: I embrace you as a trans feminine person, meaning someone who was assigned male at birth yet expresses and embodies femininity, but don’t let me further label you.

B: I had never heard that term before but I think you’re right. I lean more towards the feminine spectrum, but I do ovulate between masculine and feminine. It just depends on the day, girl!

J: Speaking of femininity, I think it’s necessary for us to have a discussion around the kind of harassment thrown your way. When I walk in the world, I’m often perceived as a mix black cis girl, meaning that my trans-ness is often not leading the way for me but I’m still subject to sexist and racist objectification and harassment. Yet when I was teenager still on my path to womanhood, I was somewhere in the middle, as this femme teen who was called a “sissy,” a “tranny” or a “shim” daily, and that level of violence was equally scary. What has your experience been with others’ perceptions and judgments?

B:People can tell that I am a man and my femininity makes me a target. I’ve heard people say things like, “You’re never gonna be a woman! Look at that jaw line and those hands!” Though the comments hurt me, I also think about my followers who are trans women and how their sense of self is questioned and targeted. For me, I just feel like a man and woman came together and made a hybrid that was me. I know that I am a target because I challenge people’s perceptions. There’s power in that yet there’s also a lot that’s thrown at me too.

J:It’s interesting how much our society devalues people who express femininity. And I can imagine as one who is often read as a gender-nonconforming black man that that must come with its own set of pressures.

B: I never thought I would grow up to be a person that would represent all these identities that would make me part of a very marginalized group of people. But this is part of embracing my truth. This lawsuit will come and go, but my identity will stay and so will the marginalization and ostracizing.

J:I hear people say this often that communities of color, specifically black folks, are more anti-gay, more anti-trans than other communities. I always say that it is not a safe world period to be a trans woman or a gender non-conforming person. I have not witnessed one community that has embraced trans folks, specifically trans feminine folks, as people, so I don’t know where these comparisons come from. Please point out the community where we can all be safe in.

B: Right? It’s like please show me that place so I can go there because even in the gay community there tends to be transphobia, and I witnessed this from some people after I said I am transgender. It hurt that some in the community were judgmental when I thought they’d be more accepting. I expected these people among all to say, “Yes, be who you are!”

J: I’ve noticed similar judgments within the trans community, and I criticized much of the discourse around your statement as misguided on Twitter. I was so conflicted when my dear sister Monica Roberts stated that she won’t “consider” you “part of Team Trans” until you medically transition. It perplexed me as to why she and many others immediately assumed that trans-ness equated to trans womanhood. It was the erasure of genderqueer, non-binary identified folks, gender diverse folks, like yourself, from our community that sparked my need for this conversation. I feel this discussion is the same kind of gender policing that is done to trans people everywhere by folks who don’t believe our identities.

B:I’m surprised by the skepticism about my identity because it took a long gradual process for me to get here, for me to get over the negative imagery associated with the transgender community and own my identity and place and get past it all. I wouldn’t embrace being transgender unless it was my truth. I believe I’m challenging the term and people’s beliefs, but I feel I can only do what’s true for me. I know that I will continue to raise awareness, and I hope that over time that who I am will serve a greater purpose for the community.

J:I myself deal with this daily from all sides, from black folks who say that being trans is “a white thing” or trans folks who say that I’m too “passable” therefore not trans enough to cis folks who say that I will never be a “real” woman. This discussion around authenticity and living your truth is what led me to tell my own story and title my book “Redefining Realness.” Only we can say what is real and what is most authentic to us. We must all learn to trust one another’s experience.

B:I’m just trying to live my best life walking in my truth. I’m used to never fitting in. People have always said something about me. I do love that we’re in the same family on so many levels, Janet, but also different and also understanding one another. I just think that we should all try to love each other a little bit more.

source.

I thought this was a really great interview between queen Janet and B.Scott (perhaps tl;dr for the attention spans of some, but definitely worth reading imo). Both J and B touched on very important issues surrounding race, gender, sexuality, and the idea of authenticity.

Actress Kim Basinger has long been a vocal advocate of animal rights. Basinger collaborated with PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) to fight Seaworld’s plans to capture and import Russian beluga whales. This fight has proved successful: the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration have denied SeaWorld's request to use these beluga whales to restock their parks.

PETA spokesperson Moira Colley commented that Blackfish has been instrumental in changing the public’s perception of captive whales and marine parks:

"Thanks to movies such as Blackfish and PETA's lawsuit against SeaWorld for violating orcas' 13th Amendment right to freedom, people have learned of the rodeo-style capture of whales from their pods in the ocean....Finally, the abusement  parks will close, and the whales and dolphins will be removed from their cement bathtubs and returned to the oceans, where they belong."

Blackfish tells the story of Tilikum, a performing killer whale that killed several people while in captivity. Along the way, director-producer Gabriela Cowperthwaite compiles shocking footage and emotional interviews to explore the creature’s extraordinary nature, the species’ cruel treatment in captivity, the lives and losses of the trainers and the pressures brought to bear by the mulit-billion dollar sea-park industry.

For more information on the film and screenings, visit blackfishmovie.com, and follow the film on Facebook and Twitter

Follow @BlackfishMovie

Source

"Justin, are you listening? Don't be so naughty, yeah? Be a nice boy, pull your trousers up, make your mum proud, yeah?"

– Mark Wahlberg, giving life advice to Justin Bieber, to UK's The Sun
















"I absolutely did not settle."

– Bachelorette Desiree Hartsock, on accepting a proposal from Chris Siegfried after having her heart broken by Brooks Forester, to PEOPLE



















"People have this misconception of me that I'm just one of these kids on TV and that now I go off and party and I'm just this ratchet white girl, and I'm not."

– Miley Cyrus, on her party girl image, to Notion magazine



















"I've seen Michelle tease you about your gray hair. You have a bit of silver in your hair. Do you tease back?"
– Jay Leno, on President Obama's signs of aging, on The Tonight Show


"No. No. That's why we're celebrating our 21st anniversary."

– President Obama, in response
















"Although I appreciate beautiful clothes, I'm not into fashion as people expect me to be."

– Sarah Jessica Parker, on her stylish reputation, to the Daily Express


















"How come when Kanye acts like an idiot he gets a gold record, but when I act like an idiot, I get a police record?"

– Lindsay Lohan, guest hosting on Chelsea Lately



















"If a guy spends more time looking in the mirror than I do, that's a problem!"

– Nina Dobrev, on what she does – and doesn't – look for in a man, to Cosmopolitan
















"I don't see these guys as being on the nose, overtly sexual. We're not doing the Anthony Weiner story here."

– Alan Thicke, defending son Robin's controversial summer hit, "Blurred Lines," to The Canadian Press





















"I'm tired of being famous for a mistake I made when i was 18."

– Chris Brown, Tweeting about his plans to retire after the release of his latest studio album, X
















"Feels so good to be home."

– Lea Michele, on her return to the set of Glee following Corey Monteith's death
OP note:  people.com spelled Cory's name incorrectly














Source:

http://www.people.com/people/gallery/0,,20724229,00.html


HAPPY FRIDAY, ONTD!  :-)   Enjoy your last few weeks of summer!  xoxo