For Clutch Magazine on Tuesday I penned a piece on the new season of Love and Hip Hop Atlanta and how terrible/good it is, in the sense it is a trashy dime store romance, masqurading as "All My Non-Rappers" in a nice casserole made with nothing but Velveeta, it's so cheesy. Here's a snippet after the jump.
Monday for Clutch Magazine Online, I wrote about the desire to be free from the burden of making sure you don't starve to death in a world where retirement seems more myth than reality. Here's a snippet: "Thanks to today’s 'new' economy where we’ve all be turned into contractors and freelancers without benefits, job security is a dream and retirement quickly becoming something no one can afford, being 'done' seems more elusive than ever. My father, thanks to more than thirty stable, profitable years with the same aerospace company and a pension, was able to retire at 57. The world I live in is full of 30-somethings who’ve already cashed in their meager 401k’s in order to survive being unemployed thanks to the 'Great Recession.' Savings? What savings? Retirement? Ha. All we see is work and more work and work and then a hope that Social Security isn’t completely dead before we are."
On reality TV the ladies have gone from calling each other "crazy" to saying "bipolar" and ... um ... so not cool. I write about this Thursday for Clutch Magazine Online. Here's a snippet: "The extreme behaviors of reality show participants (and the personality types these show attract) often have little to do with mental illness, yet cast members are quick to turn into amateur psychiatrists and diagnose their 'out-of-control' peers, often ignoring the fact that the very nature of a reality show is to push people into emotionally intense situations to get the most extreme responses possible out of them."
Tuesday on Clutch I write about how often being a "hater" of celebrity isn't so much about the celebrity but ourselves and our deserve to vent. There's nothing more cathartic that going in on something you can't stand. It's a release. An unfair release to those we don't know, but a release all the same.
Danielle Belton | 1 Comment | Share Article | Email Article | Print Article | tagged Clutch Magazine, celebrities, celebrity, haters, the snob 
The cast of Married to Medicine. (Photo courtesy of Bravo TV)Tuesday for Clutch Magazine Online I tackle the latest "Black Women Behaving Badly" show, Bravo's Atlanta Housewives with medical degrees Married to Medicine. I lament that while reality drama can be escapism, seeing the same archetypes over and over make you long for scripted drama and real actresses.
Danielle Belton | 1 Comment | Share Article | Email Article | Print Article | tagged Bravo, Clutch Magazine, Married to Medicine, reality TV 
In Clutch Magazine Online, I talk about why I wrote the chapter I did in Gil Robertson's book of essays, "Where Did Our Love Go." My chapter in the divorce section called "The Problem with Marriage" asks people to free themselves from the burden of societal expectations and find the kinds of relationships that work for them.
Here's a snippet:
I know some of you badly want to get married and many of you actually will. But many of you will also get divorced. And some of you will live with someone. And others will have kids, but not be married to the father. And you will feel guilty because you failed at finding “forever” with a “soul-mate.” But that is the wrong way of thinking.
Love can be for a reason and a season.
In a weekend post for Clutch, I'm all over designer Vivienne Westwood's disdain for how Michelle Obama dresses (say what) and conclude this is more about WHO the First Lady wears than WHAT.
Here's a snippet:
My theory is always the designers who “hate” Mrs. O’s fashion are the one’s Mrs.O doesn’t wear. Oscar de La Renta famously threw a fit after being the go-to guy for several First Lady’s and Mrs. O had the gall to wear European designers when she visited Europe. But Mrs. Obama has mostly preferred ready-to-wear by lines such as White House Black Market, J. Crew and many designers of color, like Thankoon, Jason Wu and Tracey Reese.
Danielle Belton | 1 Comment | Share Article | Email Article | Print Article | tagged Clutch Magazine, fashion, michelle obama, the snob
Image via ClutchFriday for Clutch, The Snob breaks down media myths surrounding news, blogs and BET. Here's a taste:
BLOGS and BEYONCE and GETTING PRESS
What you think happens: Beyoncé and her team have Beyoncé everywhere. Obviously, everyone knows that Beyonce is a style thief who copies and can’t be bothered to sing her own songs live. Plus 4, despite selling millions, was a floppity-flop-flop. The only way she could still be getting so much press is she’s paying blogs and other folks to write about her. Obviously. THIS IS THE ONLY WAY.
What really happens: Blogs wish Beyoncé was handing out cash since most blogs are cash-strapped, grindhouses where writers churn out tons of copy for what – back in the day – used to be a salary newspaper job with benefits. That gig is now a freelance “content provider” position where you get paid between $25 and $200 per story depending on what blog you write for. And health benefits? Ha. What are those?
Danielle Belton | Post a Comment | Share Article | Email Article | Print Article | tagged Clutch Magazine, beyonce, media, the snob 
Thursday for Clutch, The Snob tackles the legendary "Nice Guy." AKA, the dude who swears he's nice, but then calls you a bitch for not saying hello. Yes. Yes that does sound like something a nice person would do.
