The next time a guy complains about wearing a condom, flash him this picture — a condom made in 1860. The reusable condom is one of the more esoteric items found at the Ohio Historical Society’s “Controversy” exhibition. The rather life-like condom was made from either sheep skin or sheep intestine, and was, like many condoms of the time, designed to be reused. So yeah, Trojans don’t look so bad now, do they?
Cheryl Cohen Greene has devoted the last 40 years of her life to helping others overcome sexual discomfort and dysfunction through her work as a sex surrogate. She’s seen nearly a thousand clients in that time — some of whom she merely touches and shares affection with, others with whom she actually has intercourse – and believes that her work has the power to change lives. Her career also had an impact on her own sex life; she met her husband Bob in 1979 when he came to her as a client, struggling with performance anxiety. Keep reading »
A jewelry store in Greenpoint, Brooklyn (where I live!) is getting the gasface because of a pair of earrings it’s selling. The earrings (pictured), sold at Bejeweled, are being called Nazi earrings, but guess what people? They’re not. Already the story’s appeared on Refinery 29 and in The New York Daily News, with Jewish leaders like State Assemblyman Dov Hikind calling the sale of the earrings “sick, insulting” and “degrading.” Keep reading »
India and Pakistan haven’t exactly been the best of neighbors since, oh, the beginning of time. (Something to do with who claims ownership over the territory of Kashmir, which lies in the geographic middle of the two countries). The latest breach between the two? A Pakistani model claims that the Indian version of lad mag FHM doctored a photo of her to make it appear as though she were nude on the cover of its latest issue. Keep reading »
What’s in a swimsuit? Well, if it’s got an image of the Hindu goddess Lakshmi on it, apparently a lot. Hindus are outraged after Australian designer Lisa Blue trotted a suit with an image of Lakshmi, the Hindu goddess of love and abundance, down the runway in her recent spring 2011 show during Australian Fashion Week. In response to the suit, members of right-wing Hindi group Shiv Sena burned the Australian flag, believing that it is inappropriate to use Hindu deities or concepts for commercial usage. Lisa Blue has already vowed that the suit will never be made for sale. Keep reading »
Oh, Abercrombie and Fitch. We never took the preppy clothing company as the arbiter of good taste and class, but we think they’ve perhaps gone way over the line by producing a collection of girls’ bathing suit tops–aimed at ages 8 to 14–with padded bras included. Just what, pray tell, does a little kid need with a padded bra, A&F? Who thought this was a good idea? Your company already gets accused–over and over again–of oversexualizing young teens and children, and this certainly isn’t helping to improve your already-sullied reputation. Keep reading »
Sad news: Sylvie Cachay, the designer behind swimwear line SYLVA, was found dead yesterday in a hotel room at the Soho House, a swank members-only hangout in Manhattan’s meatpacking district. The sad scenario sounds either highly suspicious or the making of a bad accident—the 33-year-old woman was discovered submerged in the room’s bathtub. Her body showed some bruises, which police are trying to identify the causes of (strangling, for example). She had checked into the room with her younger boyfriend, who had been described as a deadbeat with a hard partying side. The couple had apparently been fighting or had just broken up before her death. He was not in the room when Cachay was found and denies any connection with the death.
A tragic loss for the fashion world. Cachay was a rising star who was getting attention at Fashion Week for her luxe swimwear designs. [New York Daily News] Keep reading »
Barbie just can’t seem to get a break, despite celebrating her 50th birthday this month. A West Virginia lawmaker, Democrat Jeff Eldridge, has proposed the Ban Barbie Bill because he believes dolls like this place too much importance on physical beauty, and not enough on intellectual and emotional development. “I just hate the image that we give to our kids that if you’re beautiful, you’re beautiful and you don’t have to be smart,” said Eldridge. Other dolls that are believed to send this message will also be banned if the bill is passed. Eldridge admits some Barbie dolls, like Doctor Barbie and Veterinary Barbie, are better, but would nevertheless be outlawed in West Virginia also. Forget the fact that Eldridge is perpetuating a sexist double standard — action figures teach little boys that aggression, physical prowess, and weapons trump intellect. If he’s looking to place blame for kids thinking beauty is the be all and end all, maybe he should look at the parents in his own state, where mothers enter their daughters in pageants like the “Toddlers & Tiaras“-featured Southern Celebrity Beauty Pageant in Charleston, West Virginia. These mothers primp, bleach, and tan their daughters, as young as six months, into sashaying and dancing living dolls. That’s got to be more damaging than child play. [MSNBC.com] Keep reading »
This converted mannequin created by Detroit-based designer Bob Turek is causing quite the blogosphere kerfuffle. In case you’re not clear as to what the heck is going on here, Turek remixed a mannequin torso into an MP3 player. Ergo, those are speakers in her boobs, plugged in care of her hoo-ha. As Turek explains: “As part of my object remix series, this stereo forces the music source into the center of attention and creates a radically new user interface.” Interface. Is that what the kids are calling it these days? Unfortunately, some people — some ladies — aren’t too happy with Turek’s transforming the female form into a stereo. Jezebel cries misogyny: “[I]t’s a headless, armless woman whose breasts and vagina are being used to provide power and sound for trivial things.” Boing Boingers are going at it in the comments: “Woman as a faceless functional object. That’s not such a new idea.” I think it’s much ado about nothing. I call for a commenter catfight! Keep reading »
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