Congress has cut federal funding for public media — a $3.4 million loss for LAist. We count on readers like you to protect our nonprofit newsroom. Become a monthly member and sustain local journalism.
This archival content was written, edited, and published prior to LAist's acquisition by its current owner, Southern California Public Radio ("SCPR"). Content, such as language choice and subject matter, in archival articles therefore may not align with SCPR's current editorial standards. To learn more about those standards and why we make this distinction, please click here.
LA Has Big Butts, Too!
Reuters reports that new bootylicious mannequins are all the rage in Manhattan stores.
Sir Mix-a-Lot, who sang the praises of junk in the trunk in his 1992 hit “Baby Got Back,” is credited as the granddaddy of the bigger-is-better bottom movement. However, the article lets us know we can thank J.Lo for the recent explosion of well-rounded rears gracing retailers’ windows, particularly since one of the mannequins is known as “the J.Lo butt form.” Dwight Critchfield, creative director for mannequin firm Goldsmith, says the change to curvier mannequins is “absolutely the trend.” Thin may be in, but a little fat is where it’s at!
What LAist wants to know is when we’ll be seeing Beyonce-style butts on mannequins here. While our Hollywood brethren are responsible for creating the standard for the “perfect body” à la Lara Flynn Boyle, Calista Flockhart, and the Olsen twins, we can’t help but notice that our multi-cultural municipality is filled with ladies who might like seeing clothes on forms built a little more like them and a little less like Twizzlers.
As Editor-in-Chief of our newsroom, I’m extremely proud of the work our top-notch journalists are doing here at LAist. We’re doing more hard-hitting watchdog journalism than ever before — powerful reporting on the economy, elections, climate and the homelessness crisis that is making a difference in your lives. At the same time, it’s never been more difficult to maintain a paywall-free, independent news source that informs, inspires, and engages everyone.
Simply put, we cannot do this essential work without your help. Federal funding for public media has been clawed back by Congress and that means LAist has lost $3.4 million in federal funding over the next two years. So we’re asking for your help. LAist has been there for you and we’re asking you to be here for us.
We rely on donations from readers like you to stay independent, which keeps our nonprofit newsroom strong and accountable to you.
No matter where you stand on the political spectrum, press freedom is at the core of keeping our nation free and fair. And as the landscape of free press changes, LAist will remain a voice you know and trust, but the amount of reader support we receive will help determine how strong of a newsroom we are going forward to cover the important news from our community.
Please take action today to support your trusted source for local news with a donation that makes sense for your budget.
Thank you for your generous support and believing in independent news.

-
If approved, the more than 62-acre project would include 50 housing lots and a marina less than a mile from Jackie and Shadow's famous nest overlooking the lake.
-
The U.S. Supreme Court lifted limits on immigration sweeps in Southern California, overturning a lower court ruling that prohibited agents from stopping people based on their appearance.
-
Censorship has long been controversial. But lately, the issue of who does and doesn’t have the right to restrict kids’ access to books has been heating up across the country in the so-called culture wars.
-
With less to prove than LA, the city is becoming a center of impressive culinary creativity.
-
Nearly 470 sections of guardrailing were stolen in the last fiscal year in L.A. and Ventura counties.
-
Monarch butterflies are on a path to extinction, but there is a way to support them — and maybe see them in your own yard — by planting milkweed.