Beauty

Elisabeth Moss stars as June/Offred/Ofjoseph in Hulu’s The Handmaid’s Tale, and she’s bringing her message of nolite te bastardes carborundorum, bitches to the red carpet. At the 2019 MTV Movie & TV Awards, Moss rocked a velvet mini architectural dress by Balmain, complete with a fishnet sleeve and a huge silver serpent, rendered in three glorious dimensions. But is there a secret message that Moss is broadcasting to the world? That serpent comes with serious backstory — and Moss’ dress is loaded with symbolism.

The serpent is an ancient symbol that spans many ancient cultures. It can refer to snakes or wyrms, a wingless, limbless creature with the head of a dragon and the body of a snake. Throughout history, serpents have been a symbol of deception, especially by women — we all know the Biblical story of Eve eating the apple from the Tree of Knowledge. Suppressing feminine energy is a huge theme in The Handmaid’s Tale; women must be sheltered from their own sexuality and power, whether literally through oppressive power structures, or metaphorically through their color-coded, modest clothing. Putting a snake on her dress is one way of acknowledging she sees the oppression of women and is embracing that old school idea of taking it back — by hook or crook, deceptively or right from under their noses.

The serpent can also be found in a very optimistic, familiar place: the caduceus symbol of modern medicine, a winged staff with two intertwining serpents. Moss’ dress reminds us that the serpent also symbolizes healthcare as a noble pursuit. Gilead is a sobering reminder of what can happen if we don’t value women’s healthcare, or women at all.

Moss has been outspoken about Gilead’s oppressive power structure as it relates to our own. Last year, when she accepted her Golden Globe for her portrayal of June, Moss dedicated to award to women and allies who are “brave enough to speak out against intolerance and injustice and to fight for equality and freedom in this world.” Just this week, The Handmaid’s Tale cast recorded a PSA for Harper’s Bazaar and Planned Parenthood, in which they unequivocally affirm that abortion is healthcare — and “denying access to safe, legal abortion care is dangerous and deadly.” It’s unfortunate that this needs to be said, but abortion access is being decimated across the U.S. as we speak.

The red-hooded Handmaid costumes have taken on a life of their own beyond the show. Protesters against anti-abortion measures have arrived at state capitals all over the country, silently donning the cloaks as an eerie reminder of the consequences of rolling back women’s rights. Moss’ serpent gown may also be a nod to those protesters, her way of saying, “I see you.” Refinery29 has reached out to Moss for comment.

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In Refinery29’s Sweet Digs, we take a look inside the sometimes small, sometimes spacious homes of millennial women. Today, 28-year-old Erica Massey shows off her Dallas home, filled with her own designs and DIYs.

When PhD student Erica Massey decided it was time to get out of downtown Dallas, she knew her biggest hurdle would be her books. "I have over 1,000 print books I had to move. So that was just annoying," Massey says.

What it really meant, though, was that she needed to find a space with 10-foot ceilings to accommodate her massive bookcases. The first apartment building she signed with mis-measured the height of the ceilings, and management called her 5 days before moving day to inform her that no, she would not be able to move in. "I desperately called back all my other top places, and it turned out that this unit became available that day," Massey says. "It was luck, mostly."

Massey fell into a 530-square-foot studio with 10-foot ceilings and enough wall space for her books. Even better, at $1200 a month her new studio was significantly cheaper than her $1500-a-month downtown apartment — albeit smaller.

"The rent is definitely a lot on a PhD student’s budget, but the $1200 includes utilities, a parking garage spot, in-unit laundry, direct White Rock Lake hiking/biking trail access, and there’s a Dart (train) station next door, so I’m happy to pay for location and perks over square footage," Massey says. Bonus: The apartment building has a self-service dog wash, so she can wash and dry her service dog Deacon if he gets muddy from the trails. And at the end of the day, the distance from the city gives her a small escape from the day-to-day grind.

"When I come home, I want my space to be as warm and inviting and cozy as possible. I have so many pillows and blankets and all different textures, and I’m very much a ‘wrap myself in blankets and drink hot chocolate’ kind of person," Massey says. "I have to be pretty serious on campus, and I have to act very put-together in my demeanor and my dress because I get mistaken for being a lot younger. So when I come home, I like to be completely rid of all that." Read on to hear more about how she turned this space into her own.

How much smaller is this space compared to your previous apartment?
" It is 200 square feet smaller. I had a couch made out of palettes at my old apartment, and it would’ve taken up most of the living room here so I had to get a new couch. And then the bedroom, I made my bed so my dog’s crate is underneath my bed. I already had this at my last place, but if I didn’t I definitely would’ve had to come up for it with this one."

How did you come up with your idea for the combination bed frame and dog crate?
"I wanted to find something online, but there just wasn’t anything. The only thing I could find was either super expensive or for a smaller dog, and they would all be custom-made. I was like, I don’t have that capability. I have power tools and nothing else. So I found on Ikea Hackers someone who used Malm storage units for a kid’s bed, and I thought, Oh, I can use Malm on the outside and Kallax on the inside. And then I put standard wooden bed slats on top, and I can pull the crate in and out to get the storage. The only thing I needed to do was make sure they were all anchored well. The whole thing took me two hours."

How did you learn to be so crafty? Where do you get your inspiration?
"Both of my parents are engineers and my dad is quite handy, so I grew up with this idea that if you can’t find something you want, make it. I just have to be aware of my limitations. So I tend to save things on Pinterest and see if I can figure out a cheap way to make the same thing. The Ikea Hackers website is really handy — I got ideas for my credenza and my bed from there. Other than that, I’d just think, oh would it look cool if I did something like this? And then iron out the details while scrolling Pinterest."

What are your decorating rules/tips? Best tip you’ve ever learned?
"Don’t spend money you don’t have. I put very firm limits on myself, and this was true when I was looking for apartments, too. ‘This is the ideal you want to spend, but you definitely will not spend more than X.’ I hold myself to that. Even if you see something you really really want, is it really going to be worth it if you blow your budget on it and something happens and your dog needs medication and you can’t pay for it? So I have a strict budget and I stick to it. But that helps me be more creative."

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The fight for abortion access continues in Alabama despite the state’s recent passage of the strictest abortion law in the U.S.

Nevertheless, Planned Parenthood persisted.

Construction on a new state-of-the-art Planned Parenthood clinic in Birmingham, AL, is reportedly continuing on schedule, according to the Associated Press. The new clinic, which will replace the current facility by adding several more exam rooms and office spaces, is expected to complete construction in November in spite of the seemingly tireless workings of abortion opponents.

“We are a doctor that Birmingham has counted on for decades, and we are committed to continuing to provide that care,” said Barbara Ann Luttrell, a spokeswoman for the Atlanta-based Planned Parenthood Southeast.

Construction on the new clinic began in January, months before the passing of the abortion law. The completion of the pre-planned construction schedule in November would make the clinic’s opening coincide directly with when the new Alabama abortion law is expected to come into force. However, several organizations, including Planned Parenthood, have filed lawsuits in order to block the law from taking effect.

Many believe the passing of Alabama’s abortion law is a deliberate ploy by abortion opponents to allow for an abortion case to reach the now conservative-leaning Supreme Court and potentially overturn Roe v. Wade. The problem is that while the legal system takes its time (there are currently no court dates set for the lawsuits pertaining to Alabama’s abortion ban), many women in Alabama may be stuck without access to abortions.

As construction continues on the new Planned Parenthood facility, only three abortion clinics remain operational in Alabama. The clinics are located in Montgomery, Tuscaloosa, and Huntsville.

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A premature newborn baby girl and her 17-year-old migrant mother were almost entirely ignored and neglected for an entire week while held by Border Patrol near the Texas border.

Lawyers who visited the immigration processing station in McAllen, TX, told HuffPost that the one-month-old infant was wrapped in a dirty towel and wore soiled clothing. The mother was severely underslept, wheelchair-bound, and unable to walk or lie down due to pain from an emergency C-section.

The baby was born in Mexico after the mother left Guatemala for the U.S. while eight months pregnant. Neither mother nor child has been publicly identified.

According to immigration and human rights attorney Hope Frye, the mother was taken to a hospital at least once for pain medication, but the baby had not received any medical care since being placed in Border Patrol custody.

Frye described the baby as “listless” to HuffPost.

“I looked at that baby and said, ‘Who does this to babies?’” Frye said. “They were being sadistically ignored.”

Frye said a colleague told her on Wednesday that the baby appeared weak and had not cried for hours. There were also concerns about the infant’s body temperature dropping, which could lead to health complications and even death. Medical experts have said Border Patrol facilities are not safe for children and babies, especially those susceptible to disease or medical complications.

HuffPost confirmed that the family was to be transferred to a resettlement facility on Thursday, days after they initially came into Border Patrol custody.

Federal law dictates that unaccompanied children in government custody are required to be released from Border Patrol custody to the Office of Refugee Resettlement within 72 hours. The 17-year-old mother and her baby are both considered minors.

Border Patrol facilities were designed to primarily hold single adult men and are not equipped to house families and children, per HuffPost. Government officials have repeatedly said they do not have the resources necessary to accommodate the influx of refugees heading to the border. Officials have even said the immigration system has reached its “breaking point,” according to The Washington Post.

Jess Morales Rocketto, chair of the Families Belong Together coalition, called for legislative action against the Trump administration’s anti-immigration agenda in the wake of this news.

“Time and time again, the Trump administration has shown that it doesn’t care about babies and children. We’ve already seen at least six migrant children die in this administration’s custody, and there are constant reports of babies still being kept in cages and dangerous health conditions for children and families in these de facto internment camps,” Rocketto said in a statement. “Republicans in Congress must answer for the public health and moral crisis that Trump is creating at the border.”

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On our summer 2019 vacation-style moodboard: puka-shell-necklace surfer bros, Scandi bloggers, and aesthetically precocious toddlers. While this off-kilter mishmash might not make immediate sense as a vibe (or anything else, for that matter), it’ll all come together when you check out our shopping picks ahead.

Anchored by Havaianas ‘ go-anywhere flip-flops, we’ve partnered with the Brazilian brand to outfit the fashion girl in everything else she needs for a chic warm-weather holiday. From a trophy bucket hat to elevated croakies, this is not your denim-cutoffs, big-T-shirt-cover-up kind of summer. So for those seeking a delightfully over-the-top OOO wardrobe, keep clicking for your complete packing list.

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