Headline, Industry News

Hollywood new trend: no underwear

TORONTO (CP) _ Hollywood has its share of dubious fashion trends: the purse-sized chihuahua, the oversized sunglasses, the return of leg-warmers. But the apparent desire by some of Hollywood’s hottest young female stars to be photographed getting in and out of limousines in short skirts while wearing absolutely no undergarments is arguably one of Tinseltown’s most disturbing new crazes.

Britney Spears is the latest celeb to be repeatedly caught on film with her bare genitalia on full display, following in the footsteps of Lindsay Lohan and Paris Hilton. In Spears’s case, her C-section scar is also visible, making for an image most civilized members of society really don’t want to see. Yet the triple-X pictures can be found this week on myriad websites and blogs, as have recent pictures of Lohan _ sans skivvies _ stepping out of limousines into a sea of paparazzi.

Hilton too has frequently been photographed with her private parts clearly visible in an apparent new fad that makes Sharon Stone’s groundbreaking scene in "Basic Instinct" seem as tame as Martha Stewart demurely preparing a dish of oysters Rockefeller.

Are they doing it on purpose?

"Of course they’re doing it on purpose," says Toronto-based podcaster Stephen Knifton of Popstream Productions. "I think Paris Hilton was the first person to supposedly do it accidentally, but when you’re a celebrity well-known just for being famous and you have no other discernible talent, then you’re going to use whatever you have to stay famous. There is no such thing as bad publicity."

"And plunging necklines just didn’t cut it anymore, so they had to take things to the next level _ literally."

The crotch shots seem to have been the final straw for some of Spears’s long-suffering fans. After sticking by the pop diva through her marriage and recent separation from alleged gold-digger Kevin Federline, her new friendship with the notorious Hilton _ along with the public unveiling of her genitalia two months after giving birth to her second child _ may be turning off some fans for good.

"Britney, I love you no matter what, but please get away from the Parasite and put some underwear on," wrote a fan called Geo on Spears’s myspace page.

Gynecologist Jackie Thomas cautions against fans following in the footsteps of their Hollywood idols. In terms of vaginal infections, no underwear at all can often be better than constricting synthetic panties, she says, but there are other considerations to take into account.

"It’s unhygienic not so much for the woman who’s not wearing underwear, but to the people around her," says Thomas, who practises in Toronto. "Let’s face it _ like every other woman, they’ve got a certain amount of discharge and they are hanging around with other people."

Thomas points out that doctors often advise women who have just given birth to forgo underwear for a few weeks to let "their vaginas air out."

"But Britney Spears had an elective C-section, so it’s not like she’s making a health statement here. There’s no need for her to forego underwear unless she’s trying to avoid pantylines."

Elaine Lui of CTV’s "eTalk Daily" says Hilton and Lohan are flashing their crotches deliberately in their desperate efforts to get attention at any cost.

Lui says that Hilton even purposely exposed her naughty bits at a P. Diddy party two years ago. Why? She was jealous of the attention being paid to actress Tara Reid when her evening gown inadvertently slipped to reveal an exposed implanted breast.