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Is The Smaller, Cheaper New iPhone Right For You?

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Photo: Courtesy Apple.

"Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue."

A bride could check off three out of the four items in this old wedding rhyme simply by carrying Apple’s newest iPhone in her pocket. The phone marries the old iPhone 5 and 5s design with the speedier innards of the iPhone 6s for an entirely new handset: The iPhone SE.

Announced at an event in California last week alongside a new iPad, the iPhone SE doesn't tout any major new features. (In fact, it doesn't have any at all.) Instead, it fills a hole in Apple's product lineup. It's a smaller-sized phone with the company's fastest phone chips and best camera inside. Similar to how there used to be an iPod in every shape, colour, and price point imaginable, there's now an iPhone for every budget and size preference.

But now you have a question to answer. If you're still holding onto an iPhone 5 or 5s, or an older model iPhone, or you have a newer iPhone 6, you may be wondering: Should I upgrade now, to the iPhone SE? Or should I wait until the iPhone 7 comes out?

Read on for our take.

The Hardware

On the outside, the iPhone SE is almost exactly the same as an iPhone 5s. The only noticeable difference are the so-called "chamfers" (the diagonal detailing) along the side edges of the phone. On the 5s, these are buffed to a shining metallic gold or silver (or black). On the SE, it's left in the same brushed aluminum hue as the rest of the rear case.

As someone who doesn't have a lot of clothes with large pockets, I immediately appreciated the SE's familiar, smaller size, with one exception: With a larger 6s or 6s Plus, you know it's in your pocket or if you've left it somewhere. With the SE, I'd leave the house, have a momentary panic thinking I'd forgotten it, and then realise yes, it was in my pocket after all.

Does it fit your old 5 or 5s case? Yes, yes it does. The SE has exactly the same dimensions as the 5s (4.87 x 2.31 x .30 inches), but it weighs an imperceptible amount more: .04 ounces.

Here's what they look like side-by-side — the iPhone SE comes in rose gold, while the older 5s doesn't.

The Screen Size

While I liked the smaller, palm-friendly size overall, coming from a larger phone to the SE, I did miss the screen real estate. I can barely see two messages in a thread on the screen; the keyboard takes up half the display. This meant I was doing a lot more scrolling to catch up on group chats than I was on a larger 6 or 6s.

But if you're coming from a 5 or 5s, this is exactly what you're used to, so it shouldn't be a problem.

Photo: Courtesy Apple.

The Camera

The iPhone SE sports the exact same camera — and the exact same camera features — as the iPhone 6s that Apple debuted last fall. It can take 63-megapixel panorama images, Live Photos, time-lapse videos and slo-mo video.

The 12-megapixel shooter is equally adept at capturing up-close details indoors, or broad landscapes outdoors.

The camera app itself opens extremely quickly, so you're able to whip it out and capture a shot with a moment's notice. The shutter is also super fast, capturing high-speed movement without any sort of motion blur. (Pressing and holding the shutter button for Burst mode shots is a good way to make sure that your finger-tapping speed doesn't get in the way of action-packed shots.)

Sometimes even the snappiest camera shutter can't prevent a blurry shot though, and for those times, there's Live Photos. I pretty much never take a normal photo of my cat anymore — Live Photos, every time. By capturing a three second window of video around when you hit your camera button, these GIF-like moving images are perfect for pets, kids, and anything else that moves.

GIF: Courtesy Lively.

The iPhone SE can also take (and handle editing) 4K video. This isn't a feature you may use excessively now — you can switch it on in the phone's settings — but in the next few years, as more TVs, laptops, and smartphones have 4K displays, it may prove quite useful.

The Selfie Camera

So the rear-facing camera takes good photos, yes, but how about that selfie camera?

As we mentioned before, it's the same as what's in the iPhone 6s, but if you currently have an iPhone 5s, this is how your selfies would compare in a room with uneven lighting. The 5s (left) snaps images with a pinker undertone, and ends up slightly blurry and more pixelated than its newer counterpart. On the SE, the Retina flash automatically kicked in to even out the lighting situation, resulting in an overall much more usable shot.

Some selfies are perhaps better left in the unilluminated darkness of the iPhone 5s.

Battery Life

Maybe I was using the phone differently. Maybe I switched on fewer notifications. Regardless, I had amazing battery life on the iPhone SE. I could consistently make it more than a day without needing to charge (that is, finishing the day with close to 50% battery life). While I have not updated my older iPhone 5s to iOS 9.3, I'm fairly certain that if both phones were running the new OS, the SE would experience better performance and better battery life, given its faster A9 processor, M9 coprocessor (which tracks stats like your steps), and its larger battery.

Performance

I didn't experience any lag or hang-ups in loading apps or webpages, nor any stutters when playing or loading games. Like the iPhone 6s (and non-Apple competitors like the Samsung Galaxy S7), its performance is top-of-the-line.

The only thing the SE lacks compared to the 6s is 3D Touch, the feature that lets you press an app icon or button in an app to pull up a secondary shortcut menu. While convenient at times, if you're not used to the 3D Touch already, you won't miss it.

Conclusions

Is the iPhone SE right for you to buy? That depends on a few factors. If your budget is tight, and you want a good, new Apple phone, the iPhone SE makes sense. It starts at £359 off contract for a 16 GB model (but practically speaking, you should spring for the £43964 GB model); on contract, you can pay less than £30 per month for the handset. It's also a logical upgrade if you have a smaller iPhone 4 or 5 currently — it has almost every feature of the current flagship, for a cheaper price, and in the size you're comfortable with. It also makes sense if you have an iPhone 6, but don't really dig the size.

If you do decide to go with the iPhone SE, just be sure to sell or recycle your old phone responsibly.

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15 Celebrities Who Were Awesome Bridesmaids

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Photo: Josh Brasted/WireImage.

Sure, you've read all about the best celebrity weddings. And there's always coverage of the best celebrity wedding dresses. But where's the praise for celebrity bridesmaids?

Yes, celebs are just like us. They Netflix and chill, they eat tacos, and sometimes they have to put on a bridesmaid dress. After all, you don't have to be famous to have a famous best friend. And it's an honor for anyone — celebs included — to be a part of their BFF or family member's nuptials. Right now, somewhere in the world, chances are, a star is planning someone else's bachelorette party. Maybe she's even holding bouquets or carrying the bride's train.

A-listers are used to being the centre of attention, but when they agree to be a bridesmaid, they're promising to let the bride shine. From Beyoncé to Jennifer Lawrence, we've rounded up some of the best celebrity bridesmaids, ever. Click ahead to see how they helped their loved ones celebrate their big day.

Beyoncé

Can you imagine having Queen Bey as your bridesmaid? Well, she's done it time and time again. Most notably for Kelly Rowland's wedding in 2014, her sister Solange's wedding in 2014, and her mum Tina Knowles' wedding in 2015. Yes, she's a busy Bey. Yes, she's fabulous. Yes, she wore white. Because, yes, she's Beyoncé.

Photo: Josh Brasted/WireImage.

Mary-Kate & Ashley Olsen

When stylist Molly Fishkin said "I do," the Olsen twins were by her side. They designed her beautiful gown and participated in one of the most chic bridal parties of all time. How chic? There wasn't a single bridesmaids' dress at this wedding. Everyone did their own thing. For the Olsens, that meant long caftans with beaded bodices.

Photo: Courtesy of Heather Kincaid.

Jennifer Lawrence

If you're looking for Jennifer Lawrence in this photo, she's the one on the far right. The Oscar-winning actress' new sister-in-law is centre stage for this beautiful Martha Stewart Weddings issue. The groom was Jennifer Lawrence's brother Blaine. The magazine shared photos of the event, dubbing it "A Rainy, Intimate Farm Wedding In Kentucky." The best part? How happy JLawr looks to see her brother and his new wife so happy, too!

Photo: Courtesy of Martha Stewart.

Emma Roberts

Emma Roberts was one of 10 bridesmaids in her best friend's wedding back in November 2015. She shared two photos from the wedding day on her Instagram, one with a caption that read, "What a heaven weekend celebrating my love @kakeykake and @nickwalkerphoto. Couldn't be happier for them." And, like a true bridesmaid, she used the couple's wedding hashtag: #nickpluskara.

Photo: Via @Emmaroberts.

Sarah Jessica Parker

SJP supported her former Sex and the City assistant, Melinda Relyea, when she tied the knot in 2014. The actress shared tons of photos leading up to the ceremony on Instagram, including a beautiful shot of the bride and groom. Two images hinted at her bridesmaid duties: one of a lovely monogrammed handkerchief, and another of her bouquet and Champagne glass.

Photo: Via @Sarahjessicaparker.

Lauren Conrad

When Lauren Conrad is your bridesmaid, expect snapshots that look Pinterest-ready. Conrad was part of the bridal party for Paper Crown partner Maura McManus' wedding. The wedding also served as a mini Laguna Beach reunion, since Lo Bosworth was also a bridesmaid.

Photo: Via @Laurenconrad.

Lena Dunham

Girls creator Lena Dunham doesn't just play a bridesmaid on TV. She was there for her best friend's wedding in June 2014. She posted several Instagram photos from the day, and tweeted, "Getting ready for my best friend's wedding. Potent, emotional, feel someone should make a movie about it. Called 'Wedding Of My Best Friend.'"

Photo: Via @lenadunham.

The Kardashians

Yes, it was Kim's third wedding. Yes, it was insane. Yes, Kayne West was a groomzilla. But you have to admit that the bridesmaids looked good! All of Kim Kardashian's sisters served as bridesmaids in her 2014 nuptials to West in Florence, Italy. The best dressed? Little North, who basically wore a baby wedding gown.

Photo: Via @Kourtneykardash.

Rihanna

Rihanna served as a bridesmaid at assistant Jennifer Morales' very memorable nuptials in Hawaii. The singer wore a hot pink satin bridesmaids' robe with her name stitched on the back, because she's Rihanna, and she can. Then, she changed into a lilac gown (with purple lipstick) for the ceremony. She posted tons of photos on Instagram in celebration of her BFF's big day. And as always, she nailed it.

Photo: Via @Badgalriri.

Cara Delevingne

Model-turned-actress Cara Delevingne was maid of honour at her sister Poppy's 2014 wedding. Just like the bride, she wore a white Chanel gown. Delevingne was one of 17 bridesmaids — including the Delevingnes' other sister, Chloe.

Photo: REX/Shutterstock.

Keira Knightley

When Keira Knightley's brother Caleb tied the knot in 2011, his sister played bridesmaid. The bride wore a '50s-inspired, long-sleeved dress, while the bridesmaids all wore purple gowns with a deep V-necks and little bows at the shoulders. The best part? Some of the guests wore kilts to celebrate their Scottish heritage.

Photo: REX/Shutterstock.

Taylor Swift

Taylor Swift took a break from her celebrity squad to be maid of honour in her best friend Britany Maack's wedding this year. She shared photos from the big day on Instagram, including one of the entire bridal party with a caption that read, "I met her when I was 10 days old, and him in kindergarten. Now they're married and I'm the happiest maid of honour ever. Congratulations @britmaack and Ben!"

Photo: Fameflynet.

Rachel McAdams

We've seen Rachel McAdams play a bridesmaid in Wedding Crashers. But it was the real deal at her sister's wedding in May 2015. McAdams was so touched by the ceremony that several outlets reported that the actress cried tears of joy.

Photo: Fameflynet.

Lady Gaga

Lady Gaga is getting ready to walk down the aisle herself this year, but she's also been a bridesmaid to a few friends. In 2015, Gaga celebrated a friend's wedding in New Orleans. She wrote in an Instagram post, "Watching your best friend get married, these are the specialist times in my life. Seeing happiness in the lives of all my friends." Well said.

Photo: Fameflynet.

Kate Bosworth

Way back in 2008, the Blue Crush star was a bridesmaid for her friend Jacqui Louez's wedding in Sydney, Australia. All the bridesmaids wore simple black gowns, and carried white roses. Louez was Kate Bosworth's assistant. The two met while filming Superman Returns.

Photo: Fameflynet.

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Emma Watson's Rep Responds To Her Controversial Beauty Ads

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Update: In response to the controversy surrounding Watson's former beauty ads, a spokesperson for the actress says: "Many artists often have limited control of how their image is used once an endorsement contract is signed. I cannot comment on my client's previous contractual arrangements with Lancôme. However, my client no longer participates in advertising beauty products, which do not always reflect the diverse beauty of all women.”

Lancôme has also responded in a statement to Refinery29. "Blanc Expert was created by Lancôme 20 years ago," the company says. "It helps brighten, even skin tone, and provides a healthy-looking complexion. This kind of product, proposed by every brand, is an essential part of Asian women's beauty routines."

This article was originally published on March 29, 2016.

Even with all the controversy surrounding them, it seems like skin "whitening" products aren't going anywhere soon. Global Industry Analysts predicts that the whitening industry will be worth some £14 billion by 2018. And from that £14 billion, plenty of people are getting paid.

At first glance, one such person appears to be actress Emma Watson — a feminist who has spoken out in favour of gender and racial equality. Online magazine Gal-Dem recently pointed out that Watson was the face of Lancôme's "Blanc Expert" line abroad, reportedly from 2011 to 2013. Though Watson's campaign is three years old and appears to be more focused on brightening dark spots as opposed to overall skin bleaching, it has prompted an online dialogue with users.

Many on Twitter and Instagram are calling out the actress for supporting an industry that is "designed to make us feel like our skin is a problem that we can pay for them to solve," Gal-Dem's Naomi Mabita writes.

Others feel that the ad simply promotes the correction of dark spots, acne scars, and other forms of hyperpigmentation and therefore doesn't pose a threat.

Watson, who was first announced as the French brand's global ambassador in 2011, isn't the only actress who has been criticised for appearing in certain beauty ads. Back in 2008, actress Priyanka Chopra starred in a controversial commercial for Pond's White Beauty.

"I was such a kid, I didn't even know what I was doing then — I was like 22 or something. But I realised that it made me feel how I felt as a kid. I used to, jokingly, be called 'kali' by my family, and that means 'dark girl.' I used to use those [whitening] products as a kid and I thought they would work...and I guess I grew from that," Chopra told Refinery29. She later added, "In any part of the world, judging someone's looks or judging how they are by the colour of their skin is such a primitive thought."

Of course, different countries have different beauty standards that are often rooted in race and socioeconomic status. "In the case of the Far East, in countries like Japan, Korea, and China, it doesn’t have to do with trying not to be Asian," says Dr. Evelyn Nakano Glenn, a sociologist at University of California, Berkeley. "In those cultures, there’s a long tradition for women of light skin to be equated with beauty, and also there’s a class element. [It means] you’re not working in the sun, which is an important [distinction] in an agricultural society."

It should also be noted that the word "whitening" (which is used to describe the serum in the ad) isn't always a sufficient translation. “It’s such a one-dimensional word. It doesn’t speak to radiance and luminosity and transcendence, and all these things that these products are supposed to do,” says Christine Chang, co-founder of Korean beauty e-commerce site Glow Recipe. “It’s not about shade of skin, but about an overall glow.”

Adds France Winddance Twine, PhD, a professor of sociology at the University of California, Santa Barbara: "Language really matters. In Asia you can say 'whitener,' in the Caribbean you can say 'bleaching,' in India you say 'lightener.' In the U.S. you say 'fade cream,' and if you’re marketing to older women, you say 'anti-aging.'” But that doesn't necessarily mean they’re all meant to bleach your skin — a practice which does still exist in many parts of the world.

Still, in other countries, the popularity of skin-whitening is more blatantly tied to racism and discrimination based on skin tone — which explains the controversy and politics surrounding similar products.

We've reached out to Lancôme for comment and will update the post when we hear back. But tell us: What do you think about Watson's ads? Are they harmful or harmless? Let us know in the comments below.

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Fact Checking The Instagram 'Turn On Post Notifications' Uproar

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Photo: Courtesy Instagram.

In the wake of Instagram's announcement that it would begin testing a new, algorithmic timeline, people are freaking out. Kendall Jenner tweeted about it yesterday, and a host of stuff is showing up on Instagram itself, as well as other social media sites.

Namely, some popular Instagram accounts are urging their followers to select "Turn On Post Notifications" to ensure that you don't miss out on their posts.

But this is being blown out of proportion. Before you switch up all your Instagram settings to battle the new timeline, here's what you need to know.

What's Happening?

Following in the steps of Facebook and Twitter, Instagram plans to start testing a new, non-chronological timeline. It'll use an AI algorithm to determine what posts you'd most like to see, and show those to you first when you open the app.

The reasoning behind the change, according to CEO Kevin Systrom, is that right now, people miss roughly 70% of the posts in their Instagram feed. By highlighting popular posts, trending posts, and posts from people you interact with most on the social network, Instagram hopes to ensure you don't miss out on images you would have liked to see.

Has My Feed Changed?

Probably not. Instagram has begun testing the new algorithmic feed with only a small subset of users at the moment.

Do I Need To Turn On Post Notifications?

Short answer: No.

Depending on who you follow, you may have seen a post like the one below in your feed.

In fact, the line above about "if you don't actively 'turn on notifications,' you probably won't see my photos at all" is a flat-out lie.

Turning on Post Notifications gives you an alert every time that person posts something to Instagram. Chances are, someone posting something like this makes money off of your likes (or wants to). In their own self-interest, they want you to see all of their posts. It's kind of a desperate, needy ask — and unnecessary.

Their posts aren't just going to instantly disappear from your feed, whether you turn on Post Notifications or not. If you want to be notified every time they post an image, that's great, but you shouldn't turn on Post Notifications thinking that's the only way you're going to see that person's posts.

What Can I Do?

For now, nothing. If you have your normal, chronological Instagram timeline, continue 'gramming as usual. If your account is part of the beta test, the only thing you can do is use the app, and perhaps provide Instagram with feedback about the experience if prompted.

When the new timeline does roll out widely, it would be highly unlikely that Instagram would push it out without an option to switch the change off or on in the app's settings. That would be social suicide, if there ever were such a thing.

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10 Self-Portraits Explore A Legacy Of Abuse By The Artist's Father (NSFW)

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Photo: Courtesy of Rowan Renee.

Photographer Rowan Renee struggles with when to tell partners about the sexual abuse Renee experienced as a child — abuse committed by Renee's father.

"Once I told someone on the second date, while drifting to sleep after sex," they write in their essay "Bodies of Wood: A Legacy of Sexual Abuse," which accompanies their new self-portrait series Bodies of Wood. "Like I couldn't resist immediately making them run the gauntlet. 'I know it's intense, can you handle that? If not, you can leave now.'"

Now, with days until the April 7 opening of Renee's solo show for Bodies of Wood at Brooklyn's Peninsula Art Space, Renee is preparing to share their story with the world. Rather than represent events as they happened, the project's photos explore the lingering aftermath of incest and a family legacy of abuse by "depicting things I have felt in the process of working through my memories that I don't really have words to describe," Renee tells Refinery29.

The essay that complements the series offers more literal retellings. "My mother grew from a childhood where she was beaten up every day into an adulthood that was a revolving door of deeply abusive men," Renee writes. "Throughout my childhood, my mother told the story of how her brother beat her up at her mother's behest." Renee's mother's mother had been beaten and molested by her own father, leading Renee to ask, "Is abuse the legacy of all women? Does living this story make me a woman? It's a definition of woman I am reluctant to accept. Yet, I know it has defined my experience within my body."

"In the course of putting together this show, I have asked myself multiple times what I hope to achieve by telling this story publicly," Renee says about Bodies of Wood. "The answer is a complicated one, but what rises to the surface is that I believe the act of speaking is one that implicitly contains a desire, and an energy towards change."

Click through to read our conversation with Renee and to view the photos in Bodies of Wood, then view the artist's Instagram here and the details of their solo show here.

How does this series fit in with your other work?

"The common thread [in my work] is that I’ve been exploring different relationships with power and the body and gender. The last piece i did, ‘Z,' was about gender nonconformity, gender ambiguity, and trying to develop a working process with my models that allowed them agency over how they’re represented."

Photo: Courtesy of Rowan Renee.

"Often, photography is talked about [in terms of how] the person behind the camera is in a position to oppress the subject. Susan Sontag talks about the history of photography as if photography is always by nature, as part of the medium, an act of violence. In my work, I am trying to question that and question and explore how there could be a mutual agency and a mutual vulnerability."

Photo: Courtesy of Rowan Renee.

"[After doing 'Z',] I got closer to thinking about what in my past and in my history that makes me compelled to work with [power dynamics], and it just led me in that direction to readdress my childhood, my relationship with my father, my experience as a — I guess I don’t want to say victim, but I think that there is a way that the experience of being a victim has made me really try to not be a victim as an adult, and a free agent, a person that can have agency and control over my life as an adult."

Photo: Courtesy of Rowan Renee.

What was it like turning the camera on yourself?

"I would say the photographic part of this show was easier for me to do [than photographing other people]. It was more detached and more intuitive. I did very little planning for any of the shots that I took. I was in a residency [at the Varda Artists Residency] on this beautiful boat, the SS Vallejo. I visited a friend in a cabin two hours north of San Francisco and I would go out to the ocean and Golden Gate National Park every other day."

Photo: Courtesy of Rowan Renee.

"I was just kind of trying to psychologically put myself in the place where I was trying to just feel it, and it would lead me on a walk in the woods, and then I found the the field with the flags, and I would literally just work with whatever I was wearing, whatever was there. Almost all of the images I took completely unassisted."

Photo: Courtesy of Rowan Renee.

"The one of me in the driftwood on the beach, a good friend was there and I just asked him to click the shutter. I was too far away from the camera for the remote release to work."

Photo: Courtesy of Rowan Renee.

How are you feeling about the project now?

"In doing this project, I’ve been dealing with a lot of fear of sharing it. I think — and I say this very clearly in the written piece — that there’s a need to tell. And I think that need is both personal — in order to not live a lie, I feel like by not telling I’m somehow hiding part of myself that’s really fundamental — and also as a political act of bearing witness to this kind of systemic violence that exists and is largely unreported. And I guess my fear is — I’m scared. I believe in all of these things, and yet, it is very frightening to actually make the work public and not know how people are going to react."

Photo: Courtesy of Rowan Renee.

What do you hope people will take away from viewing the series?

“I want people to feel brave. There are different audiences: There’s the audience who has experienced this kind of abuse and there’s an audience that hasn't, and I think it will affect those audiences differently. But I hope that there is a way that it’s affecting for any audience regardless of past history."

Photo: Courtesy of Rowan Renee.

"I did the project with colour film. There’s a lot of colour in it, it’s super bright. The images don’t deal with something that is inherently violent and traumatic in a way that is violent and traumatic, in any of the traditional ways that you imagine that. It’s not gory, it’s not noir or dark. It’s not even completely graphic. It’s not narrative in the way that events actually happened. I think of them as psychological landscapes. They’re not the literal events, but they depict things I have felt in the process of working through my memories that I don't really have words to describe."

Photo: Courtesy of Rowan Renee.

"I read in a book called Worlds of Hurt by Kalí Tal that incest itself is not the taboo: It is a frighteningly common practice. The taboo is talking about it. And as long as shame and fear of speaking is placed on the victims, the resulting silence allows this system to continue unchallenged. I wanted to do this show to do what I could to challenge the system I was born into, and do what I could to transform it."

Photo: Courtesy of Rowan Renee.

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These Beautiful Images Show What It's Like To Be A Prima Ballerina — & A Mum

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Photo: Courtesy of Lucy Gray.

Balancing work and career is difficult for any new mother, but there's a special challenge for women who have physically demanding careers. And what job requires more discipline or strength than a prima ballerina's?

In her book, Balancing Acts: Three Prima Ballerinas Becoming Mothers, photographer Lucy Gray gives readers an intimate, behind-the-scenes look at just what it takes to be among the world's best dancers, while caring for young children at the same time.

In the introduction, Gray admits that, prior to the project, she didn't hold ballerinas in high esteem. "I viewed them as self-centred and self-destructive — chain smokers who drove themselves to maintain the skinny bodies of little girls."

Her perceptions began to change after a chance encounter with Katita Waldo, a professional ballerina with the San Francisco Ballet, and her infant son, James. Gray asked Waldo if she would be willing to work together on a long-term photography project to capture Waldo's experience as a mother and a dancer. That led to Gray then meeting Tina LeBlanc and Kristin Long, fellow ballerinas, also at the San Francisco Ballet, and new mothers.

That project turned into Gray's book, Balancing Acts, which follows the three women over 14 years. Thanks to support from the San Francisco Ballet, these women were able to find ways to incorporate their new roles as mothers into their professional lives, resulting in some of the most stunning images of the book.

Gray also documented something she acknowledges no one involved expected. "All three ballerinas improved as dancers after they had children," she writes, "They were no longer dancing just for themselves." Similarly, the women found that time away from their children at work made them enjoy motherhood more.

That tension, between the physical and emotional demands and rewards of motherhood and career, is captured beautifully in the book's black-and-white images. Click through to see a selection of the images, accompanied by Gray's original captions.

"Lorena Feijoo had long dreamed of having a child. Less than a week before she has her baby, she gives a private lesson."

Photo: Courtesy of Lucy Gray.

"Kristin rehearses as Kai looks on."

Photo: Courtesy of Lucy Gray.

"Before she performs, Kristin is brave enough to sneak me into her dressing room at the Palais Garnier, where no photographers are allowed. Julie Diana, with whom she shares a dressing room, does not complain. Kai hits his red balloon to his aunt, Gloria Terrell."

Photo: Courtesy of Lucy Gray.

"Kristin has received the 10-minute warning before her performance, so she pumps milk in her dressing room."

Photo: Courtesy of Lucy Gray.

"Kristin gets back in shape with Martin and 6-week-old Hannah."

Photo: Courtesy of Lucy Gray.

"Tina and Kristin show their children the orchestra pit at the War Memorial Opera House."

Photo: Courtesy of Lucy Gray.

"Tina feeds 6-week-old Sasha [in the rehearsal studio at the San Francisco Ballet]."

Photo: Courtesy of Lucy Gray.

"James and Katita backstage after a performance of Nutcracker Ballet."

Photo: Courtesy of Lucy Gray.

"In her dressing room after a performance of Nutcracker Ballet, Katita clowns with James."

Photo: Courtesy of Lucy Gray.

"Katita and James after the curtain has come down on the night she is retiring as a dancer at the San Francisco Ballet. The flowers in the foreground were thrown onstage from the audience when she took her final bow."

Photo: Courtesy of Lucy Gray.

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The New Wave Of Women In Barbershops

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Photographed by Cait Oppermann.

“Short-haired women — we’re like a squad. It’s hard to explain, but we immediately compliment each others' hair and ask where we got it done,” says Elena Polson, a New York graphic designer who sports a longer-on-top-shorter-on-the-sides crop. In fact, flagging down a random girl with an edgy pixie was exactly how Polson discovered Freemans Sporting Club, the Lower East Side barbershop where she now drops in for regular cuts. Yep, she gets her hair cut at a barbershop.

Ladies aren't completely new to the barbershop scene. Plenty of women have long preferred the efficient, less ritualistic atmosphere of the local barber, where a lack of bells and whistles translates to lower price tags and a refreshing, informal attitude. But the barbershop's appeal is widening at a surprising rate — and it's evolving well beyond its cut-and-dry image.

Places such as Freemans and Blind Barber (which has three locations in New York City and one in Los Angeles) subscribe to the long-standing principles of barbershops (they're quick, affordable, and entrenched in their neighbourhoods), but cater to a younger, "hipper" crowd. That means the barbers who work there have developed a sensibility that goes well beyond the buzz cut. They trim, shape, and layer with the precision of salon stylists, while reinforcing the communal spirit and sense of loyalty that draw clients such as Polson.

"We tie back to some of the really positive things of a traditional barbershop — which is community, which is service — and then elaborate on them," says Rob McMillen, head barber at Blind Barber (pictured here at the Williamsburg, Brooklyn, location). "We're all-encompassing, accepting of all individuals, and can understand folks with different needs."

That's not to say barbershops are no longer havens of red-blooded conversation and quick shaves. And they are, predominantly, male spaces. But many women, particularly those interested in getting and maintaining short cuts, are entering unfamiliar territory for the promise of a sharp new style and a more casual vibe. And barbers seem to be welcoming the opportunity to utilise their impressive skill sets.

Ahead, we take a peek into a few of these establishments, and find out why the women who frequent them have given up the salon, for good.

Rachel Warren (pictured), a dancer and fitness/wellness instructor, was ahead of the curve. She’s been frequenting Freemans since it opened in 2013, when she decided to shave her head. She was super-particular about keeping it completely bald, so at the time she stopped by the barber every other week for a touch-up. Freemans' cuts are $48 (which is on the high end of barbershop prices), but just imagine how much that would have tallied up to at the hair salon.

Warren was never a salon girl. Even before she buzzed it all off, her friends would cut her hair which has been shorter than a bob since she was in college, and every colour of the rainbow. “I just always had a very casual relationship with my hair,” she says. “I was willing to do whatever. Now, I’m moving into a place of wanting to look a little more pulled together, just natural — elegant, classic, with a slight edge.”

Freemans delivers on all counts.

Photographed by Cait Oppermann.

Josh Livingston (pictured) is the barber who helps her achieve this look, using both scissors and clippers. "People have a negative stereotype about clippers because they feel like [they'll impart] too much of an edge," he says. "But it doesn't have to be so severe — it can be soft and short." While men traditionally want cuts with more precision, women tend to focus on texture and movement, says Livingston — who has learned to adapt as more women come into the shop.

He began the learning process with Warren — his first female client — who started seeing him as she was growing out her buzz cut. “He was definitely nervous when first cutting my hair, because he didn't want to mess it up," she says. "I mean, I'm sure he doesn't want to mess anyone's hair up, but I think there is an idea that women hold so tightly to their hair. That was part of the reason I shaved my head; because I needed to clear out and start over.”

Photographed by Cait Oppermann.

“When Rachel came in, I thought about it: I have all the technique, I have all the skills, I have good training — why don't I give it a shot? " explains Livingston. "So as she started to grow her hair out, we kind of did it together and now I have more female clients as a result. She broke the barrier.”

At Freemans, the clientele is now about 10% women. Does this change the barbershop "boys' club" culture? "In this place, not too drastically," says Livingston. "We're a neighbourhood shop... Part of [the neighbourhood] is old-school, and part of it is the new people who are moving in, and everyone needs a haircut. This is part of the reason I love cutting hair in the first place: It's like the neutraliser."

Photographed by Cait Oppermann.

Warren adds: "In this particular spot, it's not like, 'Oh, now there's a woman here.' It's a progressive, very communal, grounded place." More draws: It's easy, it's convenient, it's fast (each cut takes just 30 minutes), and you can "wiggle in an appointment, and it's not a big to-do."

Warren and Livingston have become good friends over the years — the barbershop being a place that cultivates such relationships and tight-knit communities. "Everyone here knows my name, and everybody is very cool," says Warren. "I like the feel of the barber; I appreciate the culture. On a vibrational level, it's a lot more chill [than a salon]."

Photographed by Cait Oppermann.

“Barbershops intentionally cultivate a culture of community — it’s a really important ritual. It's not just a grooming ritual; it's social," says Rae Tutera (pictured left), the Handsome Feminist of social media fame, and focus of the Lena Dunham and Jenni Konner-produced documentary Suited, which follows her and her clients at Bindle & Keep, a Brooklyn clothier that specialises in suits for gender-nonconforming people. "Certainly, you can find a lot of misogyny in [barbershops]. That said, a lot of those spaces are changing, so you get the community without the misogyny."

Tutera stops by the Blind Barber in Williamsburg about once a week to get her hair cut by one of the two female barbers on staff, her best friend Alana Lucia (pictured right) — and, of course, to hang out.

Photographed by Cait Oppermann.

Lucia has seen an uptick in women in the shop of late — her client base is about 20% female. She doesn't prefer cutting men's or women's hair, she just prefers cutting it short — which she sees a lot more women doing these days.

“Girls are really cutting their hair off more than ever right now,” she says. “I think [many] always wanted to do it, but didn't feel like they could because it's not seen, in some people's eyes, as...'pretty' or 'feminine.' Then one person does it, and then another, and then they say, ‘Oh, that looks really good. You know, I am just going to try it.'”

This ripple effect is contributing to the spike in female clients.

Photographed by Cait Oppermann.

Lucia used to work at a salon, but switched to barbering a few years ago — and hasn't looked back. "The main thing for me was that no one [going to a salon] actually wanted me to cut their hair," she explains. "I got into this to cut hair, and then all day I was cutting off just half an inch."

Photographed by Cait Oppermann.

Though she is a regular at Blind Barber, Tutera has been to many barbershops over the years — not all of the hipster variety. (She's never been to a salon, but once got a "very luxurious" head wash at Lucia's old salon while her wife was getting a haircut.)

"Barbershops are very welcoming," she says. "Every time I've walked by one in any neighbourhood with a haircut like this, men come out of the shops, or they're hanging out in front of them, and always comment. 'Nice haircut, I could try and do that for you sometime.' It doesn't matter who they are — whether it's a Dominican barbershop, a Black barbershop — haircuts are their own language. Regardless of not having much else in common, we all care about haircuts."

Photographed by Cait Oppermann.

Tutera has, on occasion, had a negative experience. “I’ve been to barbershops where there is a lot of unpleasant conversation. And whether you're a sensitive feminist or not, you can feel like you're trespassing,” she says. “I am curious to see how barbershops evolve, since they’re traditionally such men's spaces...they don't want to relinquish those men's spaces... I am masculine enough; I sort of pass…but I feel there is a protectiveness there."

Photographed by Cait Oppermann.

When asked what cuts most women in his shop are opting for, McMillen says it’s normally something "out of the box" with a little edge to it, like an undercut. "Or sometimes, we have females who are wearing cuts that've been more traditionally reserved for males," he says. "I think we broke through some of those stereotypes or boundaries, and that is a really positive thing.”

But there are still those clients who prefer a more classic look. Chloe Kernaghan (pictured left), owner of Sky Ting Yoga, has been getting her bob trimmed by her friend Inna Shats (pictured right) at Freemans for the past six months.

Photographed by Cait Oppermann.

"I'm not very fussy, and I'm not interested in having a style that requires a ton of daily maintenance or upkeep, so I like the simpler cuts that I can get with Inna," says Kernaghan. "I like [the barbershop] because it is fast, straightforward, and it cuts out the fluff that you sometimes get with a salon experience."

Photographed by Cait Oppermann.

Like barbershops, salons have their own sense of community. Kernaghan thinks there is a particular type of female that will always go to a salon not just for the cut, but for the social aspect and ritual of it. "I do miss a good shampoo and head massage. But sacrifices must be made," she jokes.

“[Barbershops can] feel like a boys' club inside, so as a female, you have to have the guts to step into that. I go in towards the end of the day, when things are winding down, so it's not such a spectacle with a girl getting her hair cut,” says Kernaghan.

Photographed by Cait Oppermann.

“I normally visit the [female barbers] at barbershops, because it is less stressful and awkward for me personally," says Polson (pictured right). "But also because most of them have been trained as hairdressers in the past, and left the salon world to work at a barbershop for the same reason [I started going to them]."

Polson's barber at Freemans, Ashley Overholt (pictured left), worked at a high-end salon in Milwaukee for five years before she made the switch to barbering. "I was really burnt out working in a salon and being a therapist," she explains. "I just couldn't take one more story about divorce or affairs, or illness, or kids; it was too much. Not everybody, but most women sit in the chair and instantaneously start telling you their problems… It just blew my mind… I was 22 at the time, so I was taking it home with me and becoming sad."

Photographed by Cait Oppermann.

“I had a really great friend who opened up the first barbershop of this Freemans kind in Milwaukee, and I went down to say hello and everyone was laughing, they were drinking PBR, the music was good. I was like, This is my vibe," Overholt says. "They're still doing hair, but it's not all this tense energy. It's so chill. That is what I fell in love with."

So, she apprenticed there — learning how to work with clippers, do fades, high and tights, and use a straight razor — before eventually moving to New York and landing a job at Freemans. She now has a handful of female clients who are mostly young and “have style, wear lipstick, and have really cool, badass short haircuts."

Photographed by Cait Oppermann.

As a woman in a mostly man's world, Overholt says, "Every once in a while, I have to swallow my pride — when I overhear people referring to women as bitches, ‘my girl’ instead of ‘my wife’ — which sucks, because I am a feminist. Sometimes I am just like, Why am I here? Then, I realise I like so much more than I dislike."

She says the mood shifts a little when a female client walks in. "Everybody quiets down when a woman is getting her hair cut, because everyone is excited that a girl is in the shop," she says. "But I blend in now; we're all like this family and somehow I oddly fit into it. They treat me the same. I get my balls busted, and I have to give it back to them. It's taught me how to be strong. If you're going to work in a barbershop as a woman, you gotta be ready to give it right back to them."

Photographed by Cait Oppermann.

Though most of her clients have short hair, Overholt does get her share of long-haired clients. She welcomes them to her chair, but warns them that it won't be a salon-like experience. Barbers spray down hair with water instead of shampooing, and do bare-minimum styling — it's all about the cut. "I'll give you a great haircut, but I don't have a round brush, I don't have styling tools...we don't have volumising spray. We just have pomade, a really light styling cream; it's slim pickings," she says. "It's rough-dry, and then you're gone... We'll give you a good, solid technical haircut, but it won't be fancy."

Photographed by Cait Oppermann.

Benade, an ad-agency strategist who has been going to Blind Barber for over a year, actually brings her own products to the shop. And after her cut, she blowdries her own hair.

Blind Barber was the first barbershop Benade ever visited. After moving to New York from South Africa (she had a bowl cut at the time), she first went to a salon, but couldn't believe how expensive it was. She saw Blind Barber on Instagram and decided to check it out — she brought McMillen a pic of Ruby Rose, and the rest is history.

Photographed by Cait Oppermann.

“I didn’t even know what barbers do, really… You sit in the chair, he sprays your hair with a water bottle, and just cuts it," Benade says of her first Blind Barber visit. "It was very nerve-racking. I was like, Fuck, what am I doing? But I think he was more uncomfortable than I was." Obviously, a lot can change in a year.

"[When he was done], I was like, 'Uh, I need my hair dried,' and he was like...'We don't have any round brushes.' 'Okay, but do you maybe have a hair dryer?' And he had to literally go into this closet and search for this hair dryer," Benade recalls.

Photographed by Cait Oppermann.

But even with having to put in a little work, Benade says it's worth it (and doesn't ever see herself going back to a salon). "I've never felt this at home with any stylist or hair salon,” she says. “Rob is just really nice, and everyone is just really nice — and we talk shit a lot.”

Benade doesn't consider herself a "one of the guys" kind of girl, but she loves hanging out at the shop. "When I am in the East Village, I'll pop in and hang out," she says. "It's so much fun. On Saturdays, I just sit there from like 1 to 6, being one of those weird people who just hangs out."

Photographed by Cait Oppermann.

Benade has received mixed reactions from people who find out where she gets her hair cut. "People keep asking me where I cut my hair. [I say], 'A barbershop.' 'Ooh, okay,'" she says. “I don’t think women are yet that receptive to going to barbers...because most people like all the pampering. I told my mum how they cut my hair, and she was like, 'No, I want the head massage.'”

Photographed by Cait Oppermann.

Heidi Hackemer, another Blind Barber regular, appreciates the no-nonsense experience. "I hate the whole rigmarole around a salon," she says. "You go in and you have to do the whole ceremony around washing the hair, and talking to people, and the whole thing. And when you have short hair, you have to get your hair cut a lot. So all of a sudden, you're looking at this massive time and money investment. So why am I spending so much money and time, when I can just zip down and pop into a barbershop and be ready to go in a couple minutes? Also, I find that salons don't do the undercuts as well."

Photographed by Cait Oppermann.

Hackemer has frequented the East Village location for the last five years. But she travels so much for her job at a marketing firm that she often finds herself needing a touch-up on the road. She has popped into different barbershops across the country — but sometimes getting that trim takes a little coaxing.

"I find that when I am traveling...I have to walk in and convince barbers to cut my hair," she says. "I have to do the cajoling [and say]: 'I need a number two, and I just need the ends cut,' and they're like, 'Okay, that's cool.' Once I do it in 'boy terms,' they'll take me in...and once they get over that, guys think it's a hoot... They want to know everything about you. Everyone, the crew, are like, 'Girl, what is up with you?'"

Photographed by Cait Oppermann.

Her first barbershop experience was the same way: “One day I was looking at W magazine, and there was a photo of Tilda Swinton,” Hackemer says. “My nephew was visiting me at the time, and I am like the crazy aunt. [I said], ‘We’ve got to go find a barbershop right now.’ ... I walked into a Hispanic barbershop, and they said, ‘We don't cut your hair.' ... I pulled my hair up and said, ‘Everything else, just cut it.’ The guy looked at me like I was nuts, but I was like, ‘Please?’”

Photographed by Cait Oppermann.

Though she did beg her way in that day, Hackemer always tries to be respectful. “I try not to be too invasive. If there is a group of 15 guys in there, and they're all shooting the shit, I'm not going to walk into that shop,” she says. “It's not because I am scared of it; it's because I know that it is their time. I think you can be a feminist and be like, guys are allowed to have spaces. As long as the guys aren't forcibly being jackasses about keeping women out, I think it's okay for us to be respectful [that this is often] where dudes feel comfortable, the same way I'll go to the nail salon with my girlfriends."

Photographed by Cait Oppermann.

After her time on the road, she always goes back to Blind Barber. "They are one of my touch points in the hood. I'll walk home and wave — if I'm ever sick or fucked up, they're like, 'Are you okay? Do you need anything?’ If I go through a breakup, they're all, 'What is up with that? Who's this guy? Do I have to go after him?' It's like having some brothers in the neighbourhood."

Photographed by Cait Oppermann.

Tron, a tattoo artist at Three Kings Tattoo in Greenpoint, has been stopping by Blind Barber in Williamsburg every two to three weeks for the last two years. The appeal for her is less about the space or the price, and more about the haircut itself.

“It’s hard to find people who are experienced with cutting hair like mine, having super-thick Asian hair that grows out into a poof ball,” she explains. Her best friend turned her on to Paul Langevin (pictured), and she was hooked.

Photographed by Cait Oppermann.

Tron has been to salons before, but never found a stylist or a cut that really worked for her. "It was fine, but a little more feminine," she says. "It's always been hard for me to explain how I want my hair, but [the people at Blind Barber] already understand how I want it to look."

Photographed by Cait Oppermann.

Though she's not solely in it for the atmosphere, she feels totally comfortable in the barbershop space. "I'm a tattooer; it's a similar, male-oriented type of vibe. I've always just been one of the dudes," she says. "Lots of shop banter; [it's] fun to hear conversations and chime in, and see regulars."

Photographed by Cait Oppermann.

Though each appointment is only 30 minutes, the frequency at which most clients visit their barbers makes them regular fixtures in each others' lives — not unlike the barista you see every morning or the person with the same commute, says McMillen.

Many barbershop relationships seem to go even further than that. "We are all buddies. Paul just got tattooed by me; I tattooed another guy here, too," says Tron."[Everyone] always treats me right. I get a coffee or a haircut. After, I'll still be hanging around, drinking my beer and chitchatting with the guys."

Photographed by Cait Oppermann.

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#TBT Style File: Monica Bellucci

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Photo: Getty

Monica Bellucci. Let us count the ways. Thou art more lovely than any other noughties Euro babe. The ultimate bella figura, our generation's answer to Sophia Loren, and a living, breathing, Caravaggio painting made flesh (in a D&G fishtail dress). Too far? Our devotion is bottomless. Hence us dedicating this week's style file to the woman who could officially make a napkin look like couture.

The Italian super-babe was born in 1964 in Umbria and began her career as a model in 1988 when she moved to Milan and signed with Elite. She's been name-checked more times in men's mag's hottest-women-in-the-world polls than we've been omitted, and she made history as the oldest Bond girl ever (which is, ludicrous, but, kudos) in last year's Spectre with Daniel Craig.

However, our favourite Mon period has to be 1996-2006. Why? Well she met the thinking woman's Croque Monsieur, Vincent Cassel, on the set of their 1996 film The Apartment. They wed in 1999, starred in Irreversible in 2002, and became the globe's sexiest couple to have united ever. I mean, granted, they've since divorced. But let's not dwell on what we cannot change.

Monica, this is our insufficient, but very heartfelt ode, to your Boudica in Prada style...

1985

Monica giving us both life and '80s supermodel intensity. That off-the-shoulder sweetheart neckline deserves its own Tumblr account.

Photo: Getty

Monaco, 2000

Us in a corset = Atomic Kitten. Monica in a corset = Atomic bomb.

Photo: Getty

Cannes, 1997

This is her genuinely caught off guard at Cannes. That diamond choker is most definitely being shown up. We're sure you'll agree.

Photo: Getty

Cannes, 2003

In her signature leopard print and an Elizabethan drop pearl choker.

Photo: Getty

1985

Monica in black tailoring. 'Nuff said.

Photo: Getty

GQ Party, 2000

This is what a global sex symbol wears to a party in the year 2000. A lace body stocking. Heaven.

Photo: Rex

Cannes, 2000

Moussey waves? Check. See through cardigan and camisole? Check. Choker? Check. Y2K nailed? Check.

Photo: Rex

1999

Again with the underwear as outerwear and diamonds you could swing from. More is more.

Photo: Getty

Golden Globe Awards, 2001

Red. Alert.

Photo: Rex

Paris Film Festival, 1999

Channeling Claudia Cardinale in a tooth-floss strap slip dress. Our favorite Monica moment.

Photo: Getty

All The Pretty Horses Premiere, 2000

A tuxedo never looked better.

Photo: Getty

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This 'Smart Tech' For Your Home Actually Exists

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Photo: Press

Some people dream of a "connected" home filled with the chiming voices of machines instead of people. "Smart objects" talking to one another, lights blinking and alerts beeping as they automate the domestic work you can't quite be bothered to do. Tech evangelists cite endlessly the projection that by 2020 there will be 6.4 billion connected ‘things’, many of which will be in the home.

But for others, the idea of a "smart home" is a dystopian nightmare: every connected object brings another means of harvesting data, and another corporation to sell it on to. We welcome surveillance into our homes, and pay for the privilege. And every device offering out-of-the-box omniscience is hackable, from smartphone doorbells to baby monitors (appropriated as the plot for a lurid –but believable – episode of CSI Cyber called ‘Kidnapping 2.0’)

From self-watering plants to camera-equipped vacuums, we wonder whether the effort of keeping up with smart tech can sometimes outweigh the effort of using normal, not-connected household appliances. Here, we’ve rounded up fourteen of the weirdest "connected" home appliances, and explained what they do, so you can decide for yourselves how smart they are.

The Connected Crockpot

One for the most neurotic and time-pressed chefs, you can leave dishes to stew in this slow cooker and activate it remotely an hour or so before you arrive home, adjusting the temperature or turning it off entirely when you choose. But reviews citing a lengthy set-up, wifi crashing and slow cooking time (yes it’s a slow cooker, but really, really slow) beg the question: does anyone actually need a connected crockpot? Perhaps not. Perhaps this is this the kind of white elephant gift you would reserve for your least-favourite aunt, or the wedding of your favourite frenemy.

CleverPet: the connected dog video game console

A console created to "engage idle paws", CleverPet seems like a good idea, making your pet wait to be fed while you're out, or training them to beg for treats. But if leaving your dog home alone makes you feel bad, leaving it with an "automatic, engaging, adaptive" might not make you feel a whole lot better. The machine slowly distributes food after your dog completes interactive challenges, promising that, as the website says, "a dog with a job is a happy dog". It’s like Silicon Valley Libertarianism, but for dogs.

FitBark

It’s true that obesity can shorten an animal’s lifespan, and there’s nothing wrong with wanting your dog to get enough exercise. This dog version of the Fitbit, the health tracking wristlet for humans, quantifies your dog's every move so that you can keep tabs on their fitness. Why do we need the Quantified Dog from FitBark? Social media has helped us sell away our personal lives, our friendships, and more recently, through health trackers, our bodies as data, and now comes the idea of data-harvesting our pets too. How long have we managed to walk our dogs without fitness monitors? If they don’t get out enough, don’t dogs usually bark and complain?

The Amazon Echo

The corporate lovechild of 2001: A Space Odyssey ’s Black Monolith and Hal 9000, this home assistant robot is voiced by ‘Alexa’, who replies every time you speak her name. All-knowing and all-hearing, Alexa can play music, order products online and answer trivia questions in her measured, neutral tone. Install a few apps and she can also tell gently off-colour jokes (awkward) and imitate the sound of human laughter (even more awkward). Oh, and Alexa’s always listening, as illustrated this Guardian writer’s experiences living with the device for a week and having Alexa interrupt his conversations. Probably best left to those who don’t mind surveillance, or enjoy shouting at house-servants (but cannot afford the upkeep).

The iKettle

You bought the iPhone, now buy the iKettle. Something of an update on the Teasmade machine of old, the Amazon comments on this smartphone-operated kettle are a litany of woes, each grimly predictable. With the iKettle, users trade "connectability" for convenience: you could invite your friends over for tea using the "share" feature across your online "kettle network", only – say its users – when the wifi signal drops the kettle needs to be reset. You could enjoy pre-boiled water for your morning tea, except claim users, that the base is broken, the lid won’t close. Perhaps the paltry hissing sound the iKettle makes as it attempts to boil reminds you of the spite you feel at having blown £89 on this malfunctioning appliance. You could just buy a better-quality, standard kettle, which saves time by boiling the water faster. The choice is yours.

Quirky Egg Minder Wink App Enabled Smart Egg Tray

It's actually called that! This is it. Our glorious future. Here, in your fridge, counting and recounting your eggs. Don’t forget your eggs. Ever. With the Quirky Egg Minder, LED lights will indicate the oldest egg in your egg tray. You will receive push notifications about the number of eggs left, letting you know precisely when to dash to the nearest shop to purchase more. The Amazon reviews have it right: this device will pay for itself within a mere 39 trays of eggs. Aside from purchasing an egg minder, you should probably also download the phone app, to check your egg count daily. I ran out of eggs once, and it ruined my week. Don’t let it happen to you.

Parrot, the connected plant

Getting your first plant is something of millennial life event. You tend to it, show it off, lovingly water it every week. Then you forget about it and it dies. Following this logic, it might seem a good idea to invest in an Internet of Things device like Parrot, to remind you to tend to that fern, cactus, or extensive hydroponic weed set-up you have stashed away in your basement. But the ‘connected plant’ remains a joke among even the most dedicated tech enthusiasts. Should nature really be monitored with real-time chart plotting and analysis? Doesn’t it sort of defeat the purpose? Are you really so bound-up in the world of screens that you can’t check in on a plant in your windowsill? If you need this you probably shouldn't be trusted with plants... not even a cactus.

The wifi-enabled surveillance vacuum

A robotic vacuum seems like a good idea, not least one with an auto-emptying dustbin. But why does it need to have a camera? So you can see the world from the point of view of a robotic vacuum, and examine the lint under your sofa up close? The manufacturers, Samsung, write that their NaviBot S model "employs an onboard camera and two CPU chips to help create a map of your living space", implying that the vacuum will very soon get to know your home. Along with the camera it comes with a mic-is your vacuum watching and listening to you? At £390, those who buy this product likely get all the excitement they deserve from a wifi-enabled dirt collector….

The Bluetooth toilet

Never again will you need to physically touch your toilet in order to flush it: this $4000 (£2800) toilet can be controlled with an app instead. Lixil’s ‘Satis’ smart toilet also lets you spray air freshener, play music through its built-in speakers and compile a diary of bowel movements (no, really). If these weren’t enough reasons not to buy a connected toilet, the product was later found to be worryingly easy to hack.

Smartypans skillet

And now we get into health-monitoring territory, with a "connected pan " that reminds you of the nutritional content in what you’re eating. Smartypans (they only exist in the plural) integrates with fitness trackers and accepts voice commands as you add ingredients to the pan. It then uses weight and temperature sensors to calculate exact nutritional value and report this to a phone app. Which could actually be useful, especially if you’re a professional athlete or eating for recovery, but could also allow you to obsess over what you eat to a very fine degree. We're on the fence.

Vessyl Pryme

No smart object list would be complete without Vessyl, the "supercup" that "automatically tracks and displays your personal hydration needs" (in other words, informs you when you’ve drunk enough water). Pilloried by media and the public alike, Vessyl still managed to raise $1 million in pre-orders before running into difficulties and delaying their orders. Now the ‘Vessyl Pryme’ has hit the market, the product is slightly different to what was originally promised, but measures how much you drink and sends you push notifications telling you how far away you are from your "Pryme" hydrated state.

HAPIfork

HAPIfork, as you might tell from the name, monitors how many bites you eat, and "coaches" you into eating more slowly with the aim of helping you lose weight. It relays this data to a phone app, where you can track your "meal stats" and feel vaguely guilty over your timed "fork servings". It’s easy to see the good intentions, however misguided, behind this product – taking time to appreciate food is a good thing, and the device might help people suffering from eating or digestive issues. But it’s also deeply weird: users are encouraged to share their progress with their friends, because what’s the point in owning a connected fork if you can’t broadcast on Twitter and Facebook the rate at which you stuff food into your face?

The Smart Mirror

An internet-age take on a very old idea, this light-up mirror replicates different settings (cloudy weather, daylight, dim restaurant lighting) so you can do your makeup to suit them. Costing $400 (£280), the Simplehuman wide-view sensor mirror is cord-free, rechargeable, sensor-enabled and comes with an app to "capture light settings from the world around you and accurately recreate them" (you could also just do your makeup by a window…) An ideal gift for people who earn a living from YouTube makeup tutorials, lighting nerds and the vain, this product encapsulates just about everything about the selfie generation.

Photo-taking fridge

Called the ‘smartest fridge ever ’, Samsung’s Family Hub comes with a 21.5 inch vertical touch-screen attached to its side which logs your groceries, displays memos and compiles a family calendar. It also has fisheye cameras mounted to the inside of the fridge which snap a photo every time you close its door. These can then be accessed from an app when you’re at the shop and need to remember what to stock up on. Another example of a thing designed to watch over other things, this one is quite the investment at $5999 (£4201), though at least it’s more visually impressive than a HAPIfork.

The doorbell that watches you

Do you dislike face-to-face conversation? Are you gripped by paranoia, or afraid of leaving the house? This is the product is for you. The Ring Video Doorbell has a built-in motion sensor, meaning when someone is outside your home it sends you mobile alerts and records a video of your visitor as they stand on your doorstep. You can then watch them from the comfort of your smartphone and even speak to them through the doorbell. Because you should be scared of everyone: someone ringing your doorbell, the purpose for which the doorbell was designed, is absolutely, definitely a sign that they’re up to no good!

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11 Photos Of A Woman Who Escaped Slavery In America

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When we think of human trafficking, more often than not we think of people who have been bought, sold, and forced to perform sexual acts. But while sexual slavery is a horrifying form of exploitation that is all too prevalent around the world, forced labour may in fact be a more common form of human trafficking. And it could be happening right outside your window.

A modern-day slave is often hidden in plain sight. You may even have met one today — according to anti-trafficking organisation the Polaris Project, some of the most common hubs of labour trafficking are domestic labour, farms, restaurants, and even health and beauty services.

Photographer Xyza Bacani spent several months documenting the daily reality of survivors of labour trafficking in New York City. In photos, she tells the story of Daisy Benin Santos, a woman who was trafficked from the Philippines in 2008 and spent two years in captivity before she escaped.

Benin Santos told Bacani she had been tricked. Promised a lucrative job in a hotel in Missouri, Benin Santos paid thousands of dollars to her trafficker to bring her into the country legally. Instead, the trafficker let Benin Santos' work visa expire (leaving her undocumented), and took her to Panama, FL, where Benin Santos was forced to work as a cleaner. Her trafficker took the little money Benin Santos made and put it towards exorbitant charges for rent and food, keeping Benin Santos firmly locked in debt bondage.

"The hardest part for [these women] was the feeling of hopelessness," Bacani told Refinery29 by email. She added that the stories hit close to home: "There were some scenes where it’s like a flashback of my life."

Bacani, a native of the Philippines, spent close to a decade working as a domestic servant in Hong Kong, although she wasn’t trafficked. As a free labourer, Bacani had the ability to leave her employers if she wanted, and to pursue her own dreams and education on the side. But as a labourer and a migrant, Bacani connects to these women's experiences. "I’ve been on both sides," she said. "That gives me an extra perspective [on] these women’s stories."

Andrea Panjwani works with survivors of trafficking every day. She's a managing attorney for My Sister’s Place, a New York-based organisation that aids survivors. She told Refinery29 that immigrants are especially vulnerable to being trafficked. "They may not have the language [skills], or any sense...that they have a right to labour protections even though they’re not documented," Panjwani said.

"Labour trafficking is a very significant problem in the U.S.," she explained, estimating that there are tens of thousands of people trafficked in the New York City area alone. Panjwani said the problem has grown so large because: "Everyone benefits. We have cheaper products and services because people are trafficked." And the fact that the practice is so widespread makes it hard to identify and help victims.

"Human labour trafficking victims are hard to pinpoint because some of them don’t have physical proof that they are victims," Bacani says. "How should a victim look? We’ll never know."

As for Benin Santos, she's finally free from forced labour. After escaping her traffickers, she found work for a new family in New York City before finally returning home to the Philippines to live with her three daughters. "She loves her children so much," Bacani said of Benin Santos. "I'm really happy for her."

Ahead, powerful photos that tell the story of Dasiy Benin Santos.

Daisy Benin Santos cleans her new employer's house, with the NYC skyline as a background. When she was trafficked, she said she felt like her life was always in chaos. Now, she is freely working for a new family.

New York City

June 27, 2015

Photo: Xyza Bacani/Redux

When Daisy first arrived in the U.S. on February 22, 2008, she was supposed to work in the Grand Plaza Hotel in Branson, MO. Her recruiter took her to Panama, FL instead.

New York City

June 27, 2015.

Photo: Xyza Bacani/Redux

Another nanny and a child arrive for a playdate with the children Daisy watches.

New York City

June 27, 2015.

Photo: Xyza Bacani/Redux

During the time Daisy was trafficked, she was forced to live with 12 other people crammed into a tiny apartment. She remembers the standard of living as terrible.

New York City

June 27, 2015

Photo: Xyza Bacani/Redux

Daisy has been nannying for this new family for four years, after escaping her traffickers.

New York City

June 27, 2015.

Photo: Xyza Bacani/Redux

Daisy talks to her youngest daughter, still back in the Philippines, every day.

Queens, NY

July 06, 2015

Photo: Xyza Bacani/Redux

Daisy and her friend Cherry share their experiences as trafficking survivors.

Queens, NY

July 6, 2015

Photo: Xyza Bacani/Redux

Daisy attends a human trafficking event after mass at Saint James church. A practicing Catholic, she attends mass every Sunday.

Queens, NY

July 06, 2015.

Photo: Xyza Bacani/Redux

Daisy lives in a tiny bedroom in Queens, New York City. She's trying to save money to reunite with her children. Her walls are covered with photos of her three daughters.

Queens, NY

July 02, 2015

Photo: Xyza Bacani/Redux

The remaining members of another group of trafficking victims, known as the Florida 15, all live together in this home in Jersey City. They can't afford the high cost of rent in New York City.

Jersey City

June 3, 2015

Photo: Xyza Bacani/Redux

Daisy has three daughters, with whom she skypes. She went without seeing her children for seven years, until she was recently able to reunite with them in the Philippines.

Queens, NYC

July 21, 2015

To learn more about victims of human trafficking and what you can do to help, visit My Sister's Place or The Polaris Project.

Photo: Xyza Bacani/Redux

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The Most Instagrammable City Break You’ve Never Heard Of

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There’s a saying that goes: “Morocco is the closest furthest away place” because in just under four hours from London, you can be in the middle of medinas and riads so bustling and charming, you’ll feel worlds away from your desk and Pret sandwich. But, just when I thought Yves Saint Laurent’s Majorelle Garden (think lush greenery against Yves Klein blue coloured buildings) in Marrakech was the most photo-worthy place in the country, I stumbled across Morocco’s best-kept secret: Chefchaouen.

Situated in the Rif Mountains, Chefchaouen literally translates to ‘The Blue City’ as every building in the old quarter has been a shade of blue since they were first painted in the 1930s. Affectionately known as ‘The Blue Pearl’, residents will happily tell you that the tradition first came to be because Jewish refugees wanted the city to symbolise heaven, or because the colour blue is meant to ward off mosquitos – it depends who you ask. And every year, new coats of paint made from local blue henna dye are washed over the houses to keep the heritage going.

You can get there in about two hours from Tangier (which is what I did in a shared six-people taxi for 600 dirhams/£43), four hours from Fez and six from Casablanca, so go off the beaten track and expect some serious geotag stalking on Insta.

In contrast to somewhere like Marrakech, which can be busy and frantic at times, Chefchaouen is peaceful and quiet (probably due to its modest 40,000 inhabitants) which doesn’t only mean a tamer experience but also countless opportunities for an epic (and empty) Instagram backdrop. This #ootd was taken in a residential street dotted with colourful potted plants.

The exteriors are what dreams are made of. With all the buildings in the ancient medina painted a palette of blue hues and whites, every street corner is another wanderlust-inducing picture prospect. And because there’s not one obvious route to the city, it still remains a hidden gem. For direct flights to Tangier (the closest airport route to Chefchaouen), check out Air Arabia and make sure to stay hydrated and awake for the winding mountain road drive, although it’s possibly not an ideal journey for the faint-hearted or car-sick.

At the time of writing, the Instagram hashtag #doors had almost 850,000 posts and I guarantee you won’t find door porn like this anywhere else. This particular door belongs to a market stall run by a local old man, where I bought a leather wallet for the equivalent of £3. Thanks to the city’s slightly off-grid status, the prices are much lower compared to big city markets.

With only a few hotels to choose from, stay in a riad (a traditional Moroccan house with an interior garden/courtyard) where you’ll drink fresh orange juice and eat sfenj (Moroccan doughnuts) for breakfast. Casa Perleta has a roof terrace that makes the perfect setting for an afternoon cup of Moroccan mint tea. And just around the corner is restaurant Casa Hassan which serves up classic cuisine like tagines and harira soup but, remember, alcohol is barely served in the city, so if you’re in dire need of a glass of vino, you’ll have to venture up Atlas mountain to the comically old-school discotheque (that word makes sense when you see it) in Hotel Atlas where a beer will cost you the equivalent of £7.

Ready for a micro history lesson? Although the city was founded in 1471 as a small fortress to defend itself from Portuguese invasions, it was seized by the Spanish in 1920 and eventually given back to Morocco in 1956 – which explains why the locals there largely speak a mix of Arabic and Spanish. Today, one of the city’s biggest tourist attractions is the old Spanish Mosque which sits a 20-minute hike away from the old quarter and has amazing views of city. Just make sure to only bring flats with you for the cobblestone streets and mountainside walks.

The city isn’t all blue. Bags of brightly coloured henna dyes – used for everything from painting houses to decorative body paint for celebratory events – line the maze-like streets and are sold alongside hand-woven rugs, pottery and maxi dresses. And, make sure to enjoy the sensory overload that is walking into a spice shop or pharmacy stocked full of argan oil.

Finally, I can’t not mention the cats that make up a quarter of the population in Chefchaouen. If #catsofInstagram is your thing, you’ll have enough fodder for weeks. They’re all adorable, obviously, and happily live among the locals and around the souks. Speaking of shopping, browsing and haggling is a surprisingly peaceful venture with every stall owner more chilled out than the last – which may be due to the lesser-known fun fact that weed is widely smoked and sold in Chefchaouen – and since the city is based up the mountains with an influx of sheep, another specialty of the city is wool so stock up on knits.

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Cara Returns To Fashion As Face Of Saint Laurent

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Photo: Saint Laurent

Last year Cara Delevingne famously hung up her modelling mules to focus on her burgeoning acting career but now everyone's favourite set of brows are back in business fronting the new Saint Laurent campaign for the La Collection de Paris, showcased during PFW earlier this month.

Today Hedi Slimane, Saint Laurent's Creative Director who's rumoured to be leaving the French fashion house imminently, shared four striking black-and-white images of the Brit supermodel via the Saint Laurent Twitter account. Snapped in New York a fortnight ago, the images capture Cara in a black tux, glittering bustier dress and a fur coat. But it was actually Karl Lagerfeld who coaxed Cara out of her early modelling retirement with a Chanel eyewear campaign for SS16, however, this is the first mainline luxury fashion campaign the 23-year-old has done in some time. Cara first posed for Slimane in 2013 when she starred in the campaign for the Saint Laurent grunge collection and the fashionable duo have worked together frequently ever since.

Yesterday Jane Birkin was also unveiled as a new face of Saint Laurent, in a separate campaign for the fashion house's iconic Le Smoking suit. Doesn't get hotter than that.

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Here's Everything Coming To UK Netflix In April

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Photo: Netflix

Plenty of treats in store this month, Netflixers. There's an original comedy from Ricky Gervais, a new sitcom starring Ashton Kutcher, and the second series of Peaky Blinders, which you really need to see so you can keep up with people down the pub.

If you have little ones, or just enjoy a bit of animation, then there is a plethora of delights, including "mother's little helper" Frozen.

On top of that, there are some great documentaries telling the diverse stories of everyone from 100-year-old athletes to big pharmaceutical company bosses.

Take a look at what's hitting Netflix in April.

Moneyball (2011)

Brad Pitt stars as the baseball coach who finds a way to overcome the team's limited payroll. It's more fun than it sounds. Promise. It was nominated for Oscars and everything.

Available April 20

Photo: Netflix

Crafting A Nation (2013)

A documentary about how the American craft beer movement is, er, saving the economy. One IPA at a time.

Available April 1

Photo: Netflix

Better Call Saul: Season 2 Episode 10

It’s the final episode of the Breaking Bad prequel’s second season. Has there been a Bryan Cranston cameo yet?

Available April 19

Photo: Netflix

Frozen (2013)

You know the song, now watch the film that has given a bit of respite to exhausted parents everywhere.

Available April 1

Photo: Netflix

Full House: Season 1-8

Relive the family favourite sitcom that launched the careers of the caffeine-loving Mary-Kate and Ashley.

Available April 1

Photo: Netflix

Bee Movie (2007)

Jerry Seinfeld is the bee who has just left university (silly!) but wants something more from life than simply making honey.

Available April 4

Photo: Netflix

Iverson (2014)

Chartering the controversial NBA legend Allen Iverson from his childhood in Virginia to becoming an 11-time NBA All-Star, which apparently is kinda a big deal.

Available April 1

Photo: Netflix

Kong: King of the Apes: Season 1

The year is 2050 and Kong and his mates have to stop a mad scientist from unleashing an army of robotic dinosaurs. Based on a true story.

Available April 15

Photo: Netflix

Kung Fu Panda(2008)

Jack Black dreams of jacking in his job working at his family's noodle shop to become a kung-fu master. So he does.

Available April 1

Photo: Netflix

Kung Fu Panda 2 (2011)

More shenanigans from Jack Black's panda, now known as Dragon Warrior, and his pals the Furious Five, not to be confused with the Famous Five.

Available April 1

Photo: Netflix

Madagascar (2005)

Alex the lion is the star attraction at New York's Central Park Zoo but sick of being unlawfully held against his will for human pleasure, decides to break out and visit his homeland, taking a few friends with him.

Available April 1

Photo: Netflix

Madagascar 2 (2008)

Perhaps suffering from Stockholm Syndrome, the New Yorkers make a plan to leave Africa but then they encounter members of their own species for the first time.

Available April 1

Photo: Netflix

Madagascar 3 (2012)

Believe it or not but Ben Stiller, Chris Rock and David Schwimmer are still trying to make it back to New York's Central Park Zoo. So they stop off in Europe.

Available April 1

Photo: Netflix

Age of Champions (2011)

This award-winning documentary follows five elderly competitors who sprint, leap, and swim at the National Senior Olympics. It's adorbs.

Available April 1

Photo: Netflix

Maleficent (2014)

Angelina Jolie plays a villain with some seriously sharp cheekbones in this reworking of Sleeping Beauty. Fun fact: she is the first Disney baddie to be given their own film.

Available April 20

Photo: Netflix

How To Train Your Dragon (2010)

A young Viking befriends a dragon that he is supposed to slay. Slay, girl, slaaay.

Available April 1

Photo: Netflix

Codegirl (2015)

This documentary tells the stories of inspiring high school girls around the country and the globe, using and improving code in the world of technology. Karlie Kloss not included.

Available April 1

Photo: Netflix

Monsters Vs Aliens (2009)

After Reese Witherspoon is transformed into a giant by an extraterrestrial meteor, the government puts her into a secret compound with a bunch of other monsters (tbf that sounds quite dread). Lo and behold, when the planet is invaded by aliens guess who are the only people who can save it?

Available April 1

Photo: Netflix

Nashville (1975)

Not to be confused with the TV show starring the mum from Friday Night Lights. Robert Altman’s acclaimed satirical comedy set in the country music scene still delivers 40 years on.

Available April 27

Photo: Netflix

Patton Oswalt: Talking for Clapping (2016)

Comedian and actor Patton Oswalt tackles depression and failure in his stand-up comedy. Fun fact: he also voiced Remy in Ratatouille. Cute.

Available April 22

Photo: Netflix

Peaky Blinders: Season 2

Cillian Murphy stars in this violent crime drama set in Birmingham in 1919. Does everyone else confuse Cillian Murphy with Jonathan Rhys Meyers or is that just me?

Available April 1

Photo: Netflix

The Pirate Fairy (2014)

Tinker Bell and her fairy friends search for a wayward fairy played by Christina Hendricks in this Peter Pan prequel. I kid you not but they have given Christina fairy curves.

Available April 23

Photo: Netflix

Over The Hedge (2006)

Some woodland creatures wake up from hibernation only to find they have new human neighbours. Hilarities ensue.

Available April 1

Photo: Netflix

Power: Season 1 & 2

This series follows the owner of a New York nightclub who struggles with his legitimate business alongside running an illegal drug network. 50 Cent produces this American drama. But don't let that put you off.

Available April 1

Photo: Netflix

Prescription Thugs (2015)

Filmmaker – and excellent pun-maker – Chris Bell takes on the pharmaceutical industry and looks into prescription-drug addiction in America.

Available April 15

Photo: Netflix

Puss In Boots (2011)

Antonio Banderas reprises his role as a sexy, lothario feline for this Shrek prequel.

Available April 1

Photo: Netflix

Ronaldo (2015)

Acclaimed filmmaker Anthony Wonke examines the life and career of the superstar Portuguese footballer Cristiano Ronaldo. Do we get to find out where he gets his jewellery?

Available April 9

Photo: Netflix

Shrek 2 (2004)

Having returned from their honeymoon, Fiona's parents find out that she has married and invite the happy couple to stay with them in the royal kingdom Far Far Away (clever!) Only problem is they think she married Prince Charming. And they don't know she's now green.

Available April 1

Photo: Netflix

Shrek The Third (2007)

When Fiona's father the King dies suddenly, they have to find a suitable heir to the throne. Unfortunately the best prospect is Justin Timberlake.

Available April 1

Photo: Netflix

Shrek Forever After (2010)

Shrek is having a bit of a mid-life crisis and is transported to a parallel universe by naughty Rumpelstiltskin. Can he find a way home? Whaddya think?

Available April 1

Photo: Netflix

Shark Tale (2004)

With voiceover talent including Will Smith, Robert De Niro, Angelina Jolie and Jack Black, I'd love to know how much DreamWorks dished out for that lot.

Available April 4

Photo: Netflix

Suits: Season 4

The legal drama television series created and written by Aaron Korsh returns for a fourth season. Expect men in suits.

Available April 1

Photo: Netflix

The Boomer List (2014)

A documentary speaking with people born in the baby boomer years (1946-64) including Kim Cattrall, Tommy Hilfiger and Samuel L Jackson among others, as they talk about their paths in life. I look forward to the sequel: The Millennial List, starring Kylie Jenner and Scooter Braun.

Available April 4

Photo: Netflix

Special Correspondents (2016)

Ricky Gervais writes and directs this film about negotiations to free two kidnapped journalists in Iraq. Unfortunately the correspondents have made it all up. Can somebody say The Invention of Lying?

Available April 29

Photo: Netflix

Shadowhunters: Season 1, Episode 13

Clary Fray discovers on her 18th birthday that she carries angelic blood and that she's a Shadowhunter. Now she must protect normal human beings from demonic creatures which apparently is a drag but sounds quite fun really.

Available April 7

Photo: Netflix

Respectable: The Mary Millington Story (2015)

Documentary charting the life of Mary Millington, a 70s glamour model and porn star. The British Linda Lovelace, if you will.

Available April 8

Photo: Netflix

The Women’s List (2015)

15 women including Madeleine Albright, Margaret Cho, Edie Falco, and Alicia Keys talk about their experiences growing up as women in America in this documentary. Toni Morrison read and wrote the introduction.

Available April 4

Photo: Netflix

Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt: Season 2

Kimmy Schmidt is back but she's still finding it difficult to fit into the bustling New York City. Well, duh, she's been in a bunker her whole life.

Available April 15

Photo: Netflix

The Ranch : Part 1

When a former football star returns home to his father's ranch, it's quite the adjustment to fit back in. Expect Two and a Half Men humour levels.

Available April 1

Photo: Netflix

AJIN: Season 1

A brand-new anime series based on the popular seinen manga, which is apparently the manga that teenage boys like. If that helps you make your mind up.

Available April 12

Photo: Netflix

Antz (1998)

Woody Allen voices Z, who struggles working in an ant colony when he just wants to express himself. After falling in love with a princess, he joins the army to track her down. I'm sorry, does anyone else remember Woody Allen playing a cartoon ant? I certainly don't.

Available April 1

Photo: Netflix

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Ranking The 15 Greatest Episodes Of Laguna Beach

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Photo: Jesse Grant/Getty Images.

If you were a teenager in the 2000s, then you know about the cult reality show that was MTV's Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County. Whether you were Team L.C., Team Kristin, or, hey, even Team Stephen, the show had all the fixings of a great American teen drama.

There were crushes on classmates and crushing moments of betrayal. There were sunny pool days and shady prom nights. There were tanned bodies and icy stares. It was adolescent, amazing, and quite addicting.

So without further ado, here are the 15 greatest episodes of Laguna Beach, ranked by memorability and amount of Laguna Beachiness.

The following programme was shot over a six-month period in the city of Laguna Beach, California. The people, the locations, and the drama...are real.

15. Season 3, Episode 3: "We're Gonna Crash A Party"

Best moments : Kyndra and Cami crash Raquel's Christmas party. Or, rather, they just "show up uninvited." While there, they stir up a decent amount of drama when a girl calls Cami "dirty." This would have ranked higher if the girls didn't do that annoying voice mocking Rocky.

via YouTube.

14. Season 1, Episode 2: "The Bonfire"

Best moments: Kristin and Jessica make Chicken Alfredo that tastes like "feet" for Stephen and Dieter during a double date that goes sour fast. L.C. and Lo go to Trey's open-mic charity event and are so bored they leave to go get sushi. At least they tried, right?

via YouTube.

13. Season 1, Episode 7: "The Last Dance"

Best moments: The awkwardness of the prom picture party was pretty amazing. Kristin constantly screaming for Stephen is always great. And of course, the night ends with Lo and L.C. taking digital-camera selfies. #2004

via YouTube.

12. Season 2, Episode 3: "It's Hard To Say Goodbye"

Best moments: Talan admits his unrequited love for Taylor, and it's really special. Too bad he has hooked up with basically the whole school — "twice!" as L.C. would say. Meanwhile, things heat up between L.C. and Stephen during her south-of-the-border birthday trip. Remember when she licks the whipped cream off his nose, and then they disappear into her hotel room? And then, he immediately leaves for San Fran. Rough.

via YouTube.

11. Season 1, Episode 4: "18 Candles"

Best moments: Kristin gives her number to a random guy during Christina's 18th birthday party at Joe's Crab Shack. L.C. and Talan go on a date. Christina auditions to be on Broadway in New York, and it's...rough.

via YouTube.

10. Season 2, Episode 2: "You Can't Trust Him"

Best moments: Kristin, Alex H., and Jessica go out for a girl's night and end up at — where else — Dave & Buster's. Jess talks about Jason drama the whole time, while Jason is busy chatting it up with Alex M. at Taylor's house. The bloody prank is pretty creepy, and impressive.

via YouTube.

9. Season 2, Episode 15: "Winter Formal"

Best moments: Alex M. takes Jason to winter formal even though he's dating Jessica. Oops. Kristin takes a random guy, whom she doesn't even get to kiss — but at least she had hair extensions to keep herself warm.

via YouTube.

8. Season 1, Episode 8: "Grin & Bear It"

Best moments: Stephen's lame bear suit.

via YouTube.

7. Season 1, Episode 9: "Graduation Day"

Best moments: All of the Laguna Beachers get grad gifts, and Lo gets a white Jetta with that "new car smell." The crew is sad to leave Laguna, but so stoked to be in college with "new boys!!" Thank god they have all those disposable-camera selfies to preserve their memories.

via YouTube.

6. Season 2, Episode 12: "Our Last Prom "

Best moments: Kristin, Alex H., and Jessica gossiping about their prom nights on the couch the next morning with two huge empty tubs of ice cream is the most relatable moment of the entire show.

via YouTube.

5. Season 1, Episode 5: "What Happens In Cabo"

Best moments: When Kristin and Alex call each other from their respective tanning beds to talk about who will hook up in Cabo. And, of course, the screaming Cabo fight between Stephen and Kristin.

via YouTube.

4. Season 1, Episode 11: "Dunzo"

Best moments: The season finale of the first season of the show was super-emotional for Stephen and Kristin. The most emotional part? Hearing Lo make fun of L.C.'s fake-Gucci purse.

via YouTube.

3. Season 2, Episode 15: "I Saw You Kiss Her"

Best moments: When Jason kisses Jessica in front of L.C. at a fundraiser fashion show and the Earth shatters (for L.C.). And also, who can forget Heidi's first appearance in the series?

via YouTube.

2. Season 2, Episode 9: "Cabo, Cabo, Cabo"

Best moments: "You're one low chick" was this season of Laguna Beach 's "You know what you did " call-out moment.

via YouTube.

1. Season 1, Episode 1: "A Black & White Affair"

Best moments: The beginning of it all. L.C., "the nice girl," introduces her rivalry with Kristin, the bad-girl junior, and the saga of Stephen. And who didn't have at least one friend try to re-create that black-and-white party in high school?

via YouTube.

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Why I, Like J-Lo, Refuse To Sext

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Photographed by Alexandra Gavillet

I was reading this interview with David Bailey the other day who admitted that the first time someone asked him if he’d ever taken a “selfie”, he thought they were referring to masturbation. That’s what a selfie is though, right? A form of self love – that occasionally tips into you getting off with yourself for everyone to see. Because what a typical 'selfie' is really asking is this: ‘Do you think I’m sexy?’

In 2016, we pretty much have sex with our iPhones. I might go so far as to suggest that the mobile is not only a means of communication, but also a rather un-sexily packaged vibrator (of sorts).

In my opinion, the selfies we send to our lovers privately are blurring with the images we post of ourselves on social media. When we advertise ourselves, which we do now, daily, we get lazy. Pictures so quickly become about how our peers – and then in turn absolute strangers – value our lives. The selfie is, arguably, at the forefront of that sexual stock, where likes raise or lower our value on the market in the blink of a tap.

As an unattached female, it can be a tricky game to play, because you're essentially inviting others to cast their vote on your physicality. On paper, the upside of a selfie sent with the aim of arousing one person, is that it's only going to be seen by one person, of your choosing. The reality, however, is that it could end up being seen, and commented on, by a lot of people, and that's why I don't send them, even when asked. Beyond finding the whole thing really unsexy, I'm just not up for rolling the dice with naked images of myself.

We meet potential love matches with our mobiles (dating apps); we advertise our sexual prowess with pictures (see above re: selfies); we remind current partners of our physical value (a Facebook profile picture change perhaps.) Sex, in 2016, is not something you have to do in person. It no longer equates to penetration or to two people being in the same place at the same time. Sex that occurs through a screen is just as valid as the traditional, fleshy act. 'Sexting', or 'Digital Love', or whatever you'd like to call it, is happening, and it's real, and it's shaping the libido of the next generation. It's everything we need as time-poor people: instant, spontaneous, consuming.

While a sultry, 'come-hither' selfie on the ‘gram might be a nod or a wink in the right person's direction, we're also using our private messaging apps to have full-blown, pretty explicit sex. I am of course talking about Whatsapp, Facebook messenger, the common text, Instagram direct messages – even Snapchat. In the words of Yo Gotti’s hit song, "It Goes Down In The DM". The ‘DM’ has opened up a whole new level of personal ways to interact with our sexual conquests. Yo Gotti is on to something: We’re all having sex in the DM.

Yo Gotti is on to something: We’re all having sex in the DM.

Being as I am, a 25-year-old woman living in London, it will not surprise you to learn that I have been sent dick pics. Caveat: a dick pic. Scrap that: a dick Snapchat. Yeah, a moving image sext. And it was intense, and I deleted Snapchat afterwards (sorry – you know who you are). But, you know what, I was slightly concerned with how little curated genital art I’ve been on the reciprocating end of, before I realised it’s because I’m not putting it out there. I’ve thought about it. I’ve taken well lit pictures of my waist and ass and I’ve sent them to my mates as kind of ‘yo, whatsupppppp!’ (give my life/body authentication please) messages on a whim, but I’ve always gone chicken shit at the thought of seeding them out to boys I fancy.

My friends, I know, do take pictures and do send them out. I'm not just talking a barely covered breast or a Kardashian ‘belfie’ either, I'm talking full-frontal vaginal and peni-gal (go with it) shots. One of my friends basically has sex with her long distance boyfriend via the use of Snapchat and some well-lit bathroom selfies, and it works for them.

It’s not just pictures of myself naked popping up in someone’s inbox that triggers a cloying in my throat, it’s sexting too. I have been known to send a boozy text that reads something like, “I want to have sex with you", or if the night has truly taken me, “let’s fuck.” But then I chicken out.

Yesterday, a boy Whatsapp'd me this question: "Have you ever had anal?" While a message like that might raise a few tuts from my friends, and while I was, admittedly, taken by surprise, I actually just laughed, then checked my emails, and then thought nothing of it. The sext conversations of my pals, that I have been privy to, go on forever. They read like bad porno-scripts. Clunky clichés and scenarios that set my teeth on edge – but I love reading them. Much like real sex itself, they begin with foreplay, come to a climax and crescendo with a mutual arrival at a destination; “that was so fucking good babes, oh my god” etc, etc, etc.

I usually have a few questions though. Just how ambidextrous are my mates? How can you get past the whole screen thing, and is FaceTime not just so cringe? Maybe it’s different because I’m single and live in perennial fear of the screenshot. In fact, if you’re reading this, and you live in East London, and are also in your twenties, I’d bet my last rolo I’ve seen a screenshot of some of your online activity. I bet you’ve probably seen some of mine too. Because we live in an age where everything is visible and retrievable and screen-shotable. When we're having sex on our phones, there is a third person involved: the iPhone and all the possibilities that come with 4G.

I’m imaging his housemate laughing at my sexy selfie; I can see him unlocking his phone and his boss catching a glimpse of my arse; I can imagine it’s getting PR’d on the lads' WhatsApp and I want to die.

It's sad, but I’m in a more vulnerable position as a single woman when it comes to images of my naked/half-naked self being shared, and that’s what stops me right in my Uber tracks after I send the dreaded and inevitable “let’s have sex" text. Because I start to imagine his housemate laughing at my sexy selfie; I start to see him unlocking his phone and his boss catching a glimpse of my arse; I can see it getting PR’d on the lads' WhatsApp – and I want the ground to swallow me up.

So, yesterday, when J-Lo was asked to agree ‘yes’, by saying ‘J-LO’, and ‘no’ by saying ‘J-No’ on some American TV chat show, I found myself nodding vehemently when she answered ‘J-No’ to whether she agrees with sexting. “Dangerous,” she said. “I’m gonna have to say J. No. That’s dangerous!” And that’s a very particular word to use: ‘dangerous’ and one I would employ in this context too. Maybe, as a celebrity, she’s especially paranoid too after the whole iCloud leaks where nude images of celebrities like J-Law and Selena Gomez were released, but, I think the word’s still applicable to civilians like us. Yes, selfies can be empowering, but once you abscond control over your image or send an explicit image detailing the tributaries of your clitoris, you are taking a risk.

For me, having coitus on your phone comes down to two very sexy words: Risk Assessment. I get if it’s your partner, or your boyfriend, or your long distance wife, and that needs must, and maybe I have a poor sense of imagination or a general lack of trust but... I'd just rather have the real thing.

I have to stop myself there because I've realised that largely how I engage in 'the real thing' begins with a text. In yet more words of Yo Gotti: “Snapchat me that pussy or FaceTime me that pussy if it's cool.” Just make sure you’re using protection kids – and by protection I mean some serious iCloud and data protection and some very complex emotional foresight. Apart from that, have fun!

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Sisterhood & Social Media: Why More Western Women Are Joining ISIS

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Sally Jones left the United Kingdom to join her husband in Syria. Yusra Ismail allegedly stole a friend’s passport to make the trip from her Minnesota home. Hoda Muthana aided the fight from Alabama, where she reportedly ran a Twitter account urging more Americans to move to the war-torn Middle Eastern country.

All three women have been identified as alleged supporters of the Islamic State group, one of the world’s deadliest terror organisations. And they’re not alone. A report by the nonpartisan public policy institute, New America, has found that women are joining ISIS in "unprecedented numbers." One in seven Western militants tracked by New America are women.

Last week's deadly bombings in Brussels once again highlighted the difficulty faced by Western nations trying to combat people influenced by the poisonous ideology of ISIS. Dozens died and hundreds more were wounded in ISIS-claimed bombings at the Belgian capital's main international airport and at a subway station. In Paris last November, the group's attacks killed 130 people. In both cases, young men born and raised in Europe were behind the carnage.

To stop more violence, it is imperative to understand who the Western foreign fighters are, the extent of the networks, and the threat they pose, according to New America's report, titled "ISIS In The West." That's why the group studied 604 militants from 26 Western countries reported to have left home to fight with ISIS or like-minded jihadi groups like the al-Qaida-linked Jabhat al-Nusra in Syria or Iraq. The aim is to figure out what motivates young women to join these groups in order to fight back against ISIS propaganda and recruitment tools.

Ahead, Refinery29 breaks down what we know about the Western women joining ISIS.

ISIS propaganda emphasizes sisterhood and the chance to live in a community of like-minded women.

More Women Are Joining These Groups Than Ever Before

"ISIS has targeted women in ways similar to [the ways] al-Qaida did before it, in that women are a mainstay of their propaganda and recruitment," Mia Bloom, a professor at Georgia State University, told Refinery29 in an email.

"However, unlike al-Qaida, ISIS has commoditised women and uses the lure and promise of marriage to attract thousands of foreign fighters from the [Middle East and North Africa region]…So, not only are the women ranked and then awarded to the men based on all kinds of criteria — including eye and skin colour — but, after the husbands are killed, they are recirculated in the system…and gifted again."

The data mirrors that of the Institute for Strategic Dialogue (ISD) in London, which found an "unprecedented surge in female recruits" to ISIS.

New America and others note that the demographic profile of Western fighters now is different from those who have chosen to take up arms in the past, in places like Afghanistan in the 1980s or Bosnia a decade later. Those fighters were practically all male.

Militant fighters hold the flag of the Islamic State group (ISIS) while taking part in a military parade along the streets on June 30, 2014 in northern Raqqa province, Syria. 2014 saw the rise of the Sunni militant group, Islamic State, which has seized swathes of territory in both Syria and Iraq. Photo: Stringer/Reuters.

Part of this can be attributed to the fact that ISIS takes anyone, and there are many roles in the proclaimed caliphate (religious-based state) that women can play, said Magnus Ranstorp, a terrorism expert who serves as quality manager of the European Union Radicalisation Awareness Network.

And ISIS recruits are young, averaging just 22 years old among the Western women, according to New America. Some are in their teens, like 19-year-old Shannon Conley from Colorado, who authorities say planned to travel to Syria. Conley was convicted and sentenced to four years in a federal prison. For her part, Conley told the judge that she never intended to cause harm, according to The Denver Post.

Push and Pull Factors

The London-based ISD study, "Till Martyrdom Do Us Part" looked at why women and girls were being recruited, the diversity of roles they take on, and how to combat the threat. The picture is more complex than the "jihadi bride" label often attributed to them. For their study, ISD tracked more than 100 Western women across online platforms like Twitter, Facebook, and Tumblr.

Women can be pushed to join ISIS because they feel isolated, persecuted, or they feel an anger or sadness about perceived lack of international action against injustice. According to ISD, they might also be drawn or pulled by idealistic goals about building a caliphate; want to belong to a sisterhood; or glamorise what their experience with ISIS might be like. The women who are attracted to the fight hail from a variety of cultural, ethnic, educational, and religious upbringings.

They are like the Justin Biebers of the Salafi (ultra-conservative evangelical) jihadi world.

Ranstorp agreed that there are different types of women who are driven by a mixture of things. Many younger women are rebelling against patriarchal structures and they have a "romanticised notion about what the caliphate is."

The really young girls, 14 to 16 years old, are usually recruited in groups, and social media plays a significant role. Often, impressionable teens are lured by the idea of marriage to ISIS fighters who are portrayed as attractive and fit.

"They are like the Justin Biebers of the Salafi (ultra-conservative evangelical) jihadi world," Ranstorp said.

Many of these girls find themselves almost immediately pregnant.

However, while many of the young women joining ISIS are naive victims of the group's manipulation, there are also "veteran" women, Ranstorp added. The Belgian widow of a prominent terrorist leader, Malika el-Aroud, is one example of the veteran women who act as "recruitment sergeants," even recruiting men.

ISIS has commoditized women and uses the lure and promise of marriage to attract thousands of foreign fighters from the Middle East and North Africa region.

ISIS Messaging

For each "type" of women ISIS is trying to attract, they "are very adept at using a different message," Bloom said. They offer older women converts the chance "to create a new identity." Life is inaccurately portrayed as one filled with excitement where they will play an important part, Bloom added.

"In English, we have seen images in their propaganda of women on patrol, carrying guns and splayed across Toyota trucks. In addition to emphasising that women will be important and significant, they say that they will not be lonely and [will] have a support network of other women," she said.

For the young, the message is also tailored to basically prey "upon their innate altruism to do something important and 'good’ with their lives.'" ISIS propaganda also emphasises sisterhood and the chance to live in a community of like-minded women, Bloom said.

Education and teaching people how to independently assess information remains the best way to combat against this extremist ideology and recruitment, ISD found.

The aim is to figure out what motivates young women to join these groups in order to fight back against ISIS propaganda and recruitment tools.

Threat To America

While the risk facing Europe is "severe" because of mature networks of fighters linked to Syria, the threat posed to the United States is "low and will likely be manageable," New America's analysis found.

That finding is echoed by research from The Soufan Group, a New York-based security consultancy. In two years, the number of worldwide foreign fighters has more than doubled, thanks in part to a steady flow of people from Western Europe traveling to fight. France, the United Kingdom, Germany, and Belgium all contribute a disproportionate amount of these foreign fighters, but the number of people leaving to join ISIS and other groups from North America has remained "relatively flat," The Soufan Group found.

The FBI estimates that some 250 Americans have traveled or attempted to travel to Syria to take part in the conflict, which FBI Director James Comey acknowledged "is lower in comparison to many of our international partners."

So far, no one has returned to the U.S. from Syria and gone on to commit an act of violence, and there has only been one arrest for plotting a domestic attack, according to New America. However, ISIS-inspired violence is of concern, like that of the mass shooting in San Bernardino, CA that killed 14 people in December.

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10 Decluttering Hacks Every 20-Something Needs To Know

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Have you been staring at the same pile of stuff in the corner of your apartment for weeks upon weeks? We’re right there with you. While we wish we could just close our eyes and our clutter would disappear, sadly, that's not the case.

Spring cleaning is calling our names. But do any of us have the time to sit and organise every inch of our home? That’s where organising expert Fay Wolf comes in. Wolf has just debuted a book called New Order: A Decluttering Handbook for Creative Folks (and Everyone Else) that's full of millennially minded tips that will help you clean-attack your space. Ahead, she shares a few of her very best strategies.

Stay Where You Are

"Our impulse is to shop for shelves and containers before we start decluttering. Nope! Kindly stay home and start with the stuff. Once you know what you’re keeping, you can buy any necessary organising products later."

Photographed by Ashley Batz.

Sorting Bins = Smooth Sailing

"'But where do I begin?' you may say. Start by labelling a few empty boxes, bins, or brown grocery bags with the following category names: donate, trash, shred, recycle, other rooms. Then, those sorting bins can travel with you to any area you declutter. Having a place to chuck things will get this party started right quick."

Photo: Courtesy of Giggle.

Other Rooms, FTW

"If you’ve decided you’re decluttering your closet for the next 45 minutes, don’t wander off into the kitchen when you find an old fork hidden in your gym bag. (The next thing you know you’re washing dishes and eating Kettle Chips and ‘wait, wasn’t I purging my closet?’ Doh!) Throw things like that fork into a bin called 'Other Rooms' and deliver them later. You’ll save loads of time by staying put and completing the task at hand."

Photographed by Anna-Alexia Basile.

Labels Are Cool, Promise

"Rid yourself of the idea that labels are just for obsessive Type-A types. Labelling boxes and bins is just about making it easier on yourself — nothing more. (They don’t even have to look pretty! Sharpies work just fine.) So, for any containers or areas where items are out of view, label like the wind. And make those words specific. Thank yourself later."

Photo: Courtesy of Sharpie.

Hook It

"Quite possibly the most affordable organising product out there is also one that can make the most difference in your life. Yup, I’m talking about hooks. You can get them at any hardware store (or a million places online) or opt for fancier ones like the Eames rack pictured here. I’ve got some hanging right next to my front door for jackets and bags, and a few [in other places]."

Photo: Courtesy of Design Within Reach.

Make Use Of Old iPhone Boxes

"I know you probably still have that iPhone or Android box laying around somewhere, because I’ve discovered tons of them in clients’ homes. And I know you also probably have a junk drawer somewhere that’s a wee bit out of hand. (We all do.) Do a little drawer purging, separate out items that go together, and then use the open boxes to make clear divisions within the drawer. Chequebook and jewellery boxes work great, too."

Photo: Courtesy of Apple.

Empty Pockets

"Over the years, I’ve found more than a few things in the pockets of clothing that’s being donated. Sometimes I’ll find trash, sometimes I’ll find a missing earring, and sometimes I’ll find cold hard cash. So empty those pockets before passing your stuff along and you might find a sweet reward."

Photographed by Anna-Alexia Basile.

Take A Photo

"Yes, sentimental items are tough to part with. I get it, that corsage bracelet from prom sure brings back all the warm fuzzies. But I’ll bet about 90% of the stuff you’ve got would bring you just as much joy in photo form. Start a digital album for memorabilia, and then donate the actual stuff. Win-win."

Photographed by Julia Robbs.

Be A Storage Weirdo

"Short on storage space in your apartment? Think outside the, er, container. I’m not a huge cook, so I used to store party supplies (like paper plates and cups) in my freezer. There was a bunch of unused real estate in there, and that’s what worked for me. Give yourself permission to store whatever you want wherever you want."

Photographed by Maria del Rio.

Get Empty

"On the flip side, you don’t have to fill up all your storage spaces just because you have them. For deep cabinets that stretch back into a black hole, try storing stuff only in the front. Got a lot of drawers? Be an outlaw. Leave one empty. Leave room to breathe."

Photographed by Ashley Batz.

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Why Turning Men Down Is So Exhausting

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Illustrated By Anna Sudit.

A woman about my age and an older man standing close together were having a spirited discussion in my office’s lift as I got on the other day, until I realised that they weren’t and that the woman was telling the man off. "Why are you hitting on me in a lift?" she asked him sharply. "This is a business environment. Step back. Step away from me." He did, and was quiet for the rest of the ride down. I wanted to say something to the woman after we got off, but "What you just did was cool" sounded dumb in my head, while "Hey, you okay?" sounded condescending; she hadn’t asked for my take.

But the way she had handled a man in her face in a public place was cool — calm, unequivocal, and effective. It was also completely unlike how I tend to deal with unwanted attention.

I am accommodating. I smile a lot. When harassed in the street, I’m silent, other than the occasional "fuck you" I mutter under my breath (thank you, noise-cancelling headphones, for limiting the number of times I hear unsolicited comments in the first place); when faced with a distasteful advance one-on-one, I’m still sweet. Because I want you to like me, even as I demur. I want you to find me sexy even as I turn you down. And I hate that impulse.

I was out with friends recently when the stranger I had started talking to asked me what I do, since that’s what you ask in New York within 30 seconds of meeting someone, and so I told him that I wrote and what I wrote about. His next question: "So you must not be a virgin, huh?"

"Excuse me?" my give-no-fucks, take-no-prisoners feminist self replied. "That’s inappropriate, and I need another drink, bye." Except I didn’t say any of that. I think I smiled and protested limply — flirtatiously, even: "I don’t think that’s your business, heh!" And although I disentangled myself from the conversation soon after that, I was friendly toward this charmer for the rest of the night when we crossed paths.

Illustrated By Anna Sudit.

You could call me a flirt. Or you could say that, due to both nature (how much of the urge to people-please is hardwired?) and nurture (from birth, girls are taught in a million and one ways to people-please), I’d like for you to like me, never mind what I think about you. Maybe there isn't a difference between flirting and wanting to be liked. But I feel acutely the disconnect between the person I am online or onstage — someone serene and steadfast in her conviction that every girl and woman should be the master of her fate and ought not to suffer fools, least of all fuckbois in bars — and the person I am in the bar, seeking said fuckbois' tacit approval. Go away, but please like me. Do you like me? Please leave me alone, if that’s okay with you, of course.

Yes, we do still live in a world in which rejection is often met with hostility and even aggression, and it’s not always safe for a woman to tell a street harasser or would-be suitor exactly what she’s thinking. But safety and the need to please can be separated. When I read articles of the "I did this thing for this many days and here’s what happened next" variety, I think that the hardest thing for me would be to give up smiling. Smiling is the lubricant I apply to my social interactions, my means of assuring those around me — men included and especially — that yes, I am happy to be here, yes, what you are saying is interesting, and while no, I don’t want to have sex with you, it’s not because of you. I just have to rejoin my cock-blocking friends or, so sorry, I have a boyfriend, but in a perfect world I would totally follow my heart’s desire and go with you back to your apartment in Murray Hill, I promise.

And that mental script — I may not be super into this, but don’t worry about that, I want to make sure you are — can spill over into sex. It’s part of why at times, some women fake orgasms instead of saying "Hey, that wasn’t totally working for me, let’s try this instead." It’s why, for example, I get anxious instead of enjoying myself when I'm getting head and an orgasm isn't imminent. It's why instead of thinking, this feels awesome, I'm thinking man, is this guy/girl giving me head okay, should I put on a podcast for them to listen to while they’re down there so they don’t get bored?

This isn’t strictly about the male gaze; I’ve felt this when hooking up with women, too. It’s about an external focus — a preoccupation with how the other perceives me that trumps my attention to how I'm feeling. Meghan Trainor’s new song "No" (which is a banger, so sue me) celebrates "no," but like mine, her "no" is delivered sexily. "All my ladies, listen up," she sings. "If that boy ain’t giving up, lick your lips and swing your hips, girl all you gotta say is no." Yes, girl, be exactly as sexy as you want to be for you and your sexy self. But I wonder why I can’t skip the lip-licking and hip-swinging and skip straight to the rejection, or the "not like that," "I changed my mind," or "step away from me."

Worrying about being unsexy — or worse, unlikeable — when expressing anything other than enthusiastic consent is exhausting. I’m practicing my "no." So are you a software update? Because not right now.

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Ariana Grande Wants To Join Taylor Swift’s Squad

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Jim Smeal/REX/Shutterstock

Ariana Grande may be a dangerous woman as of May 20, but she doesn’t consider herself too dangerous to join forces with Reading, PA’s favourite daughter. Capital FM DJ Roman Kent asked if Grande would be interested in joining forces with Taylor Swift and she responded in the affirmative.

“Oh wow,” Grande said. “That would be so crazy. Do you have to do anything weird to get in? I don’t know the details. All those girls are really nice. I would be so down.”

The two have met before. Witness this hug backstage at the Grammys and this photo of the pair embracing on Swift’s Instagram.

Oh my God she couldn't be cuter. @arianagrande

A photo posted by Taylor Swift (@taylorswift) on

They’ve also been giving mutual props on Twitter for quite some time, notably here.

The pair also performed together at the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show, although that predated some rumoured beef between the two. We’re guessing things have been patched up by now and there’s no more…bad blood (sorry) between the singers.

Grande would be a perfect complement to the squad since Swift grew up on a Christmas tree farm (yes, really) and Grande is the size of a Christmas ornament. They're a match made in heaven, or at least the North Pole.

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How To Take Your Street Style To The Next Level À La Kendall Jenner

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In case the cave you've been living in hasn't seen any light, you may have noticed two skyscrapers walking around Instagram, the tabloids, and every avenue of the internet. And no, we're not talking about cloud-grazing buildings sprouting legs and strutting around town. We're talking about the tallest Jenner of the bunch: Kendall.

Model, spokesperson, danseuse — it seems there's nothing the quietest Kardashian can't do. And when it comes to style accolades, the photos ahead prove it. With every event — whether it be a Starbucks run or a red carpet —Kendall keeps things kool. Here are some of our favourite looks.

Leg first, Kendall braves the cameras.

Photo: Andrew Toth/Getty Images.

Hey, let us borrow that top.

Photo: Andrew Toth/Getty Images.

We can't get past the fact that this looks like the comfiest jumpsuit ever.

Photo: Bauer-Griffin/Getty Images.

A fur stole worth more than our rents combined, Kendall celebrates the Fendi store opening in Rome.

Photo: Jacopo Raule/Getty Images.

The coat, we get, but the midriff makes us rethink our conclusion...maybe juxtaposition is back in fashion.

Photo: Marc Piasecki/Getty Images.

Annie Hall trousers make everything better, especially when paired with a long sleeve bandeau top.

Photo: Foc Kan/Getty Images.

Got a dress but the slit's too high? Wear it over cropped trousers and call it a day.

Photo: Victor Boyko/Getty Images.

We're just glad those ties didn't get caught in the door.

Photo: Pierre Suu/Getty Images.

A beanie and sunglasses combo. says No pictures, please.

Photo: Robino Salvatore/Getty Images.

Those boots were seriously made for walking.

Photo: Neil Mockford/Alex Huckle/Getty Images.

The unexpected combination of a trucker hat and a camel coat is one of the reasons we love Kendall's off-duty wardrobe.

Photo: Alo Ceballos/Getty Images.

Even right next to the runway, Kendall stands out in luxury basics.

Photo: Michael Loccisano/Getty Images.

"Mum, am I still trying to convince you money actually grows on trees?"

Photo: Jacopo Raule/Getty Images.

Cover up, it's going to be a cold one.

Photo: Jacopo Raule/Getty Images.

No, but really. Cover up.

Photo: Gilbert Carrasquillo/Getty Images.

This jacket is everything.

Photo: Raymond Hall/Getty Images.

When your brother-in-law is Kanye West, a hoodie and a denim jacket is kind of married into your wardrobe.

Photo: James Devaney/Getty Images.

No, a moth didn't attack Kendall on the street. It's just Yeezy Season 3.

Photo: Kevin Mazur/Getty Images.

Sunglasses? Check. Floor-length coat? Check. Crop top? Check. Bag that doubles as a pillow? Check.

Photo: Marc Piasecki/Getty Images.

Some serious shoe envy going on here.

Photo: Marc Piasecki/Getty Images.

*insert Blue steel joke here*

Photo: Frazer Harrison/Getty Images.

This is what money looks like.

Photo: James Devaney/Getty Images.

This Pam & Gela side-slit sweatshirt has our names written all over it. Well, in between those killer holes, obviously.

Photo: AKM-GSI.

The only way to exit Chanel couture is like a boss.

Photo: Jacopo Raule/Getty Images.

To fringe or not to fringe? That is never the question.

Photo: Europa Press/Getty Images.

For some reason, this actually looks so appropriate for traveling.

Photo: Marc Piasecki/Getty Images.

A vintage tee and leather jacket is an unexpected way to dress up your activewear.

Photo: Gonzalo/Bauer-Griffin/Getty Images.

Too chic to [give a] fleek.

Photo: Bauer-Griffin/GC Images.

All black — well, almost all black — is always a good answer.

Photo: Bauer-Griffin/GC Images.

Pulling an Angelina in Versace, obviously.

Photo: Grant Lamos IV/Getty Images.

We wonder how she tweets in those sleeves...

Photo: Timur Emek/Getty Images.

No, no. Nothing to see here. Just your simple Givenchy T-shirt dress.

Photo: Todd Williamson/Getty Images.

Looks like Kendall knows what Pantone's colour of the year is...

Photo: SMXRF/Star Max/GC Images.

There are three pom-poms in this picture (two of which are on Jenner's Oriett Domenech dress). Can you spot the third?

Photo: Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic.

If you look close enough, this Calvin Klein dress isn't fur, but...

Photo: Erik Pendzich/REX/Shutterstock.

Remember: Comfort is key.

Photo: MediaPunch/REX/Shutterstock.

This Calvin Klein keyhole — er, circle — number makes us want to grab our hole punchers and get to work. (Just kidding.) (Or are we?)

Photo: Billy Farrell/BFA.com/REX/Shutterstock.

If the Statue of Liberty were a 20-year-old supermodel dressed in Calvin Klein at the Met Gala...

Photo: Matt Baron/BEI/BEI/Shutterstock.

Because a lace slip dress never goes out of style. Obviously.

Photo: Joe Schildhorn/BFAnyc.com/REX/Shutterstock.

The jumpsuit (this one is by Emilio Pucci) must be the new power suit.

Photo: David Fisher/REX/Shutterstock.

Business casual done right.

Photo: Joe Schildhorn/BFAnyc.com/REX/Shutterstock.

We still can't figure out if that's a one-piece in this Olcay Gulsen ensemble, but either way, it works.

Photo: REX/Shutterstock.

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