25 Career & Business Women Bloggers Worth Reading

Do you spin your wheels searching the internet to find great content that applies to you and/or your goals? Well search no more. BlogHer Section Editor for Career & Business, Paula Gregorowicz, has rounded up 25 Career and Business Women Bloggers Worth Reading.  As she eloquently stated, “Career and business is central to many of our lives and yet it can sometimes feel hard to find voices that resonate with our heart, provide practical advice, and generally make us feel not so alone in our own journey.”  Check out her list here at BlogHer to see what these great Bloggers have to say. Who knows, you or someone you follow might have made the cut!  

50 Shades of Hot & Bothered

There’s been a lot of hype recently about the sexually provocative, uber erotic novel, 50 Shades of Grey.  I work with a lot of women and it has swept through the office like wildfire.  In fact, I have a co-worker who stayed up until 4:00am to get through the entire first book in one sitting. 

Far from the typical book club read, this steamy novel deals with bondage, explicit sexual scenarios and sadomasochism.  It has even been described by some bloggers and reviewers as “Mommy porn."  What strikes me is that it has a cross-generational appeal in that it’s being shared between daughters, mothers and grandmothers.  Now I’ll admit that I have not yet read it so this isn’t a review or an endorsement, rather a chance to ask…. what’s all the commotion about?

 Why do you think 50 Shades of Grey has caused such a stir?  Do you feel its success comes from the book’s ability to satisfy ones untapped or unfulfilled fantasy life?  Has it hit number one on the New York Times' bestseller list because it can be downloaded to an e-reader, so there’s no tell-tale cover to give-away what Mom’s reading?  Is it the shock factor of seeing something like this in print, detailing sordid interactions you dare not even discuss with your closest girlfriends?  And how differently do you think the book would have been received if it were written by a man? 

Rinna Endorses Depend Silhouette

Actress Lisa Rinna has a surprising secret under her skin tight, little black dress…..and it’s made by Depend. The company that makes incontinence products has a new, sleeker item, "Silhouette for Women". Rinna, 48, appears in a spot promoting the brand and raves about the product's comfort and ease of wear.  "I am a champion for positive self-image for women," she says in the ad. "The new Silhouette makes a woman feel confident and it's fashionable. It feels great -- and they're so soft."

Lisa participated in the ad campaign in exchange for a $225,000 donation to Dress for Success.  “Kudos to Rinna for trying to take some of the stigma out of a product that many people have to use and for giving back at the same time,” said Sarah Anne Hughes, author of the original article.  Read more from The Washington Post here.

Have you or someone you know used this product? Was it as sleek and comfortable as the ad suggests?

Mattel's New Barbie: Too Mature for Young Girls?

Mattel announced a new Barbie based on the extremely popular book series The Hunger Games.  They’ve chosen to create a doll for heroine, Katniss Everdeen, and plan to release it in August.  It’s a first for the toy giant in that Katniss is, among other things, a killer.  There have been several incarnations of the popular doll throughout the years: Cowgirl Barbie, Malibu Barbie, Flight Attendant Barbie but never a “Fight to the Death Barbie”.

The Hunger Games is a young adult book series, recently made into a movie, about a teen, Katniss, who lives in a post-apocalyptic world.  In this world an annual event is held in which one boy and one girl, aged 12 to 18, are selected by lottery to compete in a televised battle in which only one person can survive.  A far cry from the wholesome image Barbie usually conjures but an image of “strength and resourcefulness” according to Mattel. 

This doll may be intended for the adult collector; however, little ones will no doubt be drawn to it.  Being that most girls stop playing with Barbie Dolls around age 8, do you feel the Katniss Barbie is just too grown up for the toy’s youthful demographic or is she a strong role model for young girls?

Read more from Forbes here.