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A burn survivor’s powerful breastfeeding photos are spreading a message of strength and hope.

Photographer Ivette Ivens captured some striking photos of Schamica “Mimi” Stevenson nursing her son, Josiah.

Stevenson attracted attention after sharing her story and some personal photos on the Facebook page Black Women Do Breastfeed.

In 1985, Stevenson survived a house fire that killed her baby brother when she was just 2 years old, she told HuffPost. Though she needed skin grafts and surgeries through her teen years, she was able to become pregnant and gave birth to her daughter 14 years ago. On March 4, she welcomed her son.

“I am just so blessed that my breasts didn’t get any damage to them and I am able to nurse my little Prince,” she wrote in the Black Women Do Breastfeed post.

The images of Stevenson with her son inspired Ivens. “When I first saw Mimi’s breastfeeding selfie she took with her iPhone, I thought to myself, ‘This woman deserves to have a piece of art that screams STRONG. DEVOTED. WARRIOR.,’” the photographer told HuffPost.

Stevenson was on board with the project. The Michigan mom, who is studying to become a registered nurse, wanted to share her story with the world in the hopes that it would reach someone who needs it. 

“This whole journey has been amazing,” she said. “I’m so happy to encourage other women to breastfeed as well as be an inspiration for others’ self-esteem. Women feel breastfeeding is so hard and time-consuming and just plain-out painful, but I was determined to do so because I’m just thankful to even have my nipples still.”

Ivens shared a photo of Stevenson on her Facebook page, where it received around 7,000 likes. The photographer said they’ve been grateful for the positive comments, messages and media attention. The photo has forged connections between burn survivors and inspired others to count their blessings and persevere in the face of obstacles, she added. 

“Humans tend to stop themselves from achieving their goals because of insecurities, tragedies, illnesses, etc.,” Ivens explained. “Mimi did not have it easy, yet she shines confidence, self-love, fearlessness. All of these features we are already born with, but then life happens and some of them might be washed away. Mimi is a great example of how to fight it back. A true, humble warrior.”

Stevenson told HuffPost she doesn’t want anyone who sees her photos to feel sorry for her. “I want them to instead feel inspired to overcome their flaws and obstacles,” she said, adding that it breaks her heart to know how much anguish people feel about their looks.

“And then there’s me, not a care in the world, walking around as if I look like Beyoncé or Tamar Braxton,” she said. “There are days I get down because I’m human, but I bounce right back and thank God for my life and my beautiful babies I was able to birth and nurse.” 

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Not all of our Netflix binges are compatible with our parents’ tastes. Perhaps you’ve tried to explain the appeal of re-watching “Bob Ross” to blank stares, or you fear what they’d think if they found out you regularly fall asleep with “Curious and Unusual Deaths” on in the background.

If you’ll be visiting with mom — or the favorite motherly figure in your life — this weekend and have some extra hours to fill, or simply want to become closer with her through the magic of shared entertainment, try one of these offerings on for size. (Also, consider this your final reminder to buy her a card.)

MOVIES & DOCUMENTARIES

“The Parent Trap”

Oh, yeah, we’re talking about the original. The classic twin switcheroo tale from Disney offers plenty of wholesome hijinks and ‘60s nostalgia to soak up. 

“Iris”

In this documentary about the then-93-year-old style icon Iris Apfel, aging is something to anticipate rather than fear. It’s a good reminder for moms and daughters of any age that with a creative spirit, the best is only yet to come. 

“Tallulah”

When an uninterested mother leaves her toddler in the care of Tallulah, a vagrant type in the throes of a breakup played by Ellen Page, she ends up stealing the kid and crashing at her ex-boyfriend’s mother’s place. Unlikely bonds and police chases ensue.

“Queen of Katwe”

When Phiona learns how to play chess — and excels at it — she can see a life beyond the poverty-stricken area of Katwe, Uganda, where she grew up. Lupita Nyong’o has a star turn here playing Phiona’s mother, Harriet. 

“She’s Beautiful When She’s Angry”

If the current political climate has seen both you and your mom take to the streets and go toe-to-toe in news comment sections, take in this retrospective look at the founding of the modern women’s movement, beginning with the start of NOW. Pink pussy hats optional.

TV SHOWS 

“The Crown”

Queen Elizabeth II is, to put it lightly, a BAMF. This Netflix original follows her in the second half of the 20th century, as she helps a nation rebuild from WWII and takes on the tricky task of building relationships with politicians like Winston Churchill.

“Grace and Frankie”

The Season 3 plot might make things a little awkward to talk about with mom, but hey — we’re all adults here, right? This show, which follows two older women figuring out their lives after their husbands have revealed they’ve been having an affair with each other, is a charmer through and through.

“How to Get Away with Murder”

If your mom was the type to let you “get away with murder” as a kid, say thanks by sitting down with her for this juicy, dark drama led by none other than Viola Davis. The plotlines can get somewhat convoluted, but at least you’ll never run out of minute details or shocking deaths to hash over on the phone.

“Call the Midwife”

A period piece featuring babies, nuns, cardigans and upstart young women — what more could a mom want? This series follows a group of young midwives working in London’s impoverished East End in the ‘50s and ‘60s, which means delectable retro outfits and empowering moments in spades.

“Jane the Virgin”

There’s nothing like a good modern telenovela to bring people together, and “Jane the Virgin,” with its charming storylines and compelling characters, is destined to become a classic of the genre.  

“Great British Baking Show”

No one can cook quite like mom, but this show is just as warm and comforting as her homemade mac and cheese. This 10-week cooking competition somehow manages to be wholesome instead of cutthroat, and the delightfully British foods and phrases will give you and your maternal figure a new slew of insider references. 

Bonus Hulu Recommendations:

Netflix doesn’t have all the shows and movies, after all.

• “Hello, My Name Is Doris”

• “Sister Act”

• “Thelma and Louise”

• “He Named Me Malala”

• “Love & Mercy”

• “Funny Girl”

• “Miss You Already”

• “Selma”

• “Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown”

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Elisabeth Moss and Alexis Bledel are very aware of how harrowing an episode of “The Handmaid’s Tale” can be.

During a discussion at 92Y in New York City, the stars of the Hulu adaptation talked about the undeniable relevancy of their new show, centered on a theocratic regime that goes to terrifying lengths to police women’s bodies and reproductive rights.

When asked by an audience member how the actors would unwind after an eventful shoot ― and, in turn, what they’d suggest viewers do to shake the horror of Gilead themselves ― Moss said she relied on cocktails and sleep for recovery. However, when it comes to the viewers who find the handmaids’ reality too nightmare-inducing to watch, she doesn’t know what to tell you.

“You’re fucked,” she said, followed by a round of applause from an audience made up primarily of women who’d just finished watching the series’ fifth episode. 

“Talk it out,” Bledel suggested.

In that episode, “Faithful,” [Spoiler alert!] Bledel’s character Ofsteven (formerly, Ofglen) hijacks a car and proceeds to speed somewhat comically around a farmer’s market before deliberately running over a Gilead guard. His death is one of the goriest moments in the show, though it pales in comparison to the bloodless violence depicted in the story’s “ceremonies.” In those scenes, the handmaids are all raped by high-ranking officials in the Gilead government, forced to endure regular sexual assault in the service of their dystopian society.

“It is heavy,” Bledel added. “I didn’t find it stressful to work on [the show] at all […] but watching the show is really stressful.”

Indeed. Many, many women have taken to Twitter to express just how stressful the viewing experience can be.

Margaret Atwood, the author of the 1985 classic novel upon which the Hulu series is based, has spoken at length about the importance of her book, maintaining that she made nothing up in telling the story of Offred (played by Moss in the show). Instead, it’s based on historic examples of the oppression of women around the world.

Thirty years after it was published, though, her story has resonated in new and frightening ways. Just last week, shortly after the Senate passed the American Health Care Act (AHCA), women expressed opposition to the bill by flooding social media with “Handmaid’s Tale” references and images. Before that, women protesting legislature in Missouri and Texas dressed up as handmaids to defend reproductive rights.

“The story has always been timely,” Reed Morano, who directed the show’s first three episodes, explained at 92Y. “Everything in the book has happened or is happening somewhere in the world right now, and that’s how it was when Margaret [Atwood] wrote it.” Adding:

The whole message that Margaret was sending in the book is that big changes like this don’t happen overnight, they happen very slowly over time, almost so that you don’t know that they’re happening until it’s too late. We tend to be a little sheltered in America because of the rights that we do have and what we’ve all been used to. One of the things I liked about doing this story is that I thought maybe it will make people really appreciate what they have.

Of the rape scenes that Morano filmed, which she described as “total and utter awkwardness and uncomfortable, unsettling, sickening,” the director assured audience members that they’re intended to stress you out. Even when discussing a tamer act in the show ― the handmaids grocery shopping under fluorescent lights ― she says of her aesthetic choices, “I want to scare the shit out of people.”

Beyond Twitter, women and men watching the show and rereading Atwood’s book have banded together under the auspices of podcasts, book clubs, and watch parties. They’ve no doubt done so out of both excitement for the critically acclaimed adaptation and as a gesture of solidarity.

Watching the show is meant to be hard, and Bledel’s advice ― “talk it out” ― is not unfounded.

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When you think about graduation ceremonies, you likely think of the cap, the gown, and, of course, baby hands.

In celebration of her graduation from Appalachian State University, Delaney Henry had a photo shoot to end all graduate photo shoots.

Henry posted on Facebook five photos of herself donning her cap and gown in a field. The caption reads: “All my mom wanted was serious graduation photos.”

Seems fairly standard, right? Well, until you see Henry’s hands. Because they are teensy, tiny baby hands.

Very serious indeed.

Are these the best graduation photos we’ve ever seen? Yes. Is Delaney a national hero? Yes. 

The photographs have garnered nearly 100,000 shares on Facebook and over 45,000 comments. Many of which compare Henry’s photoshoot to that of Kristen Wiig’s iconic “Saturday Night Live” character, Dooneese.

If you don’t remember Dooneese, you’re a subpar human being. Despite that, we will refresh your memory with this gif:

We’re not sure what Delaney’s postgrad plans are (though HuffPost has reached out to her for comment), but we can only hope wherever she goes, she brings those baby hands with her.

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President Donald Trump came up with the phrase “prime the pump” to describe government stimulus of the economy, he claimed to The Economist in an interview published on Thursday.

Merriam-Webster, tireless defender of words, had a quick and decisive response on Twitter: Nope.

In a frostily polite thread, the dictionary’s social account went through the phrase’s etymology, dating the term to the late 18th century and the economic use of it to the 1930s.

Trump has previously indicated his support for “priming the pump” as economic policy, causing some consternation among conservatives opposed to government spending.

The concept dates back to economist John Maynard Keynes, who argued that when a population’s “animal spirits” were flagging, an influx of government spending could stimulate the overall economy. The use of the phrase “prime the pump” to describe this policy dates back to 1933, according to Merriam-Webster ― just about 13 years before Trump was born.

It’s telling that Trump assumes that he came up with the phrase, which has long been a stock term in economic conversation. Abundant evidence already exists that the president rarely, if ever, reads; interviews routinely demonstrate that he is poorly educated on the substance and history of the policies he advocates for and against. This tacit admission that he’s unfamiliar with Keynes and, by extension, one of the great economic debates of the 20th century, provides further confirmation.

What’s more, his claim tends toward self-aggrandization rather than curiosity or reflection. Trump, who has repeatedly insisted that he has “a very good brain” and “the best words,” stakes his business and political reputation on his generative abilities, when in fact his accomplishments often involve simply stamping his brand on projects or concepts developed and executed by others.

Even in his interview with The Economist, Trump seems only faintly aware of what “priming the pump” really means, asking, “you understand the expression ‘prime the pump’? … Have you heard that expression used before? Because I haven’t heard it.”

He doesn’t seem interested in where the phrase came from, though it’s a fairly unlikely metaphor for someone in 2017 to create. “Pump priming” in its original use dates back to the 18th century, when it referred to the practice of using water to flush air out of a pump, enabling water to flow again. (A little water in to get a lot of water out ― get it?) Manual pumps no longer being a common source of household water for Americans, the original meaning of the phrase is rarely used here today; the economics application is almost certainly the one he’s heard before. 

Most hilariously, though, Trump, who has used the phrase in previous months, managed to deny credit to his own past self, saying, “I mean, I just … I came up with it a couple of days ago and I thought it was good.” Hmmm.

Merriam-Webster had another suggestion, perhaps born of the frustration of serving as an on-call definition- and etymology-checker for the president and his administration:

 Seriously, please look things up. 

 

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Thanks to “The Handmaid’s Tale” and “Big Little Lies,” Elisabeth Moss and Nicole Kidman are enjoying a killer year. Now they get to unite for the second season of “Top of the Lake,” the mystery series that Moss headlined in 2013. 

The first trailer for “Top of the Lake: China Girl” is here, and it features Moss’ Detective Robin Griffin investigating an alarming death in Sydney, Australia. Meanwhile, Robin has reconnected with the daughter she gave up (Alice Englert), who’s adoptive mother is played by a gray-haired Kidman. (This project reunites Kidman with “Portrait of a Lady” director Jane Campion, who co-created the show.) Oh, and “Game of Thrones” standout Gwendoline Christie is on hand as a fellow detective and friend to Robin. 

“Top of the Lake: China Girl” premieres on SundanceTV in September. This year’s Emmys and next year’s Emmys will be lit.

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Samantha Bee is no fan of Ivanka Trump’s new self-help book. That much is now blindingly obvious.

On Wednesday’s “Full Frontal,” Bee gleefully listed everything she thinks is wrong with Women Who Work: Rewriting the Rules for Success ― which the first daughter released to mainly hostile reviews this month.

Bee cited Trump’s overreliance on other people’s inspirational quotes, plus the deluge of different fonts, as just two of the reasons to not buy the tome.

It was even enough to see her throw the book away.

“True to her family’s brand and empire, Ivanka wrote this book largely by taking other people’s work and stamping her name on it,” Bee said.

She noted it was as if Ivanka Trump only remembered she had the assignment on the last day.

Check out Bee’s full review in the clip above.

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As you turned the last page of George Orwell’s 1984, were you overwhelmed by a surge of fatalistic angst? The hero (uh, spoiler alert) has lost his quest to overthrow the totalitarian regime against which he had rebelled, and that seems to be that: No hope, no change. 

Well, maybe we’ve been looking at that all wrong, Handmaid’s Tale author and speculative fiction doyenne Margaret Atwood recently told the CBC.

“1984 has a coda, and the coda is a note on Newspeak, which was the language being developed to eliminate thought, making it impossible to actually think,” she points out. “The note on Newspeak at the end of 1984 is written in standard English in the past tense, which tells us that Newspeak did not persist.” 

So, perhaps the tale of Oceania ends more hopefully than you thought, with the downfall of Big Brother rather than a “decisive victory”?

In her own dystopian classic, Atwood revealed the fall of the authoritarian Republic of Gilead not through her heroine, Offred, winding up triumphant, but through a similar epilogue that frames Offred’s first-person account as an artifact from a failed regime ― an object of study to scholars in the more liberal society that has replaced it.

Atwood has previously described the concluding 1984 essay on Newspeak as a direct influence on her own choice to end The Handmaid’s Tale with an academic epilogue, though the essay is typically read as an appendix rather than as the conclusion to the novel.

“The essay on Newspeak is written in standard English, in the third person, and in the past tense, which can only mean that the regime has fallen, and that language and individuality have survived,” she wrote in The Guardian in 2003. “For whoever has written the essay on Newspeak, the world of Nineteen Eighty-Four is over. Thus, it’s my view that Orwell had much more faith in the resilience of the human spirit than he’s usually been given credit for.”

From a rather practical standpoint, Atwood explained to CBC, “Doom and gloom all the way through is not motivating to people. If we’re all going to go swirling down the plug hole, why make any effort, why not just stay in bed all day or party?” By revealing that freedom and justice will eventually triumph, the dystopian author offers us motivation to fight.

The reassurance that totalitarianism is unsustainable may reassure some in the current political climate ― though it’s worth remembering the often lengthy time-frame, and the casualties. In Y.A. dystopian sagas, readers can follow along as the protagonists singlehandedly dismantle a crushing regime (Harry Potter, The Hunger Games) or at least nobly die while putting the final cracks in it, all by the age of 18. After the 2016 election, many liberals took solace in comparing opposition to Donald Trump to Harry Potter’s fight against Lord Voldemort, a dramatic yet pacifying narrative in which an oppressive government is overthrown by a single hero.

More realistically, books like 1984 and Handmaid’s Tale focus on the midst of the struggle, on resistance fighters who fail and are forgotten. Offred and 1984’s Winston Smith may see the promised land, but they won’t enter into it. That may not seem like cause for optimism, but it seems in dystopia, optimism is all a question of perspective.

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The New York Times once called Nicki Minaj “a walking exaggeration, outsize in sound, personality and look.” This week, Minaj proved that sentiment true by making waves with an unprovoked Twitter-spree of philanthropy.

Minaj was promoting a contest on Twitter when a young fan dropped a tweet asking for help with their student debt. Unexpectedly, Minaj responded minutes later and asked the student for proof of their enrollment. As soon as she received it, Minaj made good on her promise.

It didn’t take long for a flood of struggling students to come to the rapper asking for help. Minaj promised to support over thirty fans by paying for tuition, loans, and school supplies (just look at her feed). Her total donations amounted to $30,000, and she’s not done yet.

She promised to make it rain again soon. So if you’re struggling with student debt, you better turn on Twitter notifications for Minaj’s account.

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Photojournalist Jeremy Lock’s aerial obsession began when he served as a military photographer with the U.S. Air Force for 22 years. While clocking over 800 hours in the air, Lock found that he had a good bit of downtime on particularly long missions. “I started taking photos out the window to give myself little challenges,” he says. When he retired from the military in September 2013, the game had grown into such a passion that wherever he travels, he makes a point to spend time in the air, camera in hand.

Ever since retiring, Lock says that he loves traveling with his wife to places where he can continually hone his craft. On their 30-day trip through Africa, Lock grasped the perfect opportunity to not only get off the grid, but off the ground as well. Together with a pilot, the couple spent three days flying around the 1,000 miles of burnt orange and caramelized brown stretching along the Atlantic coast. According to Lock, those three days were the highlight of their trip to Africa ― her riding shotgun in the J430 and him hanging out the backdoor, together “exploring the old scars and shape shifting land of Namibia.”

Lock says, “When I was young, after cutting my eye open on a sled, my mother told me that scars add character to a person. I think scars add character to the Earth.” In some areas, these scars are caused by the even the smallest amount of rainfall ― less than 0.39 inches annually.

Along the shoreline, Lock found marks in the terrain from parallel sets of dunes butting against the water. Strapped into the aircraft with only the seatbelt keeping him safe, Lock captured the wall that these dunes formed against potential storms blowing across the water.

“The oldest dunes are those of a more intense reddish color,” says this photojournalist. The more intense the color, the higher iron concentration in the sand. From the air, then, the landscape takes on sunset colors.

Skeleton Coast and the Sands of Hell ― both names describe the line where the Atlantic Ocean meets the desert in northern Namibia. Lock says that the coastline has long been known to be a graveyard. According to legend, the coastline destroyed many a ship and crew.” The Skeleton Coast is his favorite shot from the desert set because of the way the desert and ocean meet.

Visiting the Kunene River was the first time Lock saw and interacted with the people who inhabit the area. He experienced it from the air, chasing a small runoff as it made its way to join the sea, and also from the ground. It was the first time he saw any people who inhabited the place. The Himba people used an ochre and butterfat mixture to create a red pigment which they rubbed all over their bodies. Lock and his wife, without a translator, used smiles in lieu of spoken language. The Himba children played with his wife’s hair, marveling at it and she, in turn, played with their hair. There, next to a river in a desert, mutual curiosity for each other overrode traditional communication.

Meeting the Himba reminded Lock of two lessons he learned in the military. “There is more to life than the white picket fence with two-and-a-half kids,” he says. “You don’t need a lot to be happy, but respect and love each other.”

For Lock, photography is about first experiencing something incredible and then communicating that experience to someone else. The time spent zooming around above the desert was particularly special for this photojournalist as he was able to share the experience with his new wife, showing her what he does and why he does it.

On one trip, he captured lichens organizing themselves into carpet-like ruffles across the dunes near Swakopmund, a city on the west coast of Namibia. After shooting the Namib Sand Sea, Lock diligently researched the place, discovering that the 120 species of lichens growing on the west-facing slopes draw moisture from the sea fogs. His camerawork ignites with a passion to find marks of life, those old scars and character, even in a place that may seem, from the ground at least, unsustainable.

Over the few days spent flying over the Namib Sand Sea, this photojournalist accomplished his goal: “I wanted to show the rough and raw beautiful terrain that will constantly change over time.” He hopes to make these photographs part of a larger body of aerial work. An adrenaline-filled flight between two layers of sunset hues and a shared experience with his wife ― the venture allowed Lock to lift his lens to familiar, but still thrilling heights and capture the character of the land.

See more photos by Jeremy Lock on Viewfind.com

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