Clothing stores, let Target be your cautionary whale: do NOT, under any circumstances, name the plus-side version of one of your dresses after a large underwater mammal. That's exactly the unfortunate circumstance Target found themselves in when a sharp-eyed shopper happened to notice that the retailer offered a standard size dress style in "Dark Heather Gray" while the plus-size version was labeled as "Manatee Gray."

Yeah. Awkward.

It sounds like this was a legitimate mistake on Target's part, and if you ask me, the company did a hell of a job heading off what could have been a public relations disaster.

Michelle Obama has a big butt. That’s not a statement for shock value—it’s apparently a confirmed fact. It’s surely made enough headlines of its own since it’s been in the White House, which has elevated it to the upper echelons of celebrity backsides along with the ones carted around by Beyonce, J. Lo, and Kim Kardashian. She’s not a superhuman Superbowl super-performer or a pop music singin’ American Idol defector, or even a reality show starlet slash famous rapper baby mama. But she’s got a rump that gets people talkin’.   The latest to stumble into Mo (and Mo’) Public Booty Hate is Bob Grisham, head football coach and psychology teacher at Lauderdale County High School in Rogersville, Ala. He launched into a mini-rant about his displeasure over the First Lady’s physique, calling her “fat butt Michelle Obama.” Then he added that he hates queers and doesn’t like to be around them. 

'Tis the season to be joyful, not jiggly. That's hard to do with all the carbs I've been downing lately. It's especially problematic when I want to look svelte for parties and family get-togethers. It's not like I can drop 10 pounds before the next festive fete -- and I am not even going to try. Who wants to deny all those fabulous sweet treats floating around this time of year? No fun in that. Instead, I have come up with these surefire tricks to help me look great no matter what the occasion. Take a look at these 6 figure fixers that will help you too!

What are some of your slimming tips?

Image via Spanx

When I first heard that the Kardashian girls are starting a plus-size clothing line, I was all, "Good for them! It's awesome that they realize that women come in all shapes and sizes and that not everyone is a size zero. Bravo, ladies!"

But then I read a little farther and got to the part about the new line featuring pieces ranging from size 8 to size 16 -- and that's when I started rolling my eyes and scratching my head a bit.

Um, a size 8 is considered a PLUS size? For real? Because last time I checked, I thought a size 8 was, well -- average and healthy? (Am I nuts?)

Whether you think this sexy Halloween costume trend has gotten out of hand or not (and if you don't think so, three words: Sexy. Care. Bear. Yes, it exists), there's no denying Halloween is a perfect time to let your wild side show. You can get away with showing much more skin than you might feel comfortable with on a typical night out, and even try on a new personality to go with it. We've all seen the shy wallflower turn into belle of the ball with a costume that makes her feel beautiful.

Want some of that magic for yourself, but maybe you don't have the body of a perfectly tight 20-something? Good news! You too can enjoy the sexy costume trend, even if you're carrying a few extra pounds or have some things you'd like to camouflage. Read on for tips to rock your shape.

FAT! It's the most dreaded thing you can call a woman. It can crush her self-image quicker than any other insult, including the c-word and b-word.

Well if British politicians have their way, using that confidence-killing insult will become a hate crime. Yes. An actual hate crime. A parliament committee on body image recommended putting "appearance-based discrimination" right up there with race and sexual discrimination.

Dealing with weight fluctuations is something that pretty much every woman goes through at one point or another during her life. And when that number on the scale does plunge, the last thing we gals want to hear is people questioning our motivation behind wanting to slim down.

Most women are given a huge pat on the back followed by exclamations of "You Go Girl!" after losing a few pounds and adapting a healthier lifestyle, but former plus-sized model Crystal Renn is sure taking a lot of heat for dropping from a size 14 to a size 6.

Looking at Tim Gunn makes me smile. The "make it work" design mentor from Project Runway always has such a great goofy-looking grin on his face, I just can't help it. Off the runway, Gunn's speaking up for plus-size women in a new interview with Marie Claire, saying that when it comes to shopping, they deserve better options: 

"Have you seen most of the plus-size sections out there? It's horrifying," said Gunn. "Whoever's designing for plus-size doesn't get it. The entire garment needs to be reconceived. You can't just take a size 8 and make it larger." 

Tim's right. When bigger girls head to the mall, they are pretty much limited to two mainstream stores: Torrid and Lane Bryant. Two stores. I don't know about you, but I can't imagine any fashionable "normal" sized girl being confined to two stores and being OK with it.

From a girl who's been there, trust me -- it really stinks.