Lauren Tuck

Alana Thompson is a 10-year-old girl from McIntyre, Ga. Her favorite color is pink, she loves chicken nuggets, and she has such a hilariously unfiltered sense of humor that she landed her own reality show before she lost all her baby teeth. Otherwise known as “Honey Boo Boo,” Thompson shot to fame after becoming the breakout star on Toddlers and Tiaras, a series following beauty pageant contestants behind the scenes prepping for competitions. While her life is in the spotlight, that doesn’t discount the fact that she’s still just a kid. So the reality that a meme is currently being circulated fat-shaming her is pretty despicable. 

First spotted on the Instagram page @girlwithnojob, the image shows Thompson lifting up her shirt and showing off her stomach to the camera in a snapshot taken from an interview she gave on Here Comes Honey Boo Boo. The text reads: “Summer is coming … crap.” 

It should be noted that Claudia Oshry, the woman who curates @girlwithnojob, did not create the post herself, and she wrote in the caption, “She looks pretty good tbh.” The image has been circulating around the Internet for some time, yet Oshry is the first with such a large readership — she boasts 2 million followers — to publicize it. In the short time the post has been live, it’s amassed more than 30,000 likes and 15,000 comments, many of which are from individuals tagging their friends as a source of fitspo.

Regardless of who originated the meme or how users are interacting with it, the fact that a child — even one in the public eye — is being subjected to this kind of negative body talk is pretty alarming. Sure, the entire Thompson family has found success by willingly submitting themselves to be laughed at by the TV-watching American public, but that’s no excuse for appropriating an adolescent’s image for a laugh. 

Thompson has already experienced the dark side of fame and body image. Abby Lee Miller, the Dance Moms matriarch, admitted to TMZ a few years ago that Honey Boo Boo “needs to get in shape. She needs to be at a dance studio. She needs to be training. She needs to work on her turnout.” In 2015, on an episode of The Doctors, the hosts staged an “intervention” for Thompson’s mother, “Mama June” Shannon, instructing her that she needed to get her daughter’s weight under control. Additionally, hundreds — possibly thousands — of GIFs, clips, and pics from the reality series have been adopted for jokes at Thompson’s expense. 

The meme might serve as inspiration for young co-eds to cut their caloric intake in order to look better in a bikini, but it certainly doesn’t help Thompson. In fact, a study showed that being labeled fat doesn’t spur weight loss. 

So maybe don’t fat-shame a kid — or anyone, for that matter. 

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Melissa McCarthy and Ben Falcone at the world premiere of The Boss at the Regency Village Theatre on Monday, March 28, 2016, in Los Angeles. (Photo: AP)

Undeniably, Melissa McCarthy is fashionable, but have you seen her husband? 

At the premiere of The Boss on Monday night, the actress wore an iridescent pleated maxi skirt with a white blouse featuring a tie front that showed just the slightest bit of skin. Her hair was curled in a messy yet put-together way and her red painted lips juxtaposed nicely with the muted tones of her ensemble. In short, she looked stunning. 

As a fashion designer, it’s clear that McCarthy understands what works best for her body, choosing separates that flaunt her curves and angles in all the right places.  

Just look at how well Falcone mixes prints. (Photo: AP)

But let’s take a moment to appreciate her husband, Ben Falcone. Apparently, he knows a thing or two about the art of putting together a perfect look as well. Obviously, the Fashion Institute of Technology graduate has taught her man a few styling lessons. The fellow actor wore a tan suit with blue checks. He paired the simply patterned separates with a blue floral button down. Taking cues from street style stars, Falcone accessorized with a dark blue tie and a purple paisley pocket square. Even his shoes, light blue loafers with cognac leather detailing, were on theme. 

So it seems, the student has matched the teacher. 

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“Today I found myself the subject of an Internet meme. Not for the first time. This one, however, stands out from the rest,” Wentworth Miller wrote on Facebook. (Photo: Facebook)

For Selena Gomez, Gigi Hadid, Ariel Winter, and more female celebrities, body shaming is just a part of the job, a prerequisite for being a public persona. But their male counterparts, on the other hand, can pack on pounds without a whiff of derision. The dad bod fad even fetishizes those — including Jason Segel, Chris Pratt (before his Guardians of the Galaxy makeover), Leonardo DiCaprio, and others — whose six packs have ballooned into beer bellies. While this double standard is rampant, that doesn’t mean that men are completely immune from the same distasteful body talk their counterparts incessantly face. Case in point: Wentworth Miller. 

The actor, known for his role on Prison Break, was recently made into a meme by The Lad Bible, an online community for millennial men. The viral post, which was shared on the site’s Facebook page, featured side-by-side images of the actor: on the left, a photo of him shirtless, a promo photo for the series (the show aired on Fox from 2005 to 2009), showing off fake tattoos and ripped muscles; on the right, a paparazzi image taken while he was on a hike in Los Angeles in 2010. The caption reads, “When you break out of prison and find out about McDonald’s monopoly…”

Miller, 44, came across the composite and explained on his own Facebook page that this isn’t the first time he’s been subjected to fat shaming, but this one stands out from other incidents due to the fact that he was suicidal — a subject he’s since been very open about — at the time the latter image was taken. “Ashamed and in pain, I considered myself damaged goods. And the voices in my head urged me down the path to self-destruction. Not for the first time,” he wrote. “In 2010, at the lowest point in my adult life, I was looking everywhere for relief/comfort/distraction. And I turned to food. It could have been anything. Drugs. Alcohol. Sex. But eating became the one thing I could look forward to. Count on to get me through.” 

The first time the photo of Miller in the red T-shirt was published, it was used in the tabloids with such headlines as "Hunk To Chunk" and “Fit To Flab.” Now that it’s cropping up again, it reminds him of not only his struggles but also “endurance and my perseverance in the face of all kinds of demons. Some within. Some without.”

By distributing the photo himself, Miller managed to shift the conversation. “The first time I saw this meme pop up in my social media feed, I have to admit, it hurt to breathe,” he explained. “But as with everything in life, I get to assign meaning. And the meaning I assign to this/my image is Strength. Healing. Forgiveness.” The LAD Bible apologized, admitting that “mental health is no joke or laughing matter” and conceded that Miller “responding head-on to our post is something we applaud as it will help others through similar challenges in their lives.”

The exchange not only draws attention to how cruel memes can be, that the faces appropriated for a laugh aren’t anonymous, but it also highlights the fact that men share the weight shaming experience with women — they just experience it differently. Whereas the aforementioned females have found it in themselves to speak out against the negative narrative regarding their figures, their counterparts seem to suffer in silence. Take Rob Kardashian and Jonah Hill as examples. They’re each routinely bullied in the press for their bodies, but remain silent and stoic (Kardashian even depends on the women in his life — his mother, sisters, and girlfriend — to fight his battles).

As body image expert Heather Quinlan explains to Yahoo Style, “Women and men are both impacted by social, cultural, and internal pressures to look a certain way, and for both genders those pressures may contribute to difficulties with self-esteem, body image, depression, anxiety, etc.” Whereas women are consistently advised throughout their lives to speak up about injustices, men are conditioned to be stoic and tough. “It may be more difficult for a man to admit that his feelings were hurt because someone criticized his appearance, since it’s often difficult for men to openly discuss emotional vulnerability and self-esteem.”

Miller, however, poured his heart out. And by doing so, he likely made himself feel better — and highlighted the contradictory nature of body conversations.

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As one commenter pointed out: “Except you make no clothes that would fit her.” (Photo: @topshop/Instagram)

Adele is so hot right now that she’s basically like an eternal flame with hungry moths salivating around her. While the singer famously shuns endorsement deals, that hasn’t prevented companies from attempting to profit off of her image. Most recently, Topshop wrote an appreciation post on the company’s blog praising the multi-talented artist. Undoubtedly, Adele’s loved — so how did this article become embroiled in controversy? By inadvertently pointing out one of the brand’s biggest flaws: its lack of size diversity.   

To promote the story on social media, the retailer tweeted, “2, 4, 6, 8, who do we appreciate? @Adele!” While cute, many were quick to point out the irony. “12, 14, 16, 18, make some clothes real people fit in,” Ben Swattermain replied. Cat Shannon added, “18, 20, 22 — these sizes ain’t included by you.” Sophie Tassew told Topshop, “I thought you were just listing the sizes of clothes you make but I appreciate her too.” And Jennifer noted that obviously Topshop doesn’t appreciate her “enough to, you know, make clothes she could wear? Ouch.”  

Topshop has run into similar trouble before. Beth Ditto was approached by the company to perform at the opening of its flagship in London a few years ago, but turned down the business opportunity. “I don’t think it’s fair to put my face somewhere where they would never let me in there to wear their clothes,” the singer shared in a blog post. “They don’t want to dress people that look like me, that have a normal body, a bigger body, whatever.” She even offered to design the clothes herself. 

Some clothiers in the same class as Topshop, such as H&M and Forever21, have aligned with the times and introduced plus and extended sizes. Yet Topshop still, generally, only offers items up to a size 12. 

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Jeremy Scott’s cowboy boot sneaker hybrids for adidas. (Photo: Courtesy)

A few years ago, as Jeremy Scott gifted the world with the hybrid shoe no one ever wanted or needed: a cowboy boot sneaker. In a collaboration with adidas, the designer who has made pants embellished with teddy bears, butterfly winged track jackets, and Windex-shaped phone cases, actually sold shoes to “get you rodeo-ready.” 

When the style made its grand debut in 2012, the $300 Jeremy Scott Mega Soft Cell Boot was mercilessly mocked on the Internet. Who’s really in the market for cowboy boot sneakers? Or boot sneakers in general? Even daring street style stars who live by the mantra “I’ll try anything once” wouldn’t dare slip on a pair. Broncos also bucked the trend. 

Tony Lama basketball sneakers in the wild. (Photo: reddit)

But now, lest anyone’s forgotten this momentous piece fashion history, it seems there’s been a change of heart amongst the gaucho demographic. Tony Lama Boots, headquartered in Southwest Texas and “the world’s most legendary western boot brand” since 1911, has knocked off Scott’s design. 

Spotted by someone somewhere and posted to the Internet, the photographic evidence shows the boots in the wild — and on sale for $199.99. What a bargain! Interestingly, according to reddit user C-Basstian, the shoes are called Tenniboots and they’ve been around for a long time, making Scott the copycat. “I have only seen one guy wearing them. A 300lbs teamster truck driver in the break room at my previous work about a decade ago.” 

Imitation might be the sincerest form of flattery — just maybe not in this case. 

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Losing her innocence? Zoella’s “offending” Snapchat. (Photo: Screenshot)

Think of Zoella as the Bethany Mota of Europe. The young Brit is one of the continent’s biggest vloggers with more than 10 million YouTube subscribers, 4.4 million Twitter followers, and countless additional fans across various other social media networks. The 25-year-old streams her life — from applying her makeup in the morning to washing it off at night. And before going to bed on Wednesday, she shared a selfie on Snapchat wearing a white shirt and black Calvin Klein underwear. The photo is innocent enough, she’s flashing a little middriff and some of her thigh; but still she’s come under fire for “abandoning her morals” and being a poor influence on young fans. 

Zoe Sugg, her real name, was bashed by The Sun andDaily Mail for ditching her “squeaky clean image” and therefore damaging her innocent image. One girl suggested that she doesn’t know Suggs anymore and seeing her in her underwear has shifted the positive identity. 

In response, the influencer tweeted, “Bloody morons. Writing about my PJ’s when there are SERIOUS things happening all over the world. SMH.” She continued, "I hope one day we will live in a world where promoting self love & body confidence won’t be sexualised or shamed.“ Not only did she stand up for herself, but her legions of supporters stood by her by posting photos of themselves in similar positions with the hashtag #WeStandWithZoe. 

It’s interesting that Zoella’s character was questioned in a scandal involving virtuosity. Compared with most of her peers — those in the United Kingdom and United States — she really is more righteous. If Kylie or Kendall Jenner, Bella or Gigi Hadid, or even Mota posed in that way, they’d probably be lauded for looking hot and taking a selfie sans makeup. And isn’t wearing a long-sleeved white shirt and thick-banded black underwear while obscured by a down comforter less revealing than being in a bikini? Celebrities and regular people alike show more skin than Zoella did on a regular basis and yet somehow evade international condemnation. Role models should probably be praised for inspiring legions of people — not dragged down for doing something totally commonplace. 

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Being the first lady comes with a lot of responsibility. And while being a trendsetter certainly pales in comparison to the weight of attempting to curb the childhood obesity problem in the United States or getting kids moving, dressing fashionably is part of the job. A few years into her husband’s presidency, Michelle Obama has already set herself apart from her predecessors, bringing a modern edge — and even J. Crew — to the White House. She’s also a political dresser, conscientiously picking labels to fit with occasions, from wearing a custom Vera Wang gown for a state dinner hosting Chinese President Xi Jinping and Tadashi Shoji when Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and his wife Akie Abe came to Washington to Missoni in Italy and Preen in England. 

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Michelle Obama in a dusty rose dress with President Barack Obama, President of Argentina Mauricio Macri, and First Lady of Argentina Juliana Awada at a state dinner in Buenos Aires, Argentina. 

Pretty enough to party! Michelle Obama trotted out her flirtiest piece to dance the tango with a professional. She shimmied and shined! Photo: Reuters 

Michelle Obama wearing a Narciso Rodriguez dress as the first family exits Air Force One in Argentina. 

Following a few monumental days in Cuba, President Obama & co. moved onto Argentina, continuing the family’s epic spring break. The first lady looked to designer Narciso Rodriguez, a favorite of hers, for the flight, opting for a navy blue dress with an abstract motif. Photo: AP

Michelle Obama in Naeem Khan with President Barack Obama and Cuban President Raul Castro at the Palace of the Revolution in Havana, Cuba.

To attend a state dinner hosted by Cuban President Raul Castro, Michelle Obama dressed for her surroundings in a floral print Naeem Khan midi dress. Photo: AP

Michelle Obama wearing a floral dress from Carolina Herrera upon arriving in Cuba. 

For the first time in nine decades, an American president and his family are visiting Cuba. The Obamas probably expected to be greeted with sunshine, so they dressed for the tropical climate. Instead, it was pouring rain and the first lady’s floral dress from Carolina Herrera wasn’t weather appropriate. Luckily, she had her chivalrous husband to protect her from the storm. Photo: AP

Around April Fools’ Day each year, American Eagle stages an elaborate prank. Once, when the skinny jeans craze was at its peak, the company pretended to sell spray-on denim, and last year, the brand introduced a line of fake clothes for dogs. (But the joke was really on American Eagle, because it ended up putting the line into production.) So it’s a little fishy that just a week before the holiday, the company has come out with #AerieMan, a line of underwear being promoted by untraditional models. 

Meet models Kelvin and Devon — they’re real dudes. (Photo: Courtesy)

But this is most certainly not a joke — and there are products on sale, including underwear, classic briefs, and boxers, to prove it. Drawing on the same ethos employed by its wildly successful women’s campaign, Aerie Man cast relatable guys: those with dad bods, beer bellies, and body hair. According to the campaign, #AerieMan is a celebration of real men who love themselves inside and out. Even more, none of the images are retouched. 

So relatable: Doug has chest hair, and Matt wears glasses. (Photo: Courtesy) 

Four dudes — Devon, Doug, Matt, and Kelvin — stripped down to their undergarments to front the new collection. “I don’t mind that I won’t be retouched,” Matt, the blond man with a bangin’ bod, admitted. “I feel that everyone should be comfortable in their own skin.” Kelvin, a style blogger with an affinity for fedoras, hopes that by sharing his unretouched photos, he’ll inspire other people to feel good about themselves enough to share their own. “Personally, style has made me more confident in life. If you don’t have the confidence in what you wear, it’s going to show.” 

But while it’s all good and great that these “normal” men represent #AerieMan, the brand falls short in promoting its ideology through and through. All the products on the website are featured on chiseled male models. Only Matt, who can be identified by the tattoo underneath his left peck, is pictured. Devon, Doug, and Kelvin don’t get the honor of showing off the goods. 

Unfortunately, while attempting to shatter stereotypes, double standards, and promote “real men” over models, this one slip-up backfired, and these efforts become overshadowed. Aerie is instead perpetuating these practices it spiritedly attempted to dispel. 

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Sasha Obama looks super bored in front of a painting of Abraham Lincoln in the Museum of the City of Havana during a walking tour of historic Old Havana. (Photo: Getty Images)

For spring break, President Obama had his daughters accompany him on a history-making trip to Cuba. Cabo wasn’t in the cards for the first kids. Despite the rain upon the family’s arrival, they wasted no time post disembarking Air Force One to set off on a walking tour of Old Havana. 

Malia Obama loves learning — and her dad. (Photo: AP) 

Based solely on photographic evidence, it’s obvious that Malia, who is definitely studious and headed to an Ivy League college in the fall, is Daddy’s little girl. If she isn’t actually enjoying learning about Cuba’s culture, she’s pretending to for her parents — and the cameras. The 17-year-old dressed in a sweet floral dress and sensible white sneakers, ready for a day of touring. 

Sasha is cool — just look at her clothes! She probably begged her parents to chill with the legacy-making activities and just book another trip to Hawaii so she can sneak-visit her old chum at the tiki lounge, who tells Secret Service agents her piña colada is virgin when it’s really been spiked with Malibu rum. While she might not appreciate her surroundings, as Jenna and Laura Bush urged her to do, at least she looks great pouting. At the Museum of the City of Havana, where her dad totally geeked out on a portrait of Abraham Lincoln (like, so embarrassing), the 14-year-old put on her best “teen angst” face and posed. 

Sasha Obama, wearing OTK suede boots and a long black sweater, is so over it. (Photo: Getty Images)

In the coolest outfit combination of the past few seasons, dressy and casual, Sasha paired her LBD from Shoshanna ($385) with flatform sneakers. She accessorized with a black choker and ironed her hair straight. 

Day two in Cuba. Sunshine but no smiles. Photo: AP)

On day two, the sun came out, but instead of flirting with cute Cubans on the beach, the sisters attended a tree dedication ceremony and an MLB Exhibition game between the Tampa Bay Rays and the Cuban National Team. Sasha paired a light pink Tory Burch skirt with a blue and red striped boxy top, showing off her skilled mixing and matching abilities. 

Life for a first daughter following eight years in the White House has historically gone a few different ways. There are the artists, philanthropists, entrepreneurs, television personalities, and authors. But all evidence points to the fact that Sasha will become the first daughter of fashion. In the past few months, she has surpassed her mother as the most stylish Obama, showing off ensembles — an off-the-shoulder blouse in Italy, knee-high socks at Christmas, and a Naeem Khan gown at a state dinner — that not only make other schoolgirls writhe with jealousy but garner similar sentiments from grown women as well. 

A crystal ball predicting the future could likely show that in just a few years, Sasha will attend Pratt or the Fashion Institute of Technology. She’ll intern at Elle.com (because print is so dead), her Snapchat username will become public, and she’ll reach Kylie Jenner levels of popularity. She’ll usurp Gigi Hadid as the fashion girl to follow, she’ll become Rihanna’s muse — she’s already got RiRi’s Fenty vibe down — and she’ll be a front-row fixture at Fashion Week. While Anna Wintour has been trying to get the girls on the cover of Vogue since 2009, she’ll presumably succeed and give the youngest Obama a solo cover as her big society debut. 

Sasha might be frowning now — but there’s only smizing in her future. 

Editor’s note: This article’s intention is not to condone underage drinking. 

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Swim leggings are apparently a thing now. (Photo: Courtesy)

Apparently leggings have no limits. The style, once reserved for women working out at home to Jane Fonda jazzercise videos or in the comfort of a yoga studio, has transcended the exercise realm to become an acceptable silhouette nearly everywhere. The rise of athleisure has brought spandex to the streets, and now Target wants to take leggings to the sea — seriously. 

Target’s latest collaboration with Finnish pattern company Marimekko introduced the consumer to an innovation in legwear: the swim legging. Selling for $24.00 when the collection drops on April 17, the pants will be available in the brand’s black and white floral Paprika print and blue and white wave-like Lokki print. They’re available in regular and extended sizes. 

“A majority of the apparel focuses on swimwear as it ties back to the idea of creating an eternal summer,” Target explained. “The swim leggings are a different take on the traditional full body wetsuit and can be paired with the long-sleeve rash guard tops that are part of the collection as well.” 

Target isn’t the first retailer to try and make swim leggings happen. Companies focusing on water sports such as Roxy, Billabong, and BodyGlove have recently introduced surf leggings, but these are generally produced in wetsuit material for cold water use. Lands’ End, Athleta, and Speedo also sell styles marketed for kayakers and paddle-boarders who are working out on the water but not necessarily in it. 

So is there a market for swim leggings? Possibly. For those who crave modesty at the beach but yearn for something lighter than neoprene one-pieces, surf tights certainly offer this. Outside of this niche audience though, that consumer group might be slim. 

But considering leggings have defied all odds to become a wardrobe staple for women everywhere, it’s entirely possible that Target’s onto something. Will beaches be filled with women wearing tights with bikini tops? Summer can’t come soon enough. 

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