'Feminism' Ranks As Top Search Word In 2017, According To Mirriam-Webster Dictionary

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It's official: leading US dictionary Merriam-Webster says that its 2017 word of the year is 'feminism'. Peter Sokolowski, Mirriam-Webster's editor-at-large said that people searching for the word was up 70 percent. "The word was in the air", said Sokolowski. 

Described as “the theory of the political, economic and social equality of the sexes” by the dictionary, the word 'feminism also means “organised activity on behalf of women’s rights and interests”.

Other contenders for 2017’s prize were “complicit” (which was widely used in the Trump/Russia scandal) and “dotard” (which is the adjective Kim Jong-un used to describe the US president).

The word 'feminism' got a huge boost with the November 21 Women's March in DC and around the world. With Women's Marches all over America, the event is considered to be the largest activism march ever.

Just when searches were perhaps slowing down, the #metoo movement began, which put 'feminism' once again on the front burner, boosted yet again by TIME magazine's person of the year award as 'The Silence Breakers'. 

Republican women do not strongly identify with the word 'feminist' and Mirriam-Webster says Trump adviser Kellyanne Conway also gave searches a boost.  The Washington Post clarifies:

“It’s difficult for me to call myself a feminist in the classic sense because it seems to be very anti-male and it certainly is very pro-abortion, and I’m neither anti-male or pro-abortion. So, there’s an individual feminism, if you will, that you make your own choices…. I look at myself as a product of my choices, not a victim of my circumstances,” Conway said during the annual Conservative Political Action Conference at National Harbor in Maryland last February.

In fact, feminism is not pro-abortion, but a core belief is the women have a right to control our own bodies and that opposition to a right to birth control, for example,  is now unconstitutional. Feminism does emphasize body autonomy within a range of sensible restrictions. 

Marta Dyks Wears Lush White, Cold-Weather Knits Lensed By Marcin Kempski For Elle Poland January 2018

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Model Marta Dyks is styled by Karolina Limbach in lush, cabled white sweater knits for Perla Alp, lensed by Marcin Kempski for Elle Poland January 2018.

Hailey Baldwin Is Retro Club Girl Lensed By Christian Oita For Wonderland Winter 2017.18

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Hailey Baldwin strikes a series of sexy poses in a series of retro, gritty, club-girl images lensed by Christian Oita. Hailey, is styled by Kamran Rajput, and jumps into a glittering bathtub wearing a hot pink and white bikini and Bulgari jewelry for the cover of Wonderland Magazine's Winter 2017.18 issue.

Olivier Rousteing's Balmain Army Marches Into Pre-Fall 2018 With Great Words For New Owners

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Balmain's Creative Director Olivier Rousteing introduced the luxury brand's Pre-Fall 2018 Collection. Digital artist and retoucher Pascal Dangin eyes the go-forward, strong-woman members of Rousteing's Balmain Army: Katrin Zakharova, Yvonne, Valery Kaufman, Aleyna FitzGerald and Katrin Thormann. /Makeup by Phophie Mathias; hair by Yoann Fernandez

“It’s hard for a designer after seven years to feel like there can be a new chapter,” admitted Rousteing, ever youthful (and talking about his new owners Mayhoola for Investments, and new CEO, Massimo Piombini) . “They’re making me feel that there’s a new story to tell.” But all this internal reinforcement wasn’t the only story behind such a dazzlingly Parisian collection. With his take on the French tricolor—that is, blue, silver, and red—the designer was seizing on the positive energy so palpable in the French capital right now. He electrified the motif as zigzag and chevron patterns so that the results registered equal parts patriotic and Ziggy Stardust. Dialed up, this David Bowie via Pierre Balmain vibe played out as fresh velvet versions of his maximalist rock star jackets, which he paired with embellished concert tees, and strass-studded velvet leggings, masculine trousers, or patent jeans. Dialed down, it was present in comparatively wearable Prince of Wales suiting and herringbone cotton tweeds. The heritage aspect was most apparent in the liberal use of a medallion referring to the maison crest created roughly a half-century ago. Consider the emblem an updated way for his Balmain army to signal their continued allegiance. via Vogue

Chantelle Dosser Flashes Flo Millar in 'Girl Crush' For Tatler UK January 2018

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Scottish newcomer Flo Millar is styled by Sophie Goodwin in 'Girl Crush', lensed by Chantelle Dosserfor Tatler UK January 2018./ Hair & makeup June Sawyer

Alison Brie Talks GLOW Nude Scenes, Lensed By Txema Yeste For The Edit December 14, 2017

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Alison Brie Talks GLOW Nude Scenes, Lensed By Txema Yeste For The Edit December 14, 2017

Actor Alison Brie was jumping for joy on Wednesday night's Jimmy Fallon show. The 34-year-old Community actor celebrated news of her Golden Globe nomination for her female wrestling Netflix show GLOW. 

Brie is styled here by Tracy Taylor in dark, romantic looks lensed by Txema Yeste for The Edit Magazine December 14, 2017. Brie is interviewed by Jennifer Dickinson for 'Best in Show. Looking back Alison Brie says she was very pleased with hos her nude scenes in GLOW were handled. 

Jason Kim Flashes Konsuella Zagrafos In 'Pretty Woman' For Vogue Russia January 2018

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Model Konsuella Zagrafos is styled by Katerina Zolototrubova in 'Pretty Woman', lensed by Jason Kim for Vogue Russia January 2018. / Hair by Olivier Lebrun; makeup by Carole Colombani

Eye: Jessica Chastain Tells ES Magazine She Will No Longer Be Paid A Third Less Than Men, Praises Salma Hayek

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Jessica Chastain Tells ES Magazine She Will No Longer Be Paid A Third Less Than Men, Praises Salma Hayek

Actor Jessica Chastain covers the December 1, 2017 issue of London's Evening Standard ES Magazine. Styled by Nicky Yates in ruffled, ruched and pleated looks from Alessandra Rich, Gucci, Givenchy, Prada and more, the 'Molly's Game' star is lensed by Camilla Armbrust. 

Chastain's rep has confirmed that she is one of the growing list of female actors confirming that they will be wearing black to the 2018 Golden Globes, as a symbol of protest against harassment in Hollywood. There are murmurings that the all-black protest will continue throughout the awards season. In addition, the female actors say they will not discuss the typical "who are you wearing?" red-carpet question and will insist that questions be focused on activism and a range of societal and cultural topics heavy on women's rights in America and around the world. 

Charlottesville Car Killer James Alex Fields Jr. Charged With First Degree Murder

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Charlottesville Car Killer James Alex Fields Jr. Charged With First Degree Murder

Self-professed neo-Nazi James Alex Fields Jr., 20, has been charged with first-degree murder Thursday, after being jailed on lesser charges since the Aug. 12 for the death of Charlottesville protester Heather D. Heyer. 

Fields had been charged with second-degree murder, punishable by five to 40 years in prison. WaPo writes:

Authorities had initially said that 19 people were injured, in addition to Heyer, when Fields allegedly rammed his 2010 Dodge Challenger into another vehicle on purpose on a crowded street. But testimony at the preliminary hearing revealed that there were many more victims. Besides first-degree murder, Fields, who lived in Ohio before his arrest, is charged with eight counts of “aggravated malicious wounding,” meaning that at least eight of the 35 people who were hurt suffered what Virginia law describes as “permanent and significant physical impairment," writes the New York Times. 

Stars Align In Alabama: Emmett Till; Four Birmingham, Alabama Church-Going Girls; Doug Jones; Dana Schutz & Racial Reconciliation

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Stars Align In Alabama: Emmett Till; Four Birmingham, Alabama Church-Going Girls; Doug Jones; Dana Schutz & Racial Reconciliation

Nigerian-born, Huntsville-raised, U of Alabama grad Toyin Ojih Odutola first got the attention of Voguemagazine when the poet Claudia Rankine published as essay in Aperture magazine, "A New Grammar for Blackness'. 

A year later, Toyin Ojih Odutola has mounted a solo show 'To Wander Determined' at the Whitney Museum in New York. Upon entering the show, visitors see a letter written by Odutola in the persona of the 'Deputy Private Secretary' for two aristocratic families in Lagos. 

artNet writes: "For Ojih Odutola, their images form a corrective to a Eurocentric art history that thinks of both court portraiture and genre paintings as belonging to a primarily white world, with black characters as footnotes—cast as servants, slaves, or left out completely.."

The topic of black identity, colonialism, and cultural appropriation have lived front and center in our national -- and international -- dialogue in 2017. 

Donna Versace Gaggles Gisele, Naomi, Christy, Linda, Kaia + For Steven Meisel Versace 2018 Ad Campaign

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Donatella Versace continues to honor the legacy of her brother Gianni Versace with a spring-summer 2018 ad campaign filled with supers and a young one -- Kaia Gerber -- in the making. Lensed by Steven Meisel, the campaign brings together Gisele Bundchen, Naomi Campbell, Christy Turlington and Linda Evangelista.

Meisel first used a term 'The Trinity' to declare that supermodels Campbell, Evangelista and Turlington were more glamorous than movie stars. The full campaign spanning multiple generations of supers and their sisters will debut on December 18, 2017, adding Raquel Zimmerman, Natalia Vodianova, Gigi Hadid, Irina Shaik, Vittoria Ceretti, Cara Taylor, Birgit Kos, Noah Luis Brown and Grace Elizabeth.

Ten Women Have Now Accused Russell Simmons Of Sexual Assault Or Harassment

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Ten Women Have Now Accused Russell Simmons Of Sexual Assault Or Harassment

Four more women have come forward to accuse music producer Russell Simmons of sexual assault. In what are becoming excruciating reads in the New York Times, former Def Jam Records employee Drew Dixon, former music journalist Tonie Sallie and performer Tina Baker allege that Russell Simmons raped them in encounters that span a period from 1988 to 2014.In a separate report published Wednesday in The LA Times, performer Sherri Hines alleged that Simmons raped her around 1983.

Simmons has responded: "I have re-dedicated myself to spiritual learning, healing and working on behalf of the communities to which I have devoted my life. I have accepted that I can and should get dirt on my sleeves if it means witnessing the birth of a new consciousness about women," Simmons said in a statement to the New York Times on Wednesday. “What I will not accept is responsibility for what I have not done. I have conducted my life with a message of peace and love. Although I have been candid about how I have lived in books and interviews detailing my flaws, I will relentlessly fight against any untruthful character assassination that paints me as a man of violence.”

Because the Salma Hayek/Harvey Weinstein op-ed is waiting to be posted, and I just read that PBS has suspended Tavis Smiley after conducting a private investigation, I have nothing more to say about Russell Simmons behaving badly. Oh, and I must update Trump's attack on Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand. Tracking all these guys is a full-time job these days.

Sølve Sundsbø Shines Light On Lex Herl In 'Life On Mars' For Numéro 189 December 2017

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Sølve Sundsbø Shines Light On Lex Heri In 'Life On Mars' For  Numéro 189 December 2017

Photographer Sølve Sundsbø delivers 'Life On Mars', styled by Katie Shillingford and featuring model Lex Herl.  Sølve Sundsbø is the sole photographic vision behind Numéro 189 December 2017.

Arizona Muse Lounges In Elegance, Lensed By Gianluca Fontana For Air France Madame December 2017

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Top model Arizona Muse wears casual but expensive elegance styled by France De Jerphanion in Vie Privée, lensed by Gianluca Fontana for Air France Madame December 2017./ Hair by Alain Pichon; makeup by Sandra Cooke

Mn. Lt. Gov. Tina Smith Will Assume Sen. Al Franken's Seat | Smith Will Run In 2018

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CURRENT MINN. SEN. AMY KLOBUCHAR (D) WILL BE JOINED BY CURRENT MINN. LT. GOV. TINA SMITH (D), TAPPED BY MINN. GOV. MARK DAYTON TO REPLACE CURRENT SEN. AL FRANKEN, WHO IS RESIGNING.

Mn. Lt. Gov. Tina Smith Will Assume Sen. Al Franken's Seat | Smith Will Run In 2018

Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton appointed fellow Democrat Lt. Gov. Tina Smith on Wednesday to replace Sen. Al Franken until a special election in November. Smith, who previously said she was not interested in a permanent Senate seat, has reversed her decision and will run in a potentially bruising 2018 election.

“I will run in that election and I will do my best to earn Minnesotans’ support,” she said at the news conference where Dayton announced her appointment.

Franken, who resigned under pressure from fellow Democrats after he was accused of improper behavior by at least eight women, announced last Thursday that he would resign “in the coming weeks.” His office said Tuesday that he had not yet set a final departure date.

A native of New Mexico, Smith graduated from Stanford and earned an MBA from Dartmouth. She moved to Minn. for a marketing job with General Mills and eventually started her own marketing and political consulting firm. 

Smith has served as an executive for Planned Parenthood, certain to be a flash point with her Republican candidate. Her position will simultaneously solidify her support among Democratic women. 

Ella Purnell Is Lensed By Kate Davis-Macleod For Marie Claire UK January 2017

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Actor Ella Purnell is styled by Jayne Pickering for images lensed by Kate Davis-Macleod at Marie Claire UK January 2017.

Rumours are swirling that Bradd Pitt, 53, is dating the 21-year-old Purnel, who acted as a young Angelina Jolie in 'Maleficent' and is starring in the upcoming Starz show 'Sweetbitter'.