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    Beth Greenfield, Shine Staff

    Beth Greenfield, Shine Staff

  • 'Skinny Girl' Bethenny Frankel Jeered for Posing in Kid's Tiny PJs

    Former reality star Bethenny Frankel has never been one to shy away from discussing her obsession with body image and dieting. But her latest move has folks accusing the Skinny Girl snack brand creator of being a downright trigger for those battling demons of their own. Her offense? Posing in her 4-year-old daughter Bryn’s Hello Kitty pajamas — which fit Frankel’s tiny frame — and flaunting the photo as proof on Instagram.

  • Determined Woman Runs 7 Marathons in 7 Days to Fight Cancer

    It’s the rare person who runs and completes a marathon — just .16 percent of the U.S. population, according to 2013 statistics. But a person who runs seven marathons in seven consecutive days? Practically unheard of.

  • This Male Athlete Is Getting Fat-Shamed

    Now here’s a body-image twist for you: The naked athlete gracing the cover of the latest ESPN magazine is being fat shamed all over Twitter. And said athlete is a man.

  • J.Crew Criticized for Introducing 'Absurd' Size 000

    J.Crew has found itself under fire this week for introducing a teensy-tiny new size: 000. But while critics charge it’s a “vanity sizing” move that will only further encourage body shame and eating disorders, the retailer insists the goal is to address demand in Asia, where bodies tend to be smaller.

  • Fat Woman Wears Bikini, World Doesn't End

    “I wore a bikini in public. While being fat.” So begins a poignant and funny essay on body image, written by blogger and novelist Jenny Trout. It’s touched a collective nerve this week, and its wide impact —more than 350,000 likes on Facebook thus far, along with 45,000 shares and thousands of supportive comments — has perhaps surprised no one as much as its author.

  • Black Prep School President Steps Down After Mocking White Classmates

    The most expensive prep school in the country, the Lawrenceville School, reportedly spent the end of its semester mired in racist tensions, as its first black student-body president was forced to step down for “mocking” white male students on Instagram.

  • Pippa Middleton Speaks Out About Fame, 'Family Wedding,' in First TV Interview

    Though she’s known the world over on a first-name basis, Pippa Middleton hasn’t spoken out much to the public. She had never done a television interview, in fact, before sitting down with Matt Lauer recently for the Today show, which aired most of their conversation on Monday (with more set for Tuesday). “I think she’s incredibly grounded,” Lauer said back in the studio. “I think she’s blown away by the attention she’s gotten over these last two, three years, and is not quite sure of what to do with all that attention.”

  • Eating Disorder-Themed Clothing Angers Moms on Twitter

    Bulimia and anorexia: Universally not funny, right? Because the deadly eating disorders are being used as fodder for a spate of DIY-made items available to purchase on CafePress.com — including T-shirts, baseball caps, boxer shorts, magnets and even baby bibs.

  • Stay-At-Home Dad Apologizes for Underestimating the Job

    A first-person essay by an amusingly honest stay-at-home-dad is causing online buzz today: “My Apology to Stay-at-Home Moms,” Michael Cavender’s blow-by-blow account of the joys and drudgeries packed into a typical day at home with two toddlers

  • Mom-Designed Action Figures for Boys Highlight Brains Over Brawn

    Much has been said lately about the sexist messaging of toys geared for girls. But the ones marketed to boys leave much to be desired, too — at least according to Laura Hale, a California mother of four who’s using her entrepreneurial skills to launch a series of action figures that have more brains than brawn.

  • 'Let Girls Learn' Is Latest Celebrity Response to Nigerian Kidnapping

    In the three months since the heart wrenching kidnapping of nearly 300 Nigerian schoolgirls by terrorist organization Boko Haram, people around the world have struggled with how to respond. Now, in an attempt to keep that consciousness raised, comes “Let Girls Learn,” a moving celebrity effort that’s focused on the not-so-coincidental detail of where the girls were headed when they were snatched: to school.

  • Why Women Still Love Bad Boys (Like the Hot-Mugshot Guy)

    A star was born this week in Stockton, California: Jeremy Meeks, a 30-year-old convicted felon whose hunky mugshot — featuring dreamy slate-blue eyes and chiseled cheekbones — has made him a viral heartthrob. “Definitely the sexiest mugshot I’ve ever seen!” gushes one of 16,000-plus comments on the photo, posted on Facebook on Wednesday by the Stockton Police Department. But while no previous arrest photo has attracted this much attention in the two years since the page was set up, according to the department, it’s far from the first time women have gone gaga for a bad guy.

  • 19-Year-Old's Body Image Essay Touches Collective Nerve

    Most 19-year-olds have only just begun on their path towards self-acceptance. But Victoria Erickson, a blogger and University of Iowa sophomore, appears to be impressively close — at least in her personal essay about learning to love her cellulite. The piece, originally published in early June on the Manifest-Station website, has touched a collective nerve, going viral and launching the young writer into the center of a national discussion on body image.

  • DMV Bans Male Teen From Wearing Makeup in License Photo

    After South Carolina teen Chase Culpepper passed his driving exam with flying colors earlier this spring, he arrived at his local Department of Motor Vehicles in Anderson excited to get his license. But he left feeling shamed, after officials pressured him into removing his makeup — part of the 16-year-old’s daily look — for the photo, as officials said his mascara and lipstick constituted a “disguise.” Later, when a regretful Culpepper requested a more accurate retake, it was denied. Now the Transgender Legal Defense and Education Fund, a national advocacy organization, has stepped in on the young man’s behalf to warn the DMV of free-speech violations.

  • Why Is Breastfeeding in Public Still so Taboo?

    Anyone averse to breastfeeding in public would have been wise to steer clear of West 26th Street in New York City Monday morning. That’s where a clutch of 30 women were stationed in front of “The Wendy Williams Show” studio, defiantly nursing their babies to protest the host’s dissing of Karlesha Thurman — the 25-year-old graduate whose breastfeeding photo stirred a maelstrom of criticism recently.

  • Trouble Ahead for 'Cool' 13-Year-Olds, Says Science

    Listen up, nerdy middle-school students: Stop aspiring to be one of the “cool kids,” as their lives, according to new research, are on a fast track to chaos and maladjustment.

  • Dads Have Spoken, and They Want Paternity Leave

    When Mets player Daniel Murphy dared to take a three-day paternity leave this past spring — on the heels of missing opening day for the birth of his son — sports commentators ridiculed him, suggesting he “hire a nurse.” But the male critics, thankfully, turned out to be in the minority, with a slew of others jumping to Murphy’s defense. Now a new study supports that response, finding that plenty of other new dads want to be more involved at home, too — and would actually be thrilled to take up to four weeks paid paternity leave if it were offered. The findings come on the heels of similar daddy data showing a recent, marked rise in stay-at-home dads.

  • Animal Lovers Protest Brooklyn Cat Kicker in Court

    Who the hell kicks a cat like a football — and laughs about it? Andre Robinson, 21, of Brooklyn, that’s who. A video of him punting a gray cat 10 feet into the air went viral in May, getting the young man arrested and charged with aggravated animal cruelty. He’s only spent a night in jail so far, but animal rescuers, who have dubbed the cat King, are not about Robinson off the hook. They packed the courtroom at his first court appearance Monday, armed with signs that said “Justice for King” and “Convict Andre Robinson Now.”

  • Teen's Epilepsy Service Dog Is Honored With Yearbook Photo

    Texas middle-school student Rachel Benke was lucky enough this year to have her seventh-grade yearbook photo appear right next to that of her best friend— a Labrador-golden retriever mix named Taxi. An epilepsy service dog who can predict the onset of seizures, Taxi has been by Benke’s side for four years, and her mom thought it only right that he be allowed remain there in the yearbook, too.

  • Graffiti Artist Paints 'Beauty and the Beast' Mural for Marriage Proposal

    A talented UK graffiti artist known for his colorful, spray-painted takes on characters like Bugs Bunny and the Minions tried his hand at Beauty and the Beast this week, creating a massive mural of the Disney couple as a winning way to propose to his girlfriend.