Body Image

Last year, some Johns Hopkins University fraternity members raised the ire of other classmates by staging a "Halloween in the Hood" party, complete with "bling bling," "hoochie hoops" and a pirate hanging from a noose. Also last year, at the University of Pennsylvania, a student who was dressed as an "Arab suicide bomber" caused a major online discussion about matters of taste. This year, a sexy "Anna Rexia" costume has caused a firestorm of criticism among eating disorder experts, feminists, bloggers and others.

In Baltimore County Parkville woman dies in crash on wet highway ramp A Parkville woman was killed yesterday when the car she was driving on a ramp on eastbound Interstate 695 near Rosedale crashed into a disabled truck, state police said. Carmela Linda Button, 54, of the 9200 block of Harford View Drive was driving a 1990 Saab down the ramp leading to Interstate 95 about 12:20 p.m., police said. They said Button swerved but could not avoid a 1995 Ford truck that had become disabled after striking a guardrail on the rain-slicked road.

Director Donna L. Jacobs has once again put her dancers in the "hot seat. " For this weekend's concerts at the Baltimore Museum of Art, her Full Circle Dance Company is tackling the loaded topic of body image with the company's premiere of "B.A.R.E.," an abbreviation for "Bodies, Attitudes, Reflections, Exposed. " As with its past themed projects touching on faith, motherhood, race, and even the fear of the unknown, this Baltimore-based company has invited the community to take part in its artistic exploration.

When Mary Pabst visits a Towson classroom as a guest speaker this week, she'll be talking about self-esteem and positive body image -- not unusual subjects in a discussion designed to deter students from eating disorders like anorexia nervosa and bulimia.But in this case, the students she'll be lecturing are preschoolers."We know now that the seeds for dissatisfaction, dieting and a drive for thinness are planted in the very young child," says Ms. Pabst, president of the Maryland Association for Anorexia Nervosa and Bulimia.

As a March of Dimes poster child, she smiled for the camera the way she was supposed to, a happy little polio victim.But at 47, Marilynn J. Phillips obviously isn't a child anymore and wants to stop being treated like one. She doesn't want to be carried over steps to enter a building. She doesn't want to be lifted up to reach drinking fountains set too high for her. And most of all, she doesn't want to be told to smile and be nice and trust the adults to take care of things."These posters make people see the disabled as always children," said Ms. Phillips, who last week succeeded in freezing more than $500,000 in federal funds to the Maryland State Arts Council until it makes its building accessible to the handicapped.

The seven female students at the Maryland Institute College of Art could have predicted the reactions when they sought donations for their production of The Vagina Monologues. "What did you just say?" The Vagina Monologues is the 6-year-old Broadway play by Eve Ensler that celebrates female sexuality. It is being rolled out in Baltimore this month and at hundreds of colleges across the country as a fund-raiser to stop sexual violence against women. The title is untoward enough that some banks, restaurants and hotels, while generous, want to record their donation as simply "a benefit at MICA."

Low libido can not only ruin a women's sex life but could also cause her to miss out on some key health benefits. Dr. Valerie Omicioli, a certified menopause practitioner and clinical assistant professor of obstetrics, gynecology and reproductive sciences at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, said that low sexual desire is something that women should not ignore. What are some of the common causes of low libido in women? The word libido refers not only to the desire for sex, but also sexual thoughts, fantasies, responsiveness and willingness to engage in sexual activity.

I haven't worn anything sleeveless since 1999, and two years ago my daughter told me, politely but firmly, that it was no longer appropriate for me to wear anything above the knee, so you can imagine how I feel about full-body scans in airports. And, although I do not have a dog, I am friends with many in my neighborhood, and I know where they put their noses when they are glad to see you. I can only imagine how things will go with a body-sniffing dog when he has his game face on. The attempt by a Nigerian kid to blow up a U.S. airplane on Christmas Day has made me worry deeply about my safety and well-being, but not in the way you might think.

There's a big difference between maintaining a healthy body weight and being skinny.Several months ago I wrote a column about people in Europe staying slim without dieting. While they eat few diet foods and TC many foods high in fat, they appear to balance the energy equation with physical activity that's integrated into their day through walking, cycling and stair climbing. They also appear to eat more discreet meals instead of snacking all day long, and their rates of obesity are much lower than ours.