Instagram Plans to Strengthen Ban on Pro-Eating Disorder Content
According to the BBC, Instagram plans to go beyond its initial ban of pro-eating disorderhashtags (which we won’t mention here so as not to perpetuate the problem) and will start monitoring the loopholes people have discovered to post triggering content. Now, Instagram has indicated it has made some slight misspellings of common pro-eating disorder tags unsearchable. Previously, the correct spellings of the hashtags weren’t searchable or would issue content warnings, but the misspellings that people used to circumvent the ban would reportedly populate in the search field’s suggestions, basically directing people to the illicit content.
Claire Mysko, CEO of The National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA), told Teen Vogue that pro-eating disorder images on social media can perpetuate a problem.
“Eating disorders are complex illnesses that stem from a variety of biological, psychological, and social factors. It is important to note that social media does not cause eating disorders, but it can amplify eating disordered thoughts, behaviors, and traits, including comparison and perfectionism,” Mysko said. “Unfortunately, far too many accounts — celebrities, companies, and everyday people — share ‘thinspiration,’ and more recently 'fitspiration,’ images. Some influencers also get paid to promote dangerous weight loss products that promote unhealthy behaviors and unrealistic body standards. The use of editing apps and filters also contributes to unrealistic appearance ideals, which can result in low self-esteem and body image.”
📸: Lydia Ortiz
(Source: teenvogue.com)
Netflix Original Christmas Movies: A Guide to the Cheesy Holiday Flicks
If you’ve looked even slightly in the direction of Twitter this holiday season, you’re sure to have seen memes, quips, and tirades about the wonderfully goofy slate of Christmas movies on Netflix. First came 2017’s A Christmas Prince and its penchant for bad journalism and Converse shoes paired with ball gowns. It was promptly joined by small-town charmer Christmas Inheritance. And this year, Netflix added a royal sequel and two new stories to its holiday collection: A Christmas Prince: The Royal Wedding, The Princess Switch, and The Holiday Calendar. The latter two even shamelessly (and hilariously) reference their sisters in holiday rom-com-dom by having the lead characters literally flip through Netflix and watch last year’s flicks.
These movies, and their brazenly ridiculous plots and details, couldn’t be more perfect for the second most basic holiday of the year (Halloween is the first, obvi) if they were replaced with a 24-hour loop of Mariah Carey’s “All I Want For Christmas Is You” wafting over a never-ending fountain of Peppermint Mochas and a field of perfectly Instagrammable snowflake sugar cookies. But, in case you’ve yet to wade in the schmaltzy waters of the Netflix original holiday movie landscape, here’s a rundown of what you can expect when you’re ready to throw caution to the wind, sprinkle some red sugar crystals on top of your perfect hot cocoa, snuggle up with the coziest blanket you can find, and marathon these festive flicks.
The Royal Original: A Christmas Prince
This is the movie that started a phenomenon. It made sense that Netflix would start producing its own original holiday films, but I don’t think anyone was prepared for the cheesy wonder of this royal caper. Our heroine, native New Yorker and Converse-enthusiast Amber Moore (iZombie star Rose McIver) gets the assignment of a lifetime: to report on the potential abdication of the throne in the country of Aldovia (not a real place, but fictionally exists somewhere in Europe) and through a series of totally avoidable mishaps, winds up going undercover in the castle to get a scoop. The only problem? The titular prince (played by Ben Lamb), who’s been billed as a partier and a playboy in the media, is actually the sweetest, most charitable, rom-com-iest dreamboat around and she starts falling for him. (If you sense a similarity to a certain red-headed English prince’s life, you wouldn’t be totally wrong.)
This movie literally has it all. There’s action: the movie lovingly rips a page out of the Beauty and the Beast playbook and has the prince save Amber from wolves attacking her in the woods. There’s friendship: Amber befriends the prince’s little sister, who is the requisite wise child that is needed in every cheesy holiday rom-com. There are inexplicable moments: my favorite is when Amber has a rational conversation with her horse about going back to the castle (this is not a magical horse that is somehow able to answer back). There’s drama: the prince’s ex-girlfriend and cousin team up to attempt to steal his crown after suspiciously sneering throughout the first half of the movie. And of course, there’s romance. And if that wasn’t enough, the prince’s coronation and his eventual big sweeping kiss with Amber all coincide with Christmas, a.k.a. the single most important day of the year in Aldovia, the most Christmas-obsessed country of all time.
The Small Town Romance: Christmas Inheritance
All of Netflix’s holiday offerings are clear nods to the corny holiday movie inventors over at Hallmark, but Christmas Inheritance is the biggest nod of all. It has the classic “City Girl Out of Place In a Small Town” played by The 100’s Eliza Taylor and a glass ceiling-busting twist in which the city girl doesn’t give up her ambition to be a CEO, and still gets to win over the guy. Plus, it doesn’t skimp on the ridiculous antics we expect from a holiday movie of this sorts.
“Party Heiress” Ellen Langford is in danger of not getting her Christmas inheritance, which is to become CEO of her father’s company, all because she secured a huge donation for Toys For Tots by doing a somersault on a dare at a classy party. (It really would appear that the net gain here is more money for charity, which is good, but the local papers and Ellen’s father don’t seem to agree. Also, doesn’t help that she flips right into a Christmas tree and knocks it over.) So, in order to prove that she can run the company, Ellen’s dad sends her on an errand to Snow Falls, the town in which he started his company. He gives her the unfathomable amount of $100 to pay her way and takes all of her credit cards, which gives her the opportunity to run out of money and show her true colors to small town hunk Jake by helping out around the town and baking with his marvelously wise aunt. But her quaint little holiday is disrupted when her stuck-up, snooty fiancé shows up. And along the way, we get to enjoy hearing the lyrics of “We Wish You A Merry Christmas” changed to “We wish you a crazy Christmas, We wish you a naughty Christmas,” the answer to the question “Can you blow up a vacuum by sucking up a pair of boxers into it?” (the answer, in this universe, is a resounding “yes”), and the meanest, most self-obsessed romantic rival who makes Gaston look good.
📸: Composite. Courtesy of Netflix
(Source: teenvogue.com)
The Russia Investigation Is Almost Over. Here’s What You Need to Know
As special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into President Donald Trump and his campaign’s ties to Russia finally wraps up, a lot has been uncovered. The more-than-a-year-long probe by the special counsel has revealed a lot about the 2016 presidential election and beyond, but a report has not been released in full, so many questions remain.
As detailed by Vox, 33 people have either been indicted or pleaded guilty to election interference, five of whom are former Trump advisers. More than two dozen Russians were charged with interfering in the 2016 election by using social media and email hacking as a result, too. And a leaked document suggests that longtime Trump adviser Roger Stone and Trump were in contact when WikiLeaks published the 20,000 Democratic National Convention emails, despite Trump’s lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, saying otherwise. Another hot question that this report will likely touch on in some capacity is the amount of culpability Trump assumes for Russian interference. From the beginning of Mueller’s probe, it was unclear if Trump would even be part of the impending subpoenas and investigations. But after 10 months of negotiating for an interview with the president, we now know there will be some mention of the commander in chief.
The whole thing is a hot mess and there are a lot of moving parts. But that’s why we’re here: Below, you’ll find a breakdown of what has happened in the investigation so far and what people are saying about what’s to come.
1. It all started in 2016 when Trump was up for election.
The presidential election year was bizarre. Following the WikiLeaks scandal of 2016, the U.S. intelligence community started looking into Russia’s role in influencing the outcome of the election. They were involved heavily, according to U.S. intelligence officials, who announced in December of 2016 they had “a high level of confidence” that Russian President Vladimir Putin actually ordered a covert operation to interfere with the presidential election. In light of information related to Russia’s interference, then President Barack Obama ordered new sanctions against Russia. As this all unfolded, Trump and Putin’s relationship continued to raise eyebrows as Trump repeatedly tweeted out his support and compliments toward the Russian president. Trump also repeatedly denied involvement between his campaign and Russia.
2. Robert Mueller was then put in charge of investigating Russia’s role in the election.
In May 2017, Robert Mueller was named special counsel of a Russia investigation. Previously, Mueller led inquiries into al-Qaida and worked as a senior prosecutor under the late president George H.W. Bush.
📸: Getty Images
(Source: teenvogue.com)
Serena Williams in Conversation With Naomi Wadler on Power, Activism, and Black Girl Magic
It’s the last month of 2018, but it’s my first cover as the Editor-in-Chief of Teen Vogue. As a former Teen Vogue intern, I couldn’t be more excited to be helming this great brand and taking it into the future.
When I interviewed for this role with Anna Wintour, Condé Nast’s artistic director, she asked me several questions, including what makes me angry — which is a question I’ve spent a great deal of time thinking about. My answer was simple: everything. My career as a fashion editor has been filled with questions about why I can’t just stick to pretty things and why I have to make so much noise.
As I wrap my head around what it means to be the youngest black Editor-in-Chief at a major publication, at 28 years old, I can’t help but think how fitting it is that my first cover is a conversation I had with Serena Williams and Naomi Wadler at our recent Teen Vogue Summit. As I stood on that stage with the inimitable, 23-time Grand Slam champion and mother, and with a passionate and relentless 12-year-old-activist, I realized that though we are worlds apart, all three of us as black women have had to reconcile our anger with our identity. I also realized that all of us were working to use our voices to make change.
My mother once told me that to sustain myself in this industry, I would have to be what I needed when I was younger. So here we are — Serena in cornrows for the first time on a cover, in conversation with two young black girls just trying to figure out our magic.
Transcript has been edited and condensed for clarity.
Lindsay Peoples Wagner: There are so many things I want to ask both of you, but one of the immediate things that comes to mind is how you’ve both taken a lot of risks in your personal and professional lives. Why have you been so willing to take risks and speak out, whether about activism or being a woman of color?
Naomi Wadler: Okay, so I want to do all of the events that I do right until I am about to go onstage, because that is when I am like —
LPW: You nervous?
NW: It’s just great to be able to have the platform that I have, and that Serena has, and that you have, because not everybody has those platforms, and so part of that is being able to lift up other voices, and so that it’s not just somebody who is famous, or well known, or just a public figure.
Serena Williams: You put that really well. We’re in a position where we have the opportunity to use our status and our social network, and to use different platforms that we are on and that we can talk about it, ‘cause a lot of people see what we post and see the things that we write. And although it’s so fun to have the opportunity to post lots of fun things, I also find it really important to post and talk about real items that affect us on a day-to-day basis.
LPW: Both of you have a lot of participation in different organizations, and, Serena, you have a clothing line now. How do you manage all of those different things? Naomi, you can start.
NW: Okay, so I am managing it pretty horribly, but I mean —
LPW: I’m sure you’re not.
NW: I am. But the key is just to keep going and to recognize that it can only get better from here. Just keeping that mindset of, I’m going to keep going, I’m going to trudge on. It does matter, because it’s important work, but it also is just… what’s the word I’m looking for? OK, there’s not a word for what I’m trying to say, but I want you all to try and imagine.
(Source: teenvogue.com)
A Teen Died After Reportedly Being Shocked by His Headphones
It’s hard to walk down the street without seeing someone wearing headphones. We wear them while doing basically everything, from working out to studying — even sleeping. But for a teen in Malaysia, this common practice turned deadly.
According to the New Straits Times, Mohd Aidi Azzhar Zahrin, 16, was recently found dead and bleeding from the ear. Authorities reportedly believe the boy was wearing headphones connected to a mobile phone, all while the mobile phone was charging. According to the New Straits Times, an autopsy revealed the boy died as a result of electrocution.
Vice pointed out this isn’t the first time someone has died seemingly as a result of electric shock while wearing headphones. In fact, Mohd is at least the fourth person to be killed by an electric shock from headphones just this year, along with a 17-year-old from Brazil and two people from India. Some of these deaths have reportedly been attributed to a surge of electricity through the charger. Other nonfatal cases have been documented as well. According to Yahoo, a Pittsburgh woman heard a zap from her headphones and felt a shock in her mouth earlier this year. She ripped the headphones out, but her lips were reportedly swollen and she had a metallic taste in her mouth.
📸: Getty Images
(Source: teenvogue.com)
“Dumplin’” Star Danielle Macdonald on the Power of Willowdean, Overcoming Self-Doubt, and Embracing the Movie’s Message
It’s only a matter of time before Danielle Macdonald becomes a household name. The Australian actor stole the show at last year’s Sundance Film Festival with her stirring performance as Patricia Dombrowski (aka Patti Cake$), an unlikely aspiring rapper from New Jersey gunning for hip-hop fame in the Geremy Jasper-directed film, Patti Cake$. As a plus-size white woman with a Rubenesque figure and curly strawberry blonde hair, she’s far from your typical emcee, a point many of her peers and mother use to downplay her talents when she makes her career ambitions known. But despite their criticism and lack of support, she goes on to make a name for herself within hip-hop.
The breakout role put Danielle on the map. And now she’s poised to win over audiences again with another underdog story, this time playing plus-size teenager, Willowdean, in Netflix’s, Dumplin’. The comedic drama adapted from Julie Murphy’s YA novel of the same name follows an overweight, Dolly-Parton-loving teenage daughter of an ex-beauty queen (played by Jennifer Aniston), as she competes in the local beauty pageant her mother runs, Miss Teen Bluebonnet, in a protest against its narrow and discriminatory beauty standards. Her plan escalates when some of her peers follow suit, and collectively, they change the pageant for the better and open up hearts and minds in their small Texas town to the fact that beauty comes in all sizes.
It’s a charming story tackling important topics such as the image-driven world of beauty pageants, unrealistic beauty ideals, and the importance of self-acceptance. As an actor of size, Danielle saw a bit of herself in Willowdean. Just like her, she’s also struggled with feeling completely comfortable in her skin but ultimately learned to feel accept herself and her body once realizing everyone has insecurities.
“I think we all go through those moments of self-doubt,” Danielle tells Teen Vogue. “Don’t get me wrong I still go through them, [but] you just get to a point where you’re like, ‘I’m OK with who I am. You are enough.’”
The Dumplin’ soundtrack features remixed classics from Dolly Parton and new songs the songstress co-created with prolific producer Linda Perry specifically for the project. It’s a fitting addition given that Dolly is a guiding force in Willowdean’s life, whose music, alongside her clan of supportive friends, helps the teen overcome negative internal thoughts about her physical appearance. Prior to Dumplin’, Danielle’s knowledge of beauty pageants was fairly limited to what she’s seen in previous movies. But she quickly learned along the way they’re not usually as catty as they’re often portrayed on screen.
(Source: teenvogue.com)
“I’ll Be in Transition Forever”: Trans-masculine and Non-binary People Talk Identity, Affirmation, and More
As a trans person, I often ask myself the exhausting question, “Am I real?”
Usually when I come out to strangers as trans, they assume I am a trans woman or I am “going through a phase,” because I still present as feminine. Even when I came out to my own primary care physician, he hurtfully asked me, “So you’re trying to be a woman?” Because there is little mainstream representation of trans people not on hormones, many people have a limited perception of how varied trans experiences are. The truth is: I am a trans boy, and always have been.
Contrary to what pop culture and authority figures often assume, there is no one way to “look” transgender or non-binary — how people express their identity can and should be as varied as they please. For some people, that includes hormone replacement therapy (HRT) or surgery; others may choose not to follow those paths, whether due to financial limitations or personal reasons. It’s crucial that everyone has autonomy over their bodies and identities, and people who were assigned male at birth (AMAB) or assigned female at birth (AFAB) should not feel obligated to transition in any one specific way in order to be taken seriously by outsiders and members of the trans community alike. No matter the steps you take for your transition, no matter your reason — you are still real.
This fall, photographer Carter Schneider and I asked nine trans-masculine and AFAB non-binary people to come together for a conversation on representation, femininity, and the ongoing pressure to present in certain ways in order to receive safety or support. Together, we redefine what is real and what is possible for our communities and ourselves.
(Source: teenvogue.com)
Republicans Have Been Accused of MESSY Election Fraud in North Carolina
Oh, you thought 2018 midterm elections drama was finally over? Lol, that’s cute.
A possibly weird pattern regarding absentee ballots in North Carolina is raising eyebrows and prompting allegations that ballots were tampered with, according to CNN.
It’s all regarding North Carolina’s 9th Congressional District, and the whole thing could end up being very messy. Here’s what you need to know.
A month ago, on November 7, the day after the election, Democrat Dan McCready conceded the race for North Carolina’s 9th Congressional District to Republican Mark Harris.
McCready ran on a platform consisting of issues including affordable health care, investing in education, keeping families safe, and protecting women’s rights. Harris championed policies including “building a wall” and “protecting our borders,” “repealing Obamacare,” protecting the Second Amendment, and a pro-life stance. Harris also aligned himself with President Trump, and Trump extended his support for the candidate.
📸: Getty Images
(Source: teenvogue.com)
The First Native Woman Democrat in North Dakota Wore Traditional Regalia to Be Sworn-In
Last month, Ruth Buffalo made history when she became the first Native American Democrat woman elected to the North Dakota Legislature. Her win was major for another reason, too: She defeated former state Rep. Randy Boehning, who had previously sponsored a voter ID law intended to suppress the Native vote in North Dakota. On Monday, Ruth was sworn into her new role as a state representative, and she wore traditional Native American regalia for the historic occasion.
It was definitely a full-circle moment that had people buzzing on social media. One person called it “joyful representation,” while another wished Ruth a “very fulfilling, tremendously successful” tenure in the state legislature.
According to the Huffington Post, Ruth also carried a fan made with eagle feathers that she had received from her clan brothers. “Eagle feathers in our culture are very significant,” she told HuffPo. “Oftentimes they’re gifted to people when they’ve accomplished a great achievement.”
(Source: teenvogue.com)
A Trans Woman Died in ICE Custody. An Autopsy Revealed She May Have Been Abused
This past spring, 33-year-old Roxsana Hernández joined the Central American caravan that is attempting to cross the United States–Mexico border to seek asylum in the U.S. By the end of May, she reportedly died after being physically abused while in the care of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), according to the Transgender Law Center. Roxsana, a trans woman, had been fleeing violence in home country of Honduras.
In a May 25 press release, ICE states that on May 17, Hernández was “admitted to Cibola General Hospital with symptoms of pneumonia, dehydration, and complications associated with HIV,” and claimed her primary cause of death was cardiac arrest. A private autopsy requested by her family and paid for by the Transgender Law Center states that she “endured physical assault and abuse while in custody.” ICE has not publicly disclosed why Hernández was detained; Teen Vogue has reached out for clarification.
Roxsana had reportedly made attempts to live in the U.S. before, and had been deported three times prior. On May 9, she attempted to seek asylum at the San Ysidro Port of Entry (SYPOE) of the U.S.–Mexico border but was promptly detained by ICE.
Over the course of three weeks, Roxsana was transferred to Cibola County Correctional Center in Milan, New Mexico, after being transported through several states with other trans detainees that noticed her health deteriorating as she was denied medical care. The ICE press release on her death states that she was slated for “expedited removal” and died of cardiac arrest following HIV-related complications on May 25, after being admitted to the hospital just eight days prior.
(Source: teenvogue.com)