While we’ve shown off different celebrities showcasing their abs and taut frames for the camera for swimsuit season, we thought we’d share this very cute photo of singer Monica showing off her own summertime preggers body and adorable ruffled one-piece as she enjoys the sun with child. The singer, who is married to Phoenix Sun baller Shannon Brown, is about six months pregnant with her third child, but her first with Brown (his second, and they both have all boys). Looking very pregnant but very cute, she posed in her swimsuit in the pool and smiled super wide for the camera. Monica captioned the photo saying, “#WeAlmostThere #IMustSwimBeforeSummerEnds LOL, not gonna give up!! Baby B & I will be at it again tomorrow!!”

For Father’s Day this past Sunday, Monica sent a message out to her husband via Instagram where she thanked him for being a nurturing and supportive partner, as well as father to her children (and child on the way):

“Happy Fathers Day to my amazing husband @shannonbrown26 U love, nurture, support & stand by me. As we await the arrival of our child I thank u for the nights that you’ve held me, rubbed my aching back, been a listening ear, made dr’s visits and comforted me.. Our child is blessed to have a Father like U, Happy Father’s Day”

So happy for the singer and her handsome hubby. Doesn’t she look great!?

I used to say I would never date a guy who had a Facebook account.  There was just something that bothered me about picturing my boyfriend updating his status and being hype about followers that wasn’t very grown up or masculine to me.  But that’s my issue, I’m sure there are plenty of mature men who can balance taking care of business with filling in the gaps of their day with Facebook.  Women are no longer arguing with their man about staring at the waitress a little too long but they are quick to trip over what another girl wrote on his wall.  I think people are blaming “The Book” for the demise of their relationships because it’s easier than blaming your boo. But the truth is, guns don’t kill people and Facebook doesn’t break up relationships. Chances are if you have a trifling man, all social networking is doing is giving him a digital platform to be disrespectful.

Constantly posting the rundown of your relationship on a social network takes a lot of security and confidence in your situation that many couples don’t have. A lot of time we sabotage ourselves.  Every girl that tweets your man isn’t automatically a threat to your relationship and just because he liked that selfie of his high school sweetheart doesn’t mean he’s secretly trying to break her off.  If you have trust issues, they’re going to be a problem in your relationship whether you’re threatened by the girl that walks by on the street or the girl who likes all of his statuses.

I have no idea why we women like to torture ourselves by snooping, spying and taking every interaction our men have with the opposite sex as some kind of inclination that he’ll be unfaithful.  If you have trust issues you will always find what you’re looking because you’ve convinced yourself there is something to find.  The happiest relationship I was ever in was one where we both agreed that cell phones, e-mail accounts and social network accounts were off limits.  Trust, if your man is cheating as my mother always says, “What’s done in the dark will always come to the light.”

Facebook, Twitter and Instagram basically take a microscope to your relationship and project it onto a flat screen for your whole social circle to see, judge and overanalyze. During a chat about a certain celebrities’ Twitter boos’ subtweets, a message board buddy of mine brought up a very good point, “Social media doesn’t ruin relationships, people do. Social media just gives them a platform to do what they’ve been doing anyway.” Now I’m usually that person who’s quick to call Facebook the devil, but the truth is if you have a good man, the odds are that Facebook, Twitter and Instagram aren’t going to change that.  So many women invest so much energy into checking their man’s pages when what they really need to be doing is checking their disrespectful dudes.

Social networking has slowly turned all of us into Ms. Pearl off of ”227.”  We all know that social networks leave a whole lot of room for assumptions and misunderstandings. People are so quick to make connections that sometimes don’t exist.  Every song lyric, quote or vague update isn’t some implicit comment on ups and downs of a relationship.

You don’t have to choose between your social profile and being happy in your relationship as long as certain boundaries are set from the get go. If Twitter and Instagram are vital to your existence, keep your social circles separate on-line.  There’s no need to friend or follow your man on-line, if you get enough of him in-the-flesh.  If you are already connected on-line, don’t be quick to overreact to every comment and talk to him about the things that bother you before you get all internet gangsta.  The old proverb applies whenever I witness drama taking place on my friends’ pages: Never argue with fools because through a DSL connection your followers can’t tell who is who.  Be honest with yourself about what you can handle.  Don’t front like you’re the cool girlfriend who is cool with your man having thousands of girls as friends, and then go on a sub-tweeting spree and start sending Rihanna-esque shade via Instagram when you get offended by his on-line activities.  Lastly, stop inviting thirst into your bedroom.  I understand the overwhelming want to tell the world when you land the man of your dreams, but if you’re putting up pics of him drenched in sweat at the gym and talking about how he put it down last night, you can’t be surprised when one of your Twitter follower tries to hit him up. It’s not that deep folks.  If you and your man can’t make it through the “Why does your relationship status still say ‘Single’ argument, there is no way your relationship is going to survive when things get real.  Stop blaming your internet connection for problems that existed long before you logged on.

Toya Sharee is a community health educator and parenting education coordinator who has a  passion for helping  young women build their self-esteem and make well-informed choices about their sexual health.  She also advocates for women’s reproductive rights and blogs about  everything from beauty to love and relationships. Follow her on Twitter @TheTrueTSharee or visit her blog, Bullets and Blessings.

Shutterstock

Vine is still relatively new but just last week, there were more Vines shared on Twitter than Instagram photos.

There were about 2.37 million links to Vine.co shared on Twitter over a 24-hour period as of about 11:30 pm PT Friday night, according to Topsy Analytics. Compare this to the 2.14 million links to Instagram.com that Topsy said were shared during the same 24-hour period, reports Marketing Land.

This marks the first time Vine links have surpassed Instagram links on Twitter, though it has come close to doing so before. On June 4^th (the day after Twitter released an Android version of Vine), Vine nearly beat Instagram. “Vine has become an immediate hit on Android. As of late Friday night, it was the No. 5 free app on the Google Play app charts. It’s also been in the top five on Apple’s App Store for months, and was No. 2 Friday night,” reports  Marketing Land.

People were actually skeptical when Twitter bought and launched Vine in January. Industry experts wondered: Who would want to make or watch videos that are limited to only six seconds? A lot of people, so it seems.

And brands, such as Samsung, Lowe’s, Target, are already tapping into Vine as a marketing tool.

What do you think of Vine? In case you’re still unfamiliar, here’s a cute video that Nina Garcia, Marie Claire creative director and Project Runway judge, retweeted today.

I don’t know why, but there’s something about this photo that reminds me of that very over-the-top mini-documentary Chris Brown made about being “in love with two women.” While he’s been able to go back and forth between his lady loves since last year, last time we checked, Rihanna and Chris were done, and Karrueche was slowly but surely finding her way back around Breezy and his crew. We can’t confirm their actual status, but boo things looks just about right as a description.

Brown’s friend, Kid Red (another very light-skinned fella with a bunch of tattoos and colored hair), posted this picture of the two when they weren’t looking, appearing very cute and cozy together. He captioned it on Instagram as, “No friendship without love!” Despite the many reasons homegirl should run for the hills when it comes to messing with Chris again (like the possibility that he could change his mind at the drop of a hat and leave her for Rihanna again), clearly they’re close, and she’s happy either way as friends or something more. As Kevin Hart would say, “Do you boo boo!”

So how would you caption this picture? What do you think Chris and Karrueche are thinking? 

We just knew Toni was talking crazy when she said she was considering walking away from the music industry. The industry hasn’t always been kind to her and we could certainly see how she might have become disenchanted. But denying that gift would almost be a tragedy.

So we’re hopeful that the recent picture she posted on her Instagram page, is a sign of good things to come.

Source: Instagram

She posted this pic of she and Babyface along with this caption:

September 2013 @KennyEdmonds @Motown : *

Well we’re not mad. I’m certainly ready for that collabo.

Source: Shutterstock

I’m wondering how many people would be 100% honest with me if I asked them the question: How much does social networking affect your self-esteem?

I’m also wondering if social networking can be blamed for how incredibly narcissistic and attention-seeking we have become as a society.

I’m wondering these things because I remember a time when I was first introduced to social networking with old friends, classmates etc. Interaction was much more direct then. The point of it all seemed to be simply to interact. The expressing of ideas and opinions and reuniting of long-lost pals made social networks an escape we looked forward to – between classes, after getting home from work, just before bedtime.

That was 2004. But in 2013, social network culture has instead moved toward ‘round-the-clock reactionary, attention-seeking and sometimes mean activity.

I frequent Facebook more so out of habit now than because of any actual beneficial use of the site. The steady stream on social networks of shocking status updates and photos – everything from outing ex-boyfriends (or current ones) as cheaters, to posting nearly nude photographs to “Twitter beef” between any number of people on any given day – leaves me to wonder, have we turned social networks into yet another type of high school lunchroom?

Does the number of likes we rack up for a photograph equate with the thrill of being “popular”? For whom do we post an album full of pictures of our awesome Europe vacations? Are bikini photos uploaded to Instagram only for attention or is this simply the culture of social networks in 2013?

I started asking myself all these questions when a few weeks ago this photograph fell onto my Twitter timeline:

via Twitter

Whether it’s real or not my first thought was, “Whyyyy?” I didn’t know the young lady but I was embarrassed for her. I was sad for her because either she had never been taught what self-love is or she ignored the teaching to garner attention instead. This is what it boils down to for many social networkers. Proudly publicizing things for which most would be ashamed, defaulting to shock value as a means to be noticed. Whatever it takes to get “likes,” to be well-received or just get others talking – we seem willing to do it.

The daily and terribly public outpouring of things that are most private is as interesting as it is disheartening but it left me with all these unanswered questions. How much do we care what people think of us via social networks? Why do we post the statuses and pictures and links that we post? How much of it is business/work-related? How much of it is ego-driven? Attention-seeking? Where does social networking fit into our self-esteem? Why does that little red box at the top of our Facebook screen matter so much?

No definitive answers have come because low self-esteem just seems too easy to me. But it does stop and make you reflect on your own motives.

La Truly seeks to encourage thought, discussion and change among young women through her writing. Follow her on Twitter: @AshleyLaTruly and AboutMe www.about.me/ashley.hobbs.

Source: Instagram

From StyleBlazer

Source: Instagram

Before you even get to any pictures, the bio on Fantasia’s Instagram page reads as follows:

“It SADDENS ME that Most of you will Only Come On to say Negative things. My Kids are Covered and so am I Hate On Mofos But Im the Queen of this THRONE.”

And last night, we discovered just how true that bio is. Yesterday, Fantasia posted the above picture of her daughter Zion with the caption “My Girl <3.” While this seems like an innocent picture, it was only a matter of time before one of Fantasia’s followers, Tee Tee* left a comment insulting both Zion and Fantasia.

By the time I got to the picture, the user’s comment had been deleted but from reading the responses to it, it was clear that this user had a problem with Zion’s hair. And in deeming it too grown she also attacked her intelligence. Again, I didn’t read it but if I had to guess she probably said something along the lines of her hair is blah blah and she probably can’t even blah blah in school. I’m guessing this because Fantasia’s fans immediately came to Zion’s defense, saying that it was none of this user’s business how Zion wears her hair and that she is an honor student.

The thing about celebrities and social networking is that folks rarely think the celebrity will actually see their comment. But clearly, going out of your way to leave a comment means you somehow want the attention. Well, in this instance, not only did Fantasia see the comment, she responded to this user and hopefully made her a better woman and mother in the process.

Fantasia went to the user’s page and posted a picture of she and her daughter on her own Instagram account. But instead of insulting the woman and her daughter, she had this to say:

*TeeTee Is a Mother as Well as a Black Women. It Saddens me when a Beautiful Black Women with a Beautiful Black Young Baby comes on another Black Women page and Speaks Negative about her Beautiful Black Young Lady… Let Me say this Mama if 1 person comes on this pic and comments negative about your Baby what would you do? How would you feel? Well let me tell you how I Feel (Anger, Rage and ready to Fight). I’m not going to play this mean and evil game with you or any 1 else. I’m a tell you how Pretty your Little Girl is, I’m a say I Pray she Grows up to be everything GOD as predestined Her to Be, I’m a say that I pray Angels watch Over You, her and all your Love 1s. I’m going to pretend you didn’t just GO INNN on my Baby Girl picture… I’ll just Say God Bless You as A Mother and as A Black Sister… From another Sister. Your Girl is Very Pretty

Message!

Some of you, like a couple of Fantasia’s Instagram followers, will argue that she shouldn’t have even dignified this woman’s mean and hateful comment with a response. That’s understandable. But if Tee Tee deleting her comment was any indication, I’d say that the message got through.

But even if it didn’t, let this serve as a reminder that celebrities are real people with real feelings but most importantly it is really and truly morally despicable to talk about someone else’s child, especially when you have one of your own. Fantasia could have easily talked about this woman’s daughter, whether it was true or not, and many of her fans would have cosigned the foolishness as karma; but instead she took a moment to compliment and educate this woman about her lapse in judgement. Much respect and God bless Fantasia for this.

*I won’t include her real user name here, though you can find it on Fantasia’s Instagram page.

WENN/Twitter

From The Grio

Earlier this month, boxer Floyd Mayweather was in the news for his (expected) triumph over boxing opponent Robert Guerrero. And last week, Mayweather, no stranger to attention seeking, made headlines again, but in a way he probably never expected.

On Mother’s Day, he paid a visit to his ex Josie Harris, who is mother to three of his four children. Harris has also appeared on the  reality show Starter Wives Confidential exposing her ongoing “relationship” with Mayweather, and on May 1 Harris gave an interview to Yahoo sports explaining that they’ve had “one intimate encounter” since he served time for assaulting her in front of their children.

This is also despite Mayweather’s engagement to another woman, Shantel Jackson, who lives with Mayweather. Anyway, Mayweather and Harris — recently it seems –  wound up in a bed together. As he slept, Harris snapped a picture of him that was posted to Instagram on Mother’s Day.

This, however, is not when things stop being crazy. Mayweather’s fiancee, who of course heard about the pictures, if not saw them, has not made a public statement about her fiancé being pictured in the bed with his ex. But she did offer a response, of sorts.

After Harris’s picture with Floyd surfaced, Jackson posted a mini-photo essay on Intsagram, documenting her life with Floyd. The images included a walk-in closet the size of a garage, a series of expensive designer bags displayed (and protected) like precious artifacts in a museum, and a vintage luxury vehicle. Media Takeout interpreted her images as a way of saying to Harris, “you may have his [p*nis], but I have his pockets.”

Read more at TheGrio.com

Source: WENN

From EurWeb

[Internet hackers would like us to believe] Beyonce has finally addressed current rumors that she is pregnant with her second child.

Reports gathered pace on Friday when E! news claimed that “multiple sources” had confirmed the news.

In response, Beyonce [supposedly] posted a cryptic message on her Instagram account in which she seems to deny the rumors, while calling out “low lives” who talk about her.

She wrote: “I can’t stop the rumors from starting, and I can’t really change peoples minds who believe them, all I can do is sit back and laugh at these low life people who have nothing better to do than talk about me.”

Read more and see the alleged Instagram photo on EurWeb.com.