Britney Spears-bashing is back in vogue. The fusillade of criticism about her recent MTV Video Music Awards first targeted her performance, but then shifted to her “bulging belly” (exposed by a black sequined bikini).

While the subject of Brittany's belly has been a great Internet hit, an Associated Press article appealed to us not to forget that Spears is a mother of two -- and to refrain from holding her not-so-pristine abs up against a younger, never-pregnant benchmark (set by Spears herself – a decade ago).

As a mother, I feel compelled to respond -- on two levels.

First in Italy and Spain, and now in Britain, super skinny models are buzzing through headlines once again. The talk is about whether or not to ban models with frighteningly low Body Mass Indexes (BMI) from participating in London Fashion Week 2008.

So far, skeletal gets to stay -- as long as a doctor signs off, that is. Based on “The Model Health Inquiry,” commissioned by the British Fashion Council, models need only provide "good health" certificates from eating disorder specialists. And then it’s business as usual.

Apart from what this move signifies about our current ideals of beauty, I’m most skeptical about logistics.

They do it for shock value.

The fashion moguls are playing the "shock and awe" game again. This time with an ad campaign for Nolita, featuring an emaciated nude woman.

Not just thin a la Kate Moss. Not heroin addict chic, heroin chic as promoted by Calvin Klein in the 90’s. No, thin, as in a concentration camp survivor thin. She’s in newspapers, on billboards, on TV, and all over the Internet. See for yourself. Warning: this isn't pretty. It’s anorexia nervosa, stark and real.