When Julia Kozerski saw a camera, she would duck and dodge out of the way. She'd hide behind other people or offer to take the picture to avoid being photographed.
One day last year, Amanda Coleman decided to quit Facebook.
Here's the fantasy: A half-naked woman lies across a couch, lips pouty and cleavage prominent as her sultry gaze implores you to buy this bottle of perfume.
We first thought about starting this piece with the story of Saleha Begum, a survivor of Bangladesh's 1971 war in which, some reports say, as many as 400,000 women were raped. Begum had been tied to a banana tree and repeatedly gang raped and burned with cigarettes for months until she was shot and left for dead in a pile of women. She didn't die, though, and was able to return home, ravaged and five months pregnant. When she got home she was branded a "slut."
An advertisement for Marc Jacobs perfume featuring teenage actor Dakota Fanning has been banned in Britain because it "sexualized children."
"Showbiz Tonight" takes a look at a Dakota Fanning ad that was recently banned in the United Kingdom.
The concepts of emotional intelligence (EI), self-worth, authenticity and employee meditation rooms might conjure up thoughts of new age healing centers. But the benefits of tapping employees' emotional happiness mean the ideas are now being picked up by mainstream corporations.
When riots broke out in London on August 6, Charmaine Scott watched as a diverse group of people took hold of her hometown, smashing glass windows and setting buildings and automobiles ablaze.
Four black British women describe the difficulties they've faced living in the United Kingdom.
"I can tell he's getting more confident," writes Burke on her Dancing blog
Wendy Dickey tells HLN's Joy Behar why she dressed her 3-year-old like Julia Roberts hooker character in "Pretty Woman."
TLC's "Toddlers and Tiaras" has been mired in controversy since it debuted in 2009, and much of the distaste for the series stemmed from concerns about whether we were feeding the stage mothers' desire for attention, or about the insensitivity in taping and televising children in the middle of a meltdown or temper tantrum. But whether you think child beauty pageants are just a chance for little girls to play dress-up, or a training ground for superficial, self-centered princesses in the making, everyone should agree that sexualizing a 3-year-old little girl is wrong.
They recline in their bras and panties, some wearing pearls and Brigitte Bardot-inspired bouffants, shooting smiles at the camera. The images are just like many a lingerie ad designed to entice, but these are images of young girls -- those who aren't even old enough to need bras.
A beauty writer says lingerie that targets young girls blurs the line between celebrating youth and sexualizing kids.
When talking to a friend who wanted to cheat on his wife, the Malik Yoba character in the movie "Why Did I Get Married?" talks about the 80-20 rule, which says that in relationships, you likely have 80% of what you need, and if you cheat, you're chasing the 20% of what you want.
From smoothing skin and erasing wrinkles to enlarging muscles and slimming waists, airbrushing, or "photoshopping," men and women to so-called perfection is the norm in advertising. These images don't reflect reality, yet from a younger and younger age, people are aspiring to these biologically impossible ideals.
Advertisements for Lancome makeup are banned in Britian for being too digitally manipulated.
As a cosmetics saleswoman, Shannon Barnes constantly fielded the same question from women looking at mascara ads perched on her department store counter: Are those eyelashes real?
At a photo studio in downtown New York City, Julianne Moore is heard before she is seen -- her ringing laugh fills the room.
It seems like there's therapy for everything these days, including sending photos of yourself in various states of undress to members of the opposite sex on the Internet.
Rep. Anthony Weiner is seeking treatment as fellow members of Congress pressure him to resign.
"I need help," she tells PEOPLE of the pain of child sexual abuse and suicidal thoughts
The other day I tried to calculate how much of my life has been spent standing sideways to the full-length mirror, trying to determine if my stomach looks flat enough in the outfit I'm wearing so that I won't descend into crankyville.
Janet Jackson would bang her head against a wall because she felt "so unattractive," the pop star told CNN's Piers Morgan.
Janet Jackson talks about her bond with her brother Michael Jackson with CNN's Piers Morgan.
Curled up on a couch in New York City, clad in a white tank top and black track pants, Janet Jackson is ready to get personal.
Scary thought -- with more than 98 million single people in the United States alone, you're simply one of many fish in the sea.
An altercation with a dancer spurred the Disney star, who has struggled with cutting and eating disorders, to seek help
Don't let the "former teen star" description fool you: Hilary Duff is one young celeb who truly has it together. You won't find the ex-Lizzie McGuire star landing in the tabloids because of hard-partying ways.
Attention, please! Did you know that you should not talk about "fat" this week.
Many middle-aged women report sexual problems, including a loss of libido and a less-than-satisfying sex life. Now a new study suggests these problems are even more common among women who have had breast cancer.
Women who have gene mutations that increase the risk of breast and ovarian cancer can substantially reduce their chances of developing -- and dying from -- those cancers if they have their breasts or ovaries removed preemptively, according to a new study.
Kim Kardashian pleads with a fan to not get plastic surgery to look like her.
Nicole Kidman's nose. Angelina Jolie's lips. Plastic surgeons say they get these very specific requests regularly and usually oblige.
Wearing a body-hugging dress and heels to our interview at an Irish pub in her adopted hometown of Los Angeles, Christina Hendricks is seriously channeling Joan Holloway, the take-no-prisoners office manager she plays on "Mad Men."
Is Lady Gaga a pop star genius or a creative copycat? Showbiz Tonight's Brooke Anderson reports.
The Kardashian sisters -- Kourtney, Kim and Khloe -- are no strangers to celebrity magazines. Try and find a week where one of them isn't a cover headline on one of the tabloids.
Her obsession with food arrived early, at the tender age of 11. Then came laxatives and anorexia, weight loss and weight gain, and of course, unfounded diets like consuming only Grape Nuts or downing a hot fudge sundae every day.
Tiger Woods makes his golfing return next week, looking to get his career back on track after his recent off-field troubles. The chances are we'll all have to recover from a setback at some point in our careers, but how do you bounce back when things go belly up?
Deb Lemire has always been "short and square," a figure she inherited from her grandmother and passed on to her child. So when Lemire took her daughter in for a wellness visit and the well-meaning pediatrician pulled her aside to talk about her daughter's weight, the 47-year-old burst into tears "because I was the 10-year-old being told I was overweight."
As the mystery surrounding her death deepens, friends say she struggled with the pressures of stardom
Inked on the inside of Scott Jorgensen's right forearm, the words "no mind" sum up pretty well the 27-year-old mixed martial artist's view on life.
These days, Becky Griggs starts her morning well before the sun comes up, in time to meet her clients at the gym at 5:30. It's a big change from six years ago, when she was 352 pounds and, as she calls it, engaged in a "slow form of suicide."
Adam Lambert used to be much bigger than he is now -- and his recent flashy behavior is due to a self-esteem boost after a major weight loss, he told a radio show.
Alanis Morissette was the definition of "fierce" when she arrived on the American music scene with one of the big break-up songs of the '90s, "You Oughta Know." But behind that tough exterior were secrets of a difficult past.
Veronica Noone had been a little overweight since her teens, and, like many people, had spent the better part of her life trying different diets, whatever was popular at the time.
The little number on the tag on a pair of pants that indicates size can mean a lot to a person, and retailers know it.
Watch some of the countless stories unfolding among the fastest growing population in the U.S.
Concepcion Saravia, originally from Nicaragua, says she's always been surrounded by a large family.
CNN.com's Elizabeth Landau reports on how research compares perceptions of weight in 1988-1994 and 1999-2004.
Thanks to Joe, Kanye, Serena, and other misfits, a lot of people are talking about how society is undergoing a rash of rudeness.
CNN took to the streets to ask real women why they have sex.
What makes a woman want to have sex? Is it physical attraction? Love? Loneliness? Jealousy? Boredom? Painful menstrual cramps?
You'll never see a dude turn to another dude and ask, "Do I look fat in these pants?" But that doesn't mean men are invulnerable to insecurities, no matter how much we'd like to think so.
In high school I was voted "biggest flirt." (Look at me! Value me!)
Plus, the tennis star speaks for the first time about the "dark period" after her sister's death
Your sweetheart calls you by another's name. His eyes linger too long on your best friend. He talks with excitement about a girl at work. And the fire catches.
Back East to shoot A Beautiful Life, the actress is working out with a trainer
"She isn't comfortable with her body. It's been a big source of stress and self-hate," says one friend.
Wendy Duren thought she did everything right.
The Republican Party is in need of a leader and boost in its self-esteem, a new poll suggests.
CNN's Lola Ogunnaike reports on a new fashion trend of plus-sized clothing for teens.
While companies across the country are downsizing, some in the fashion world have decided that it's time for a bit of upsizing. This spring, the cheap chic emporiums, Target and Forever 21, will launch plus-size lines for teenagers.
How's your love life? If your answer is anything but "It's great, thank you very much," then read on. Having kids can wreak havoc on a mom's mojo faster than grape juice can stain a white carpet.
Afghanistan has been called "the forgotten war" but for Canadians, it is the war.
Every day, three women die as result of abuse -- that's nearly 1,100 killed every year. "That number might not mean anything to you...unless the woman was your mother, your sister, your daughter," Oprah Winfrey says. Young men who admit to hitting, kicking, choking and even wanting to kill the women they claim to love are opening up to Winfrey and giving an unprecedented look inside the minds of abusers.
Over the past few years as banking and business CEOs around the world steered their corporations onto the rocks of recession, what exactly was it that gave them, almost to the end, an unshakeable confidence in their ability and judgment?
My wife thinks she is fat. I disagree. I would consider her chubby at most. She has self-esteem issues and confidence issues because of her weight. I would like to help her lose weight to make herself feel better, but the only problem is she has arthritis in her wrists and ankles. So is there any type of workout that will help my wife lose weight but not mess with her arthritis in the process? Thank you.
I am a post-grad student, and I have been suffering from depression for more than a year. I'm shy and I have developed an inferiority complex. Many times I don't even express myself to anyone, or hardly talk to anyone. I tried taking coffee but it causes anxiety worse. Last week I tried 4.5 percent vodka. I really don't know why I'm shy. I feel like I have wasted too many years due to this shyness and inferiority complex. Sometimes I even feel offended when someone talks to me or asks a question. I really don't know what to do. Help!
CNN.com's Reggie Aqui learns a few tricks from Cirque du Soleil's premier juggler, Anthony Gatto.
Do not go backstage at Cirque Du Soleil. It will only hurt your self-esteem.
The admittedly photoshopped singer says the trick is to "be comfortable with yourself"
For years Laure Redmond hated her body: too fat, too freckled, too lumpy, too stumpy. And that hatred was like a set of shackles holding her back from life.
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