TresSugar

Shakespeare Is the Real Father of Adolescence

Colleen Barrett — Fri, 25 Mar 2011 12:00:03 PDT

With tweens and extended adolescence now a part of our vocabulary, it's easy to forget that adolescence didn't always exist. It's only been acknowledged in Western culture for the last 50 or so years. You were a child until you weren't. One defining birthday -13, 16, or 18 - changed everything from clothes to the quotidian details of daily life. It wasn't until the '50s and '60s that youth culture became a beat too loud to ignore, and adolescence finally gained acceptance outside psychology.

American psychologist Stanley Hall is credited with defining adolescence in 1904, but it was popularized by psychologist Erik Erickson's stages of psychosocial development in the mid-20th century. Erickson pinpointed the stage's crisis, calling identity vs. role confusion, and argued why it should be seen as a unique period in life. "It is human to have a long childhood; it is civilized to have an even longer childhood," he famously wrote. "Long childhood makes a technical and mental virtuoso out of man, but it also leaves a life-long residue of emotional immaturity in him."

But this week's New York Times Magazine posits a new theory: Shakespeare was the first person to characterize adolescent absurdity, particularly in Romeo and Juliet. Whether anyone acknowledged it our not, Shakespeare created a whole new category of life out of the star-crossed lovers, filled with wonder, exaggeration, and despair - great melodrama.

He captured the tension Erickson would later categorize by illuminating the choice every human has between childhood and adulthood. Go down senselessly but in a tragic blaze of glory like Romeo and Juliet, or grow up and develop a sense of humor, much like Shakespeare did.

Grab Bag! Flirting With Different Career Paths in Your 20s

TresSugar — Fri, 20 Aug 2010 13:30:07 PDT

Is job experimentation in your 20s a good idea? - SavvySugar
Taking sides when your friends are feuding - The Frisky
Your salad toppings could lead you to love - Lemondrop
Make sure your ex can't track you down with new Facebook feature - GeekSugar
Tips that make living together easy - YourTango
The consequences of anonymous sperm donation - Em & Lo
You shouldn't confront your man for masturbating - GuySpeak
Dating fail: he told me people think he's gay - Glamour

Do You Act Younger or Older Than Your Age?

TresSugar — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 14:00:00 PDT

This Sunday Mad Men was filled with people not acting their age. The show opens with a clip of "Bye Bye Birdie" being sung by, according to one of Peggy's best lines, "a 25-year-old woman acting like a 14-year-old girl." Is this a harbinger of things to come? Of course. It's Mad Men! It's also 1963 and the Beatles are about to invade, ushering in an era of youth culture.

Until the early 20th century adolescence as a category didn't exist. Children dressed like adults, talked like adults, and wanted to be adults. There was no in-between. Interest in adolescence and youth culture really took off in the 1960s, a time when teens and young adults developed their own style. Their clothes, music, slang, and even ideals were drastically different than their parents', and they were identified as their own group.

Now the Internet has changed everything yet again. It's given us access to any subculture we want to join, so we can be in the know long after college comes to a close. Ask one 28-year-old about her favorite music and it may sound like she stopped tuning in five years ago; ask another and she'll tell you what came out last week.

Of course, age is defined differently for everyone. Do you act younger or older than your age?

Source: AMC

Who's to Blame for Eating Disorders?

FitSugar — Fri, 09 Feb 2007 15:00:37 PST

If you're like me you're a little sick of all the flip-flopping on who is ultimately responsible for contributing to eating disorders in young women. First it was the modeling world and media. Then Gisele piped in and blamed parents. Shortly afterwards Gisele got publicly criticized for pointing fingers at parents and researchers in turn pointed their fingers straight at genetics.

Anyone else confused?

Well not to confuse you even more but new research is out from Stanford University that says fathers are the ones to blame now as well. Their findings came after noticing the lack in research on the father's role in eating disorders. Further finding that fathers are important in influencing their daughters toward bulimia, particularly fathers who were overweight and wanted to be thinner. These influences may be direct, such as criticizing the daughter's weight or shape, or indirect, by expressing their own concerns about weight and shape.

My head is spinning -- Who do you blame the most for contributing to eating disorders?

5 Journal Apps For Documenting 2012

Kristy Korcz — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 09:44:57 PST

Every girl had a diary at some point in her life, right? I know I did, and I remember it fondly. It was purple and had a little lock on the front. But as kids are known to do, I eventually lost the tiny key, so the personal records of my adolescence remain hidden behind the cover. These days, diaries don't have to be made of paper - there are lots of journal apps for your smartphones and iPads that will allow you to document moments while they're happening and keep a record of your most exciting days. Make a New Year's resolution to get to work on your own with one of these apps.

We Bought a Zoo: Damon Puts on the Hard Sell

Becky Kirsch — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 03:05:00 PST

The simple premise of We Bought a Zoo is laid out right there in the title, and with no hint of irony. The "we" is Benjamin Mee (Matt Damon) and his two children, who are looking to make a fresh start when the death of Benjamin's wife still has them reeling six months later. When Benjamin finds his dream home, he accepts the caveat that the house is built on an old zoo territory, and that he must renovate it to save the animals. It's a story that's hard to swallow at first, but the underlying layers and an impressive performance from Damon make it go down easy.

Damon shows his range as an actor yet again, in a role that's a lot more complex than it seems initially. Though Benjamin is renovating a zoo, the story is really about a man struggling to accept his wife's death and his role as a single father. With another actor in the leading role, the film could be relegated to a tale that's both mawkish and emotionally manipulative, but thanks to Damon, you can't help but love and root for Benjamin. Sure, you care a little about the fate of the animals, but more than anything else, you just want this guy to catch a break.

To see what else I liked about We Bought a Zoo, just

read more. There's a hint of romance between Benjamin and head zookeeper Kelly (Scarlett Johansson), but Cameron Crowe is wise to focus more closely on Benjamin's relationships with his kids than his employee. In fact, the movie may have benefited if the romantic subplot was left behind altogether. Johansson seems out of place in Kelly's dowdy duds, and as charming as Benjamin is, it seems unlikely that a 28-year-old would want to jump into a relationship with an older man who makes no attempt to hide the fact that he's not over his recently deceased wife. Child actors are hit or miss in Hollywood, but We Bought a Zoo features an impressive cast of rising stars. I defy you not to fall in love with Maggie Elizabeth Jones as Benjamin's precocious and utterly adorable 7-year-old daughter Rosie, who will make your heart melt as she slaps together PBJ sandwiches and chases the zoo animals. Colin Ford has a heavier burden to carry as Rosie's troubled teenage brother Dylan, who is coping with his mother's death and his fractured relationship toward his father. Though Dylan is obnoxious and frustrating at times, Ford brings a depth to the character that's only annoying in the sense that it's a realistic portrayal of an adolescent. Thomas Haden Church and Elle Fanning are also assets to the cast, as Benjamin's disapproving older brother and Kelly's spacey cousin, respectively. And, of course, there's the menagerie of animals, who shape the story without stealing the show away from the humans that care for them. It's an important feat, as you never question that the heart of this film is in the personal connections, not in the cute creatures that affect their lives. We Bought a Zoo perfectly fits the movie mold for holiday time; there's something for kids, something for adults, and a little bit of magic for everyone.

Photo courtesy of 20th Century Fox

Young Adult: Charlize Theron Ain't No Judy Blume

Shannon Vestal — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 03:05:00 PST

Growing up is hard to do, especially if you're a delusional, malicious shrew who's stuck in the past. That sums up Charlize Theron's Young Adult character Mavis Gary, a woman who lives in Minneapolis and has a career writing novels aimed at adolescent girls. Her world of hard drinking and sleeping in is disrupted when she gets an announcement from her high school boyfriend Buddy (Patrick Wilson) that his wife has had a baby. Mavis interprets it as a message that he's still in love with her, and she disdainfully heads back to her quiet Minnesota hometown to win him back. It's a journey that makes you cringe every step of the way, but Theron is so delightfully nasty that she makes the film sharply funny, even if it's also brutally uncomfortable.

Screenwriter Diablo Cody and director Jason Reitman are behind the dark comedy, who teamed up previously for Juno, which found humor in the tough situation of their straight-talking female lead. Young Adult may have a sharp-tongued heroine in common, but that's where the similarities end. To find out why else I liked Young Adult, just keep reading.

Breaking Dawn Hits Theatres Today - See Kristen Stewart's Red Carpet Evolution

Hannah Weil — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 13:10:00 PST

Breaking Dawn hits theaters today - who's excited to see Edward and Bella get married and (possibly) have a baby? Since the action-packed trilogy first debuted, Kristen Stewart has walked many a red carpet, graced film screenings, press conferences, and photocalls defining her personal style along the way. From Twilight to tomorrow's much-anticipated release, Kristen's come into her own, culling dresses from designers like Proenza Schouler, Balenciaga, and, most recently, Roberto Cavalli for her countless premieres. We've watched her go from adolescent to full-blown leading lady, refining her taste via edgy shorter hemlines, leather jackets tossed over event dresses, and standout embellishments - no, she hasn't ditched the Converse, but would you really want her to? Yeah, we wouldn't either. Just click through to see Kristen's stylish transformation on the Twilight red carpets.

Bizarre Home Cures That Work

Prevention — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 03:13:50 PDT

We are excited to share one of our fave stories from Prevention here on FitSugar!

Ease pesky health issues with vodka, duct tape — more
From the Editors of Prevention

Of course there are some health staples you should never be without - bandages or OTC pain relievers come to mind. But you can treat or cure a surprising number of minor ailments with these unexpected household objects and foods.

Home cure: Vodka
Use it for: Foot odor
If your feet smell less than swell, wipe them down with a vodka-soaked washcloth to get rid of the stench. It's the same principle as rubbing alcohol (which works equally well if you'd rather drink your Grey Goose). Vodka contains alcohol, which is antiseptic and drying, so it destroys odor-causing fungus and bacteria and dries out the moisture that lets these organisms grow.

Surprising Reasons Why You Smell

Home cure: Licorice
Use it for: Calluses and corns
"Licorice contains estrogen-like substances that soften the hard skin of calluses and corns," says Georgianna Donadio, PhD, director of the National Institute of Whole Health. Make this homemade licorice paste: grind up a few licorice sticks, mix them with 1/2 teaspoon of petroleum jelly, and rub the mixture into the rough areas of your feet.

How to Get Soft and Sexy Feet

Home cure: Baking soda
Use it for: Urinary tract infections
At the first sign of symptoms, drink a solution made with 1/4 teaspoon of baking soda mixed in eight ounces of water. Continue this once a day until you can get a culture done at a doctor's office and start antibiotics. Baking soda makes the bladder environment more alkaline, which reduces bacteria's ability to multiply, says Larrian Gillespie, MD, a retired assistant clinical professor of urology and urogynecology in Los Angeles.

Keep reading for more home cures.

The Latest on Soy For the Ladies

Zelana Montminy — Thu, 01 Sep 2011 11:41:58 PDT

If all the mixed messages about soy products have you confused, you're not alone. Recent studies have certainly found mixed evidence on the benefits. I've been hearing mostly about soy's effect on heart disease and breast cancer, so here's the latest research on the topic.

Heart Disease
A recent comprehensive update of soy research by the American Heart Association's nutrition committee found that soy protein does not have as much of an effect on cholesterol as previously thought. The benefit for the heart is not due to a direct relationship to reduced cholesterol but rather because soy products are generally used as a substitute for unhealthy choices and also because they are low fat yet high in fiber, vitamins, and minerals.

Breast Cancer
Soy products contain a wide range of compounds including isoflavones, which can act as antioxidants, but also function as phytoestrogens. Phytoestrogens are chemicals that plants make that are similar to human estrogen, and many of us have read that these phytoestrogens have been linked to breast cancer. In some cases these phytoestrogens may be able to mimic estrogen in the body or block the action of estrogen. Phytoestrogens acting as estrogen could possibly affect cell communication, prevent the formation of tumors, or change the way DNA is processed in cell multiplication.

For more on the relationship between soy and breast cancer, keep reading.