Rihanna’s latest video for her song “S&M” hasn’t even been out for a week, but it’s stirring up a controversy.  Due to the sexual nature of the video and its subject, “S&M” has been banned in 11 countries, restricted on YouTube (it’s only available if you log-in with an account that proves you’re over 18), and pulled from play on some radio-stations until after 7pm.  Some radio stations have even changed the name from “S&M” to “Come On.” (Read all about the scandal and watch the full video here.)

But seriously, come on! While some critics and fans are outraged by her sexual lyrics and fetish-filled video, I can’t help but wonder where the boundaries of entertainment actually stand.

Women are seen as sexual beings, but when they express that sexuality in any way that would make someone uncomfortable, it’s not okay. Even recently, the indie film Blue Valentine with Michelle Williams and Ryan Gosling came under fire for the scene where Ryan’s character performs oral sex on Michelle. We live in a world where it’s OK to fellate a man in a movie, but it’s not accepted for a woman to receive cunnilingus. Although the NC-17 rating was eventually dropped (thanks to Ryan Gosling fighting for it in the press), it shows that double standards still exist in movies and in music. This isn’t 1950!

Read More »

Rihanna’s latest video for her song “S&M” hasn’t even been out for a week, but it’s stirring up a controversy.  Due to the sexual nature of the video and its subject, “S&M” has been banned in 11 countries, restricted on YouTube (it’s only available if you log-in with an account that proves you’re over 18), and pulled from play on some radio-stations until after 7pm.  Some radio stations have even changed the name from “S&M” to “Come On.” (Read all about the scandal and watch the full video here.)

But seriously, come on! While some critics and fans are outraged by her sexual lyrics and fetish-filled video, I can’t help but wonder where the boundaries of entertainment actually stand.

Women are seen as sexual beings, but when they express that sexuality in any way that would make someone uncomfortable, it’s not okay. Even recently, the indie film Blue Valentine with Michelle Williams and Ryan Gosling came under fire for the scene where Ryan’s character performs oral sex on Michelle. We live in a world where it’s OK to fellate a man in a movie, but it’s not accepted for a woman to receive cunnilingus. Although the NC-17 rating was eventually dropped (thanks to Ryan Gosling fighting for it in the press), it shows that double standards still exist in movies and in music. This isn’t 1950! Read More »

To all of you ladies who are ready to stomp sidewalks this weekend in lingerie and some form of animal ears, good luck with the Halloween hookups and hangovers. But keep in mind, it apparently only takes one anonymous guy’s cocky locker room talk to contaminate a woman’s career path, and there’s nothing any of us can do to prevent it from happening to us in the future.

Earlier this week, a man came forward to Gawker and revealed an encounter (of the hookup variety) with Christine O’Donnell, the female Republican candidate running for Delaware senator against Democrat Chris Coons. O’Donnell’s Communications Director Doug Sachtleben has classified the publicized morning-after-story as “just another example of the sexism and slander that female candidates are forced to deal with.” And we here at CollegeCandy, who have been collecting the best morning after stories for years, couldn’t agree more.

The entire situation is all “he said, she said” at this point (well, more like “some anonymous guy says and she refuses to say”), but who seriously cares? They (allegedly) hooked up three years ago, long before Ms. O’Donnell was a candidate in this very race. Does this encounter say something about O’Donnell’s ability to lead? Is this story pertinent to the election at all or is it only “news” because it bashes a female candidate in a sexually explicit way? Read More »

Taylor Swift’s third album Speak Now dropped yesterday (you can listen to it here), and as America goes crazy over her sparkly dresses and good girl persona, the masses continue to talk about the songs and who they are about. However, instead of getting caught up in all that, I think it’s time to call Nashville’s country pop-princess out.

Enough with the good girl, doe-eyed “who me?” act, Taylor – you’re no better than anyone you write about!

Taylor’s career has been built upon writing songs about her encounters with other people, revealing facts about her relationships, and candidly exposing her side of the story. This is something that many people have done in their music and through their interviews. However, they get a lot of crap for it – while Taylor seems to get the thumbs up.

While the majority of songs on Speak Now feature snapshots of relationships and love, there is an overwhelmingly angry tone that seeks revenge throughout the album’s 14 songs. And just like a lot of the people she writes about (John Mayer and Kanye West, to name the most notorious), she dishes … and does so maliciously. Not such a nice girl now, are you Tay? Read More »

Whew. We have all officially survived the first week of 2010. And if the rest of the year is going to be anything like the past 8 days, I think I’m in for some serious trouble. After a whirlwind New Year’s weekend chock full of drinking, celebrating, and more drinking, it took me until yesterday (true story) to get back to normal. I was so tired and out of it all week that I already blew through my Caribou Coffee gift card that I got for Hanukkah. (You try and resist their new chocolate mochas!)

Woops.

But now it’s Friday and I’ve got nothing to do except sleep, watch Jersey Shore reruns and dance to the best of ’09 jams in my apartment all weekend long. But first, let’s take a look back on the week that was:

- Obviously, we dealt with the billions of (annoying) people shoving their resolutions down our throats.

- We jumped for joy at the return of our favorite TV shows and our BFFs from the Babysitter’s Club.

- We questioned the existence of our G-spot, then realized (during a particularly wonderful late night tryst, perhaps?) that it is most definitely still there.

- We learned how badly our snacking habits and H&M are affecting Mother Earth.

- We figured out how to effectively ruin a relationship and questioned the rules that govern one. Read More »

Let’s face it. In order to be a female musician, it’s a prerequisite nowadays to be considered hot. Unlike the guys, who can get away with looking like this or this and gorgeous girls will still screw them, women are a completely different story. It’s just the way things go.

So, with all of the ladies putting countless records out, who is the hottest? And what makes a “hot” female singer? There are dozens of lists of opinions; everybody’s got one. I happened to stumble upon one that caught my eye, if for no other reason than Madonna isn’t on it for once (I don’t care how “in shape” she is, people – she looks like hell. Eat a hot dog, woman).

Shoutmouth.com lists their countdown of the 50 Hottest Women in Music, and it goes by 7 different rules:

Rule #1 (The Madonna Rule): This list is based on recent hotness. It doesn’t matter how hot an artist was back in the ‘80s. It’s 2007. What have you done for us lately?

Rule #2 (The Hayden Panettiere Rule): To qualify for this list, an artist must be over 18 years of age. We only objectify of-age women here.

Rule #3 (The Newcomer Rule): Each artist must have released at least one full-length album prior to August 1st, 2007 in order to qualify.

See Photos after the jump. Read More »