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Mom Destroys Breast Pump In 'Office Space'-Inspired Photo Shoot

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As a child grows, there comes a time to put away childish things. The accoutrements of babyhood ― Diaper Genies, strollers, Baby Bjorns, etc. ― must eventually be trashed, donated or put into storage for the next child.


But one mom decided to go a step further and do away with her breast pump in a truly spectacular fashion; she and four other moms smashed it to bits with baseball bats. 


Mia Gorrell, a Colorado mom and photographer, found breastfeeding to be much harder than she had been prepared for. After the birth of her first child, 3-year-old Harper, she found that the extreme pressure to breastfeed fed into her postpartum depression and anxiety. 


With her now 15-month-old twins, Isabel and Grace, she pumped exclusively and said that pumping sessions were taking at least 45 minutes and sometimes over an hour. It was difficult to find the time, and when one of her twins began spitting up a large portion of the milk due to reflux, it became too much to handle.



“I was frustrated that no one seemed to talk about it,” Gorrell told The Huffington Post. “It was supposed to be this enjoyable, natural experience, so why was I struggling so much? It wasn’t until I spoke with other moms that I learned of their frustrations too, specifically with pumping.”


As she wrote in her blog post about the photo shoot, “The dreaded pumping sessions are some of the worst parts of breastfeeding. Taking your top off or using a bra with two holes in it, you are a prisoner to the machine that sucks milk out of your breasts multiple times a day. To say you feel like a cow being milked is probably the most accurate description.”


So, needless to say, when she was done with her breastfeeding journey, Gorrell was overjoyed to be finally done with the breast pump, too. 


“When I was done pumping, I felt so free and I had all this newfound time on my hands. I was tempted to throw my pump out the window, and that gave me the idea to have a ceremonious smashing of one as closure to the experience,” Gorrell said.


Gorrell immediately made the connection to the copy machine smashing scene in the film “Office Space,” and decided to call her project “Mom Space.”





She found the other participants from a multiples support group she is a part of; the other moms brought the “weapons” and she brought her camera to an open space in Westminster, Colorado to enact the destruction.


All the women watched the clip from “Office Space” before the shoot so they knew what they were reenacting. One of the moms commented afterward that she had enjoyed the opportunity to release some pent-up aggression as well as bond with other moms. 


Gorrell notes that according to the FDA, breast pumps are for use by one person only, meaning that the destroyed pump couldn’t have been reused by someone else. She also acknowledges that she is privileged to have access to a breast pump in the first place, calling her frustrations with pumping a “first world problem.”



Gorrell says she was trying to send the message that it’s OK to have different experiences with parenting, and that parents should support and encourage one another rather than judging.


She says, “Being a mom is one of the hardest (if not THE hardest) thing you will ever do, and it really does take a village. Even in those really hard moments (e.g., spending countless hours pumping), you can find solace in others and, possibly, comedic relief at the end. You’re not in this alone, and at the end of the day, know that you are not only a good mom, but that you are enough.” 


Keep scrolling to seem more images from the “Mom Space” photo shoot. 











You can see the complete set of images, and more information about the participants, on Gorrell’s blog on her photography website.

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Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie Says It's Not A Woman's Job To Be Likable

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Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie doesn’t care how “likable” she is. 


In an interview with The Washington Post published on International Women’s Day, Adichie discussed feminism and her new book, Dear Ijeawele. The acclaimed feminist author and mother initially wrote Dear Ijeawele as a letter to a friend asking for parenting advice. Adichie told WaPo the book includes suggestions on how to raise daughters in our sexist culture, including lessons like “teach her self-reliance” and “never speak of marriage as an achievement.”


“It’s not your job to be likable. It’s your job to be yourself,” Adichie told WaPo. “Someone will like you anyway.”


Adichie writes in Dear Ijeawele that she feels these conversations with children, but young daughters especially, are imperative to breaking down sexism, according to WaPo’s Nora Krug.


“I think it is morally urgent to have honest conversations about raising children differently, about trying to create a fairer world for women and men,” she wrote. 


Adichie told Krug that gender roles are so often learned from a young age. 


“The knowledge of cooking does not come pre-installed in a vagina. Cooking is learned,” she said, adding that she really dislikes the “Can women have it all?” conversation. “It’s a debate that assumes women do all of the child-raising and domestic work ― and we give her a special cookie when she works outside the home. When dad picks up a kid one time, he gets seven cookies.”


She pointed to former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton as an example of how gender roles are much harsher for women. Clinton’s Twitter bio starts with “wife, mom, grandma,” Adichie told WaPo. But Bill Clinton’s first word in his Twitter bio is “founder.” 


“We want women seeking power to be tempered by a more domestic side. We don’t expect the same of men,” Adichie said. “Women have to straddle a line so that they are seen as not so forceful that they are a shrew or emasculating, but not weak. It’s a kind of juggling that men don’t even have to consider at all.” 


Head over to The Washington Post to read the full interview. 

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Robert James Waller, 'Bridges of Madison County' Author, Dead At 77

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Robert James Waller, the author best known for his 1992 novel The Bridges of Madison County, has died. He was 77 years old.


According to Aaron M. Priest Literary Agency, Waller died either Thursday or early Friday in Texas. Agent Lucy Childs told The Associated Press that she did not know the cause, but was aware that the author had been ill.


Waller, born in Rockford, Iowa, in 1939, wrote a series of novels and non-fiction works throughout his life, including The Bridges of Madison County (originally titled Love in Black and White in the U.K.), 1993’s Slow Waltz in Cedar Bend, 1995’s Puerto Vallarta Squeeze, and 2002’s A Thousand Country Roads (the sequel to Bridges)


Bridges and Puerto Vallarta Squeeze were both adapted into films, the former starring Meryl Streep and Clint Eastwood, the latter Harvey Keitel. 


Bridges follows an Italian-American woman living in Madison County, Iowa, with her farmer husband in the 1960s. Feeling isolated, she begins a short affair with a photographer from Washington state, who is visiting the area for a National Geographic project on the town’s covered bridges. Though the story reads like an account written by the primary character, Francesca, the tale is fictional. 


Critic L.S. Klepp wrote in 1992 of the book:



It seems likely to melt all but the most determined cynics. Even those of us who think that romantic love contains more than the usual share of human illusion are willingly floored by it now and then, in literature as in life.



Waller reportedly wrote Bridges 11 days and saw it climb to No. 1 on The New York Times best-seller list, on which it stayed for over three years. The novel, which was also adapted into a Broadway musical, inspired many engaged couples to travel to Madison County’s covered bridges to get married.


The Huffington Post has reached out to Aaron M. Priest Literary Agency and will update this post accordingly.

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'Outlander' Author Diana Gabaldon Says English Majors Will End Up Serving Fast Food

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Heading off to college with starry-eyed plans to major in English? Don’t expect acclaimed fantasy writer Diana Gabaldon to sign off on that.


In response to a Twitter query from an “aspiring writer” hoping to study English, the author of the “Outlander” series dismissed the area of study as impractical:






Gabaldon certainly drew on her own experience in her response; before writing and publishing her first “Outlander” novel, she earned a bachelor’s in zoology and two postgraduate science degrees. At the time her first book was published, she was on the faculty at Arizona State University, where she specialized in scientific computation. 


Twitter denizens were outraged at her seemingly glib dismissal of the humanities. Many jumped into the thread to point out that their own English degrees had served them well financially as well as personally.














Others slammed Gabaldon’s comment as insulting to food service workers.














Gabaldon’s claim certainly perpetuates the idea that humanities degrees are frivolous and a poor investment compared to STEM or occupational degrees. But, as some cited in their responses, the data to back this up is thin.


Recent statistics from the New York Federal Reserve detailing employment outcomes by college major shows that English students have a 7.5 percent unemployment rate ― which is several percentage points higher than computer engineering, but roughly the same as earth science. Median mid-career pay, around $57,000, is comparable to that of business management majors and earth science majors, and notably higher than those with pre-professional degrees such as communications, education and social services.


What’s more, in October the Wall Street Journal reported a sudden boom in demand for liberal arts graduates, including English majors, as employers seek workers with solid communication and other “soft” skills. It’s an era of constant innovation, when technology and outsourcing continue to replace more technical and low-level American jobs. The job market can be volatile, and while the seeming guarantee of a job soon after graduation can be tempting, a flexible degree like English might ultimately serve a graduate just as well over the years as an accounting or computer engineering degree.


The backlash and numerous counterarguments didn’t inspire Gabaldon to reconsider. In a series of replies, she doubled down on her original claim, arguing that an English degree isn’t necessary to attain the communications and critical-thinking skills many degree-holders boast.


She did not, however, address the offense many took at her apparent disdain for fast-food service, nor did she provide any support for the claim that English majors would be doomed to impecunious existences.






For her part, the student who posted the original question seemed unfazed by Gabaldon’s blunt response:






From yet another happy former English major: Go get ‘em, lady.






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Nature Documentaries Might Offer Relief From Anxious News Cycles

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If the news of the day keeps stressing you out, the BBC has a message for you: Go watch “Planet Earth II.”


That’s not just because the network is peddling the latest in its stable of high-quality nature documentaries (although, to be sure, it is also doing that). The BBC released the results of a study this week, conducted with Dacher Keltner, a psychology professor at the University of California at Berkley, analyzing the effects of nature footage on happiness and well-being in more than 7,500 participants from around the world.


Fed clips of “Planet Earth II,” participants reported “significant increases” in positive feelings including awe, curiosity, joy, enthusiasm, relaxation and amusement. Perhaps more importantly, they reported “significant decreases” in nervousness, anxiety, fear, stress, anger and fatigue.







The conclusion fits with the findings of several other scientific studies. A 2015 report out of the journal Environmental Psychology suggested that even looking at pictures of nature could improve mental health, while research presented at last year’s American Psychological Association convention posited that nature footage calmed inmates in a maximum security prison.


A lengthy piece on National Geographic published in 2016 chronicled the history of research on the environment and psychology, noting that Persia’s Cyrus the Great fully recognized nature’s utility by building gardens for relaxation a full 2,500 years ago. He was followed by 16th-century German-Swiss physician Paracelsus and others including William Wordsworth, Ralph Waldo Emerson and John Muir, building “the spiritual and emotional case for creating the world’s first national parks by claiming that nature had healing powers.”


Lucky for us, now there’s real evidence. Keltner took a look at 150 such studies, finding that “access to nature, both physical and through filmed footage and imagery can help people to manage the stress of modern living.” 


Let us give you a head start with some fantastically tragicomic “Planet Earth II” GIFs.

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Kerry Washington Is Turning One Of Last Year’s Most Important Books Into A Movie

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Kerry Washington will play a hand in bringing an impressive debut novel ― Brit Bennett’s The Mothers ― to the screen, The Hollywood Reporter reports.


The novel is the story of Nadia, a girl living in a black community in California, who begins dating the son of the small town’s preacher, Luke. At 17, she gets an abortion, choosing her promising collegiate future over raising a family with Luke, a decision that reverberates through their young adult lives. Luke begins a relationship with Nadia’s more chaste friend, Aubrey, but Nadia and Luke’s past creeps up on the couple.


A rich examination of religion, judgement, masculinity (Luke, an injured ex-athlete, copes with life post-sports), and the public conversations that so often surround the private decision to get an abortion, The Mothers lends itself well to adaptation. (Full disclosure: HuffPost praised the book as full of psychological insight when it was released last year.)


The film will be produced under Simpson Street, the Warner Bros. arm behind the Emmy-winning show “Confirmation.” Washington will co-produce it with Natalie Krinsky, who has worked on book adaptations in the past. Bennett will write the movie’s script.


The news comes at a time when the lack of diversity in both the film and book industries is being called into question. Washington and Bennett’s project is just one more step in the right direction.  


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Don't Freak Out, But There Was A Weasley Family Reunion Last Night

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Harry Potter” fans have had a lot to process as of late, what with Emma Watson’s starring turn in “Beauty and the Beast” and the revelation that the cast shares a secret group chat. Well fam, get ready for even more feels, because Ron and Ginny Weasley reunited in Los Angeles Thursday night.


Rupert Grint and Bonnie Wright met up at the premiere of Grint’s TV series “Snatch.” The former on-screen siblings posed for photos together, each rocking their signature Weasley-red locks. 



LOOK.



AT.



THE.



CUTENESS!



Sure, Ron and Ginny may not be your favorite Weasley siblings ― hello, Fred and George ― but we’ll take any “Harry Potter” reunion we can get. And to see little sis supporting big brother ... well, it just warms the cockles of our heart.




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Just How 'Exclusively Gay' Is The New 'Beauty And The Beast'? And Is It Worth Anything?

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The new “Beauty and the Beast” doesn’t open until March 17, but Disney’s marketing team has probably already suffered several convulsions. 


The internet lit up with opinions last week when director Bill Condon revealed the live-action reboot would feature a “nice, exclusively gay moment,” whatever that means. Condon had said too much, igniting understandable concerns about the details of this plot point: LeFou (Josh Gad), obsequious manservant to the dastardly Gaston (Luke Evans), would be “somebody who on one day wants to be Gaston and on another day wants to kiss Gaston. He’s confused about what he wants. It’s somebody who’s just realizing that he has these feelings.”


On one hand, Condon’s words indicated we might see a coming-out story in a Disney release, a progressive move for a studio that has barely hinted at overt LGBTQ inclusiveness. (Last year, for example, director Andrew Stanton wouldn’t confirm that a purported lesbian couple appeared in a “Finding Dory” scene.) On the other hand, we’ve got a flamboyant sidekick pining for a burly straight man, which isn’t exactly “exclusively gay” ― or maybe it is, because, again, what in the world does that even mean?


In a tale as old as time, the internet was flooded with premature reactions. The takes were hot, especially considering the movie hadn’t yet screened for press. No one knew how Condon’s revelation would actually play out, but some outlets had already condemned the development. (Naturally, the conservative side of the spectrum was even more reactionary. An Alabama theater refused to show the film. Sigh.)



I saw the movie a day after Condon’s quotes spread like a viral infection. So, let’s talk about just how gay “Beauty and the Beast” is. (Warning: inconsequential spoilers to follow.)


It’s not that gay, nor is it exclusive, nor is it a fantastic film. But it is progress.


The script, written by Stephen Chbosky and Evan Spiliotopoulos, codes LeFou’s sexuality. It’s there, if you know to look for it. Had Condon not announced anything ahead of time, it might have come as a pleasant surprise. (Damn you, anticipation culture!) We would have spent the runtime thinking, “Wait. Is LeFou gay? I think he is. Oh, wow, he definitely is! Well, that’s nice.” LeFou flirts with Gaston, caresses his hand, massages his shoulders, fawns after him, suggests Gaston could spend spend his life with him instead of Belle, and briefly attempts to grind with the irascible hunter while singing the ode “Gaston.” Unsuspecting viewers could read all of that as a bromance, but Gad displays enough bumbling, googly-eyed wonder to make for a convincing unrequited yearning.


Given LeFou is the only semi-demonstrably queer character on hand, it would be interesting to see a gay man long for a straight man if the narrative were able to delineate such nuances. Many (all?) once-closeted queers relate to harbored affections for heterosexual specimens. The experience can be shattering or enlightening, or anything in between. But for a character still coming into their sexuality, treating this as a pioneering moment in cinema is a bit regressive. It’s like a stopgap on the path to equality. After the many, many straight love stories Disney has told throughout its 94-year history, it will have to be franker in its intentions to count as anything revolutionary. Until popular culture can openly and positively portray LGBTQ lives in children’s content, there will never be true parity. Kids will still grow up seeing queerness as something that cannot be embraced in mainstream contexts. 


But wait! The movie does redeem itself in the end, sort of. 


You know the story of “Beauty and the Beast,” so I won’t retread the minutiae. When the last fateful rose petal falls and the Beast’s curse is broken, LeFou sticks around for a decadent ball that reunites the castle’s servants in their human forms. Gaston has died, leaving LeFou without his wicked crush. Everyone has a dance partner, including him. But it’s a woman. I felt a flash of outrage at the sight, assuming the movie would culminate with a total cop-out. But then! A man steps in and dances with LeFou instead. It’s a callback to an earlier scene when a bewitched wardrobe attacks three of Gaston’s henchmen by shoving them into gowns and wigs. Two of the men are perturbed, but a third gazes at his feminized appearance and smiles. And now that man, no longer wearing a dress, gets to dance with LeFou. So we end with a dose of gender-bending camp and a glimpse of actual contact between two ostensible homosexuals. 



Within the Disney canon, this is progress ― still semi-coded, yes, but the most candid LGBTQ exhibit yet. Must we demand more, like, say, an actual queer love story? No doubt. But strides come in increments, and this is far better than the “Finding Dory” evasion or the maybe-Elsa-is-a-lesbian fantasies or Kuzco’s crossdressing in “The Emperor’s New Groove” or the theory that Timon and Pumbaa are actually life partners. It’s more on par with a blink-and-you-miss-it allusion to Oaken’s gay family in “Frozen.”


The problem lies in Condon’s words. He meant well. He is an openly gay man himself, and to be able to vouch for Disney’s gayest subplot is an honor. And anyway, the internet attacking a film’s plot sight-unseen seems unfair. But coded sexuality is not “exclusively” anything but coded sexuality. 


Condon, who also directed “Dreamgirls” and a couple of “Twilight” installments, recognizes his blunder. He is now gabbing in interviews about the ordeal being “overblown.” As Condon told ScreenCrush’s Erin Whitney last week, “It’s part of just what we had fun with.” Gad told USA Today the script actually never designated LeFou was gay. (Men can dance together platonically, after all. Try not to gasp too dramatically.)


At some point, Disney (or another studio) will craft a romance for two animated gay characters. It’s bound to happen, probably sooner rather than later. If all goes well, it will be a “nice, exclusively gay moment” worth celebrating. But as long as the word “gay” remains taboo and there’s no same-sex kissing allowed, you are right to curb your enthusiasm ― as long as you’ve seen the movie and fashioned your own assessment first. 


You can be highbrow. You can be lowbrow. But can you ever just be brow? Welcome to Middlebrow, a weekly examination of pop culture. Read more here.

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The 20 Funniest Tweets From Women This Week

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The ladies of Twitter never fail to brighten our days with their brilliant ― but succinct ― wisdom. Each week, HuffPost Women rounds up hilarious 140-character musings. For this week’s great tweets from women, scroll through the list below. Then visit our Funniest Tweets From Women page for our past collections.

















































































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The Comic You Need To See If You're Dealing With Depression

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Depression can be debilitating, but it’s often something many people try to hide. A forced smile or laugh can prevent family and friends from noticing pain, but that can do more harm than good.


Research shows that many people avoid asking for help because they're afraid of being judged or shamed for their mental health condition. But when you reach out for support, you'll find that many people will be waiting for you with open arms.


Artist Colleen Butters of Solar-Citrus says it best in the comic below.












h/t BoredPanda

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HuffPost Instagram: What's New

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The Huffington Post is on Instagram. Come on by to follow our main, Entertainment, Lifestyle, Arts, Women, Parents, Taste, Weddings, Black VoicesQueer Voices, Latino Voices, Politics and RuffPost accounts. 


18 Quotes From Women Who Have Made History



Regram @huffpostwomen ✊ ✊ ✊ @lsarsour #WeMakeHerstory #WomensHistoryMonth ( : @kimothyjoy)

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The Feminist Illustrators Making Women’s History Month Look Damn Good






21 Beautiful Reasons Women Joined ‘A Day Without A Woman’



These are the reasons women joined a #daywithoutawoman Listen in! ( : @damondahlen)

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There’s Now A Statue Of A Young Girl Facing Wall Street’s Famous Charging Bull




Empire State Building Shines Pink In Solidarity With Women Marching Below



Women have an ally in the sky tonight ❤️ #PinkInSolidarity #internationalwomensday ( : Mike Segar/@reuters)

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Here’s What ‘A Day Without A Woman’ Looked Like Across The Country


 


Today's aesthetic #daywithoutawoman #internationalwomensday #forevernasty ( : @isabella.carapella)

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The Activist Artists Behind This Viral Trump Poster Refuse To Have Presidential Amnesia

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On March 8, also known as International Women’s Day, President Donald Trump tweeted a message pledging his “tremendous respect for women and the many roles they serve.” 


Halt Action Group (HALT), an artist-run organization whose members include painter Marilyn Minter, curator Alison Gingeras, and graffiti artist KATSU, was not about to let this glib comment go unchecked.


The activists created a poster to remind U.S. citizens just how much Trump respects women, and KATSU, an artist, vandal and hacker, plastered them across various New York City walls. On their website, the group also invited individuals to download and print their own copies and follow suit. 


The sign features Trump’s infamous and repulsive comments about sexually assaulting women, recorded on a live mic during a 2005 filming of “Access Hollywood.” 



“I did try and fuck her. She was married. I moved on her like a bitch,” said the president, per the recording.


“I’m automatically attracted to beautiful ... I just start kissing them. It’s like a magnet ... I don’t even wait,” reads the poster. “And when you’re a star they let you do it ... Grab them by the pussy. You can do anything.”




When you see it, tag it. #PussyGrabbingPOTUS #dearivanka

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The posters made quite an impression on International Women’s Day, with figures including J.K. Rowling and Mark Ruffalo recognizing their power. Many were also shared on social media with the hashtag #pussygrabbingPOTUS.


The posters were designed by Minter, whose sex-positive paintings explore the sloppy space where the glamorous meets the grotesque. Although she’s well known for her indulgently close-up depictions of tongues, teeth and eyelashes, Minter’s work has changed course since Trump’s election. 


I’ve been making nothing but resistance propaganda since Nov. 9,” she told Artnet News. “I want to reach the 90 million eligible voters who didn’t vote who are just waking up to how fragile our democracy is.”


Minter was previously involved with other HALT efforts including the “Dear Ivanka” protest, which appealed to Trump’s daughter as an art collector who occasionally interacted with artists, curators and fellow collectors in New York. As a result, many art worlders took to Instagram (and to the streets) to call out her hypocrisy and complicity in her father’s agenda. 




#pussygrabbingPOTUS

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We can surely expect more artistic interventions from the HALT crew, and look forward to seeing how they continue to resist the normalization of Trump through the simple power of words, images and showing up. 


Read their official statement about the Women’s Day posters below:



In observance of International Women’s Day on March 8th, HALT Action Group will issue a poster designed as a commemorative plaque of the infamous transcription of President Trump’s Access Hollywood recording. The campaign seeks to combat the whitewashing of our President’s history of sexual aggression and the normalization of his racist, anti-women administration.


Refusing amnesia, these words should haunt President Trump and embolden American women to vociferously contest the Trump administration’s systematic attack on reproductive rights as well as fight the appointment of arch-conservative Judge Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court.


Given that this is an administration dominated by privileged white men, some with serious domestic violence allegations, this poster is a reminder that the abuse of women and the abuse of power always travel hand in hand.




 

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Mom And Daughter Charm The Internet With Viral 'Cinderella' Duet

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A mother and daughter have charmed the internet by taking it back to the ‘90s for a viral duet.


On Wednesday, Juanita Bompart, a children’s book author and singer-songwriter known as Jita online, tweeted a video of herself singing with her 15-year-old daughter, Elizabeth Kathryn Bompart. Their song choice was a bit of a throwback; they sang “Impossible” from the 1997 TV movie “Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Cinderella.” The sweet mother-daughter moment has been retweeted more than 8,000 times as of Friday afternoon.






Juanita told The Huffington Post that she and her daughter recorded the video in January and that music is a “huge part” of their lives. They have both written and recorded songs that are available on iTunes and Amazon. 


“Growing up in a house around singing parents, Elizabeth sang as well from the time she could make sounds,” Juanita said.


The proud mom said that the song “Impossible” has special meaning for her and her daughter because it “confirms that nothing is impossible.”


“It was the special remake with the first African-American Cinderella and Fairy Godmother, which were undoubtedly well played by Brandy and Whitney Houston,” Juanita said. “Again, proving that anything is possible!”


Juanita said the reaction to the video has been “indescribable.” Aside from getting thousands of retweets, their duet racked up more than 94,000 views in a day on the Facebook page Because of Them We Can.


The mom and daughter hope to share more clips of their performances in the future and maybe even travel to spread their music. 


“Given the opportunity, we would sing and share beautiful music forever!” Juanita said.


The HuffPost Parents newsletter offers a daily dose of personal stories, helpful advice and comedic takes on what it’s like to raise kids today. Sign up here.

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Poets Plan Trump Tower Vigil To Protest Potential NEA Cuts

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Is the death of the National Endowment for the Arts inevitable and imminent, or can it be saved ― by poets?


Creative writing is one of the many artistic endeavors supported by NEA grants, and a group of poets are planning to fight for the continuance of the agency by holding a vigil for the institution outside Trump Tower on March 15.


Earlier this year, reports surfaced that the Trump administration planned to axe the NEA, along with the National Endowment for the Humanities, as a budget-shrinking measure. Arts advocates quickly pushed back, arguing that the agencies boast relatively minuscule budgets (the NEA’s annual budget is currently just $148 million) while providing vital support to local arts organizations and boosting economic productivity in the arts arena. Activists mobilized with petitions and phone calls to representatives.







Anxiety about the NEA’s fate continues to swirl in the arts community as President Trump’s initial budget proposal looms. Local arts organizations and other advocates have spoken out in recent days about the severe impact a shuttered NEA would have on the arts in their communities.


In response to these fears, a group of poets organized the vigil as “a direct action against Trump’s attack on American literature, art, expression,” according to the event’s public listing. According to Publishers Weekly, the event, which is not officially associated with or endorsed by the NEA itself, was planned by Brittany Dennison, co-director of publicity at New Directions Publishing, as well as poets Christopher Soto, Erin Belieu, and Kyle Dacuyan. The vigil will feature readings by poets including Sam Sax, Rachel Zucker, and Yesenia Montilla.


The vigil was born after a meeting Soto organized for poets to discuss anti-Trump activism. “The potential dissolution of funding for the NEA came up repeatedly, so we chose that as our first point of action (hopefully among many!),” Dennison told HuffPost in an email.


“Poetry is not considered a profession in this country. But poets, like all people, need to eat and house themselves,” she pointed out. “Cutting off government funding for the arts would do absolutely nothing for the national economy ― it would be a purely symbolic gesture, yet that funding puts food on the table for so many writers and artists. “


For those who want to join the vigil, protesters will be gathering outside Trump Tower at 6 p.m. on March 15 “to mourn the proposed death of the NEA.” Participants are urged to bring candles and poems “to leave at the altar.”


Here’s hoping the poet’s pen is mightier than the budgetary axe.


H/T Publishers Weekly

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Riz Ahmed Expertly Nails Why On-Screen Diversity Isn't An 'Optional Extra'

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Riz MC just dropped some truth about diversity in British media. 


“Rogue One” actor, Riz Ahmed, spoke to UK Parliament earlier this month on the subject. He explained why it’s not only important to cast more minorities in television roles, but also to represent them beyond two-dimensional tropes. 





In the speech, which was caught on camera, Ahmed explored how a lack of representation can affect a person of color’s self-perception and even push minority youth into extremism. 


“If we fail to represent, we are in danger of losing people to extremism. ... In the mind of the ISIS recruit, he’s the next James Bond, right? Have you seen some of those ISIS propaganda videos—they are cut like action movies,” he said in the speech, which was hosted by Channel4. “Where is the counter narrative? Where are we telling these kids they can be heroes in our stories?”


And the consequences of lacking diversity aren’t limited to losing people to extremism, the actor explained in his speech. He pointed out that minorities want to know that they’re important to society.


Ahmed described how his mother and sister would excitedly shout “Asiaaaan!” when they saw some representation on TV. He said that, especially to people who don’t usually see themselves on screen, the inclusion of those characters with diverse backgrounds sends a message that “they matter.” Unfortunately, this doesn’t happen enough in the industry. 



“People are looking for the message that they belong, that they are part of something, that they are seen and heard and that despite, or perhaps because of, their experience, they are valued."



“People are looking for the message that they belong, that they are part of something, that they are seen and heard and that despite, or perhaps because of, their experience, they are valued,” he said. “They want to feel represented. In that task we have failed.” 


Ahmed, who added that there are economic benefits to a more inclusive industry, also mentioned that the scarcity in representation denies minorities the opportunities to be exposed to the true range of possibilities of who they can be. Our imaginations need to be as expansive and as broad as the minority community actually is, he said. 


Ahmed himself had once thought there wasn’t a place for him as an actor and nor did he feel he’d have a future playing the trope “Cabdriver #2.” It was only with encouragement and luck that he said he persevered and succeeded.  


The “Night Of” star emphasized, however, that his success ― along with that of a few other actors of color ― doesn’t point to proper inroads made in the industry’s diversity. In fact, he said these actors represent “exceptions to the rule,” citing data from Creative Skillset. The research showed that from 2004 to 2012, ethnic minority representation in the UK television industry stayed below 10 percent. Perhaps even more shocking, as Ahmed pointed out, it actually dipped from 2009 to 2012. 


“We need to step up decisively and act,” the actor concluded. “Let’s do what’s right, let’s represent.” 



“There’s this body of research and a term known as ‘symbolic annihilation,’ which is the idea that if you don’t see people like you in the media you consume, you must somehow be unimportant.”



While Ahmed was addressing officials in the UK, his remarks carry some truth when applied to the U.S. film and television industry as well. Hollywood is far from perfect when it comes to diversity. People of color nabbed just over a quarter of all speaking roles in 2015’s top movies. And when it comes to the director’s chair, Asian and Blacks were barely represented in the top movies over the past decade. 


Nicole Martins, an associate professor at Indiana University Media School, previously told the Huffington Post that lack of on-screen representation can influence one’s self-perception. 


“When you don’t see people like yourself, the message is: You’re invisible. The message is: You don’t count. And the message is: ‘There’s something wrong with me.’”


And when members of underrepresented communities are cast as stereotypes, minority viewers of color “may wonder if that is all that is expected of you in society,”  Ana-Christina Ramón, assistant director of the Ralph J. Bunche Center for African American Studies at UCLA, told HuffPost. 


So, as Ahmed wrote in a Facebook post, diversity isn’t “an optional extra. Representation is fundamental to what expect from our culture.”

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Heartbreaking Death Rocks 'The Vampire Diaries' Series Finale

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Warning: Spoilers ahead for “The Vampire Diaries” series finale, “I Was Feeling Epic.”


The Vampire Diaries” showrunner Julie Plec told The Huffington Post that she and co-creator Kevin Williamson wanted the series finale to be both open-ended and set in stone, and after watching the episode unfurl, they accomplished just that. 


The finale, titled “I Was Feeling Epic,” was a heartbreaker, as former characters came back to say their final farewells, including Elena (Nina Dobrev), who was finally able to reunite with her one true love, Damon (Ian Somerhalder), after Bonnie figured out how to reverse the curse linking her life to Elena’s.


But the biggest, most devastating blow came when it was revealed that Stefan (Paul Wesley) made the ultimate sacrifice in order for his brother to have that epic reunion with Elena. He gave up a life with his new wife Caroline (Candice King) to give Damon, Elena, and his loved ones happiness. 


“We’ve had people die and come back to life, but there’s no coming back [now],” Wesley told HuffPost ahead of the finale. “This is the final episode, so whoever dies here is dead. I think that’s the difference.” 







The finale wrapped up many storylines, including the fate of all the couples. Although Bonnie and Enzo (Michael Malarkey), as well as Caroline and Stefan, don’t end up together, it’s known that, one day, they’ll be reunited again. Damon and Elena, however, tie the knot and live happily ever after, as humans ― eventually reuniting with their families. Bonnie travels; Matt stays in Mystic Falls; Alaric (Matthew Davis) and Caroline raise their girls; all is well. 


As for whether or not a spinoff or revival could be a possibility, Plec won’t rule it out. The show alluded to the idea that Caroline and Klaus (Joseph Morgan) could reunite, as he donated millions to the newly opened Salvatore boarding school. 


“I can’t make any promises for many reasons: One, because we don’t have a fifth season of ‘The Originals.’ Two, because while I love the world of the boarding school and all that it represents, that would be an entirely new show that I haven’t even begun to think about, but the doors were not left open unintentionally,” Plec told Entertainment Weekly


“I don’t have that plan right now,” she told HuffPost of a future “TVD” installment, “it’s just something that’s always living in the back of my brain as a future opportunity.” 


For now, we say so long, Mystic Falls. But, perhaps, we’ll see you again soon. 






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Strangely Compelling 'Shybot' Roams California Desert Avoiding Humans

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A lone little robot roamed California’s Sonoran Desert for a week this month. Its only mission: Avoiding humans.


“Shybot” was part of a weirdly mesmerizing art project in early March. It was designed by the Italian artist Norma Jeane and engineers for the Desert X Biennial, which uses the “canvas” of the Coachella Valley in southern California and its desert landscape. It’s one of several projects ongoing through the end of April.


The rover’s camera streamed its experiences back to The Lab art gallery in San Francisco, which presented the work in collaboration with the city’s Italian Cultural Institute. The robot had no practical purpose. It traveled wherever it rolled, though assiduously avoided humans, and was forced to maneuver around obstacles too large for it to climb. Drones tracked its progress from the air — which Shybot at times appeared not to appreciate.


If you’re wondering what the point of the project was, whether it’s a comment on machine versus nature, or a study of a land without humans, the artist tried to clarify in a statement, calling it a “fantasy of the desert sublime.”


“The machine is let loose in the landscape, free of the human determinism that thus far framed its existence,” Jeane said. “And we, in turn, are free to imagine a world liberated from the indeterminacy of us.” 


Got it?


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See The Full-Throttle Trailer For 'Baby Driver,' The Ansel Elgort Movie That Rocked SXSW

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Ansel Elgort drives getaway cars and Jon Hamm plays a psychopathic bank robber in “Baby Driver,” already one of 2017’s big-screen highlights. Crowds and critics went wild for the movie Saturday at its South by Southwest premiere, and new trailer makes it easy to see why. 


“Baby Driver” marks Edgar Wright’s first directorial feature in four years. Known for clever action comedies, Wright previously made “Shaun of the Dead,” “Scott Pilgrim vs. the World” and “The World’s End.” He also co-wrote “Ant-Man.” 


Because Elgort’s monikered title character relies on pumped-up music to pull off successful getaways, the movie’s soundtrack makes it a sort of jukebox musical. It’s a romance too, with the titular Baby falling for a waitress (Lily James) and attempting to give up his crime life. Overnight reviews have called the film “a blast,” “wildly successful” and “a ‘Gone in 60 Seconds’ for the ‘La La Land’ crowd.”


“Baby Driver,” which also stars Kevin Spacey, Jamie Foxx and Eiza González, opens Aug. 11.


Check out the international trailer below, which is even more thrilling: 




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Joni Sledge, Member Of 'We Are Family' Group Sister Sledge, Dead At 60

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Joni Sledge, a founding member of the “We Are Family” disco quartet Sister Sledge, was found dead Friday at her home in Phoenix, Arizona. She was 60.


Publicist Biff Warren confirmed Sledge’s death, telling CNN that the cause is unclear. The singer’s family posted about her passing on the group’s official Facebook account.





Born in Philadelphia, Joni was the second-oldest daughter of a Broadway tap dancer and an actress. She and her three sisters ― Debbie, Kim and Kathy ― performed in church before forming a touring group in 1971.


In 1979, working with masterminds of Chic, Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards, they hit the big time with the album “We Are Family,” whose title track peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard Top 100 chart and spawned many cover versions.





Sister Sledge re-recorded the song with Patti LaBelle, Queen Latifah, Diana Ross and other artists as a Sept. 11 charity endeavor. Spike Lee directed the corresponding music video. Today, “We Are Family” is a staple of wedding playlists. In 2008, it was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. 


Nothing could match the success of “We Are Family,” but Sister Sledge found hits in “He’s the Greatest Dancer,” “Got to Love Somebody” and a cover of Mary Wells’ “My Guy.” The band performed a medley on a 1984 episode of “The Jeffersons,” including “We Are Family” and Stevie Wonder’s “As.”





Eldest sister Kathy left in 1989 to pursue a solo career, but joined her family for the Sept. 11 tribute and a 2015 performance at the World Meeting of Families festival, where Pope Francis was the guest of honor.


The group remained popular in the U.K. and had several concerts booked throughout 2017, including one as soon as March 18. 

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'Get Out' Has Crossed The Coveted $100 Million Mark At The Box Office

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Kong: Skull Island” stomped all over the box office this weekend, surpassing forecasts with an estimated $61 million North American debut. But it’s “Get Out” that we should be celebrating: Jordan Peele’s horror satire crossed the coveted $100 million threshold, the second non-franchise film to do so this year after M. Night Shyamalan’s “Split.” 


With a $21 million intake bringing its total grosses to $111.1 million, “Get Out” is a Hollywood success story through and through. Basking in near-universal acclaim, the thriller about a black photographer (Daniel Kaluuya) meeting his white girlfriend’s (Allison Williams) sinister family has coasted on organic hype. This is its third weekend in theaters, making it the fastest $100 million earner for Blumhouse, the horror-oriented production company that also funded “Split,” the “Paranormal Activity” franchise and the “Insidious” series. “Get Out” cost a modest $5 million to make, rendering the accomplishment particularly notable given original adult movies’ ongoing financial struggles. 


Grosses for the reboot “Kong: Skull Island” and the Wolverine threequel “Logan” also come with surprises. Warner Bros. expected “Kong,” which has seen generally favorable reviews, to open around $50 million, so its $61 million domestic total is a major victory. That sum is on par with the previous “King Kong” adaptation, directed by Peter Jackson, which debuted at $62 million in 2005, when adjusted for inflation. As we wrote last week, King Kong remains one of Hollywood’s most reliable properties


Similarly, “Logan” still has claws at the box office. Most superhero flicks tend to see steep second-weekend declines because the fanboys and -girls rush to see them right away. But “Logan,” the restrained “X-Men” installment starring Hugh Jackman and Patrick Stewart, made about $38 million, a decent coup. Its current totals sit at $152.7 million in domestic grosses and $437.7 million worldwide.


“The Shack” and “The Lego Batman Movie” round out the weekend’s Top 5. 


“Moonlight,” which enjoyed its loftiest grosses last weekend following a surprising best picture win at the Oscars, collected another $1 million. It has now made a collective $27 million, a remarkable figure for an independent film that cost $1.5 million to make.

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