Beautiful Bride Samira Wiley Goes Gay Again As Moira In 'The Handmaid's Tale'

Actor Samira Wiley wasn’t looking to take on the role of another imperiled lesbian, honoring her breakout role as Poussey on 'Orange Is the New Black' to play Moira in Hulu's upcoming 'The Handmaid's Tale', premiering April 26. The newly-married, gay-in -life actor is interviewed by Anna Silman for New York Magazine.

'The Handmaid's Tale' and 'Orange Is the New Black' are both shows about women surviving oppression. Products of streaming networks that didn’t exist ten years ago, they’re part of a new wave of inclusive woman-centric programming that seeks to spark political dialogue and engage with real-world issues — a project that’s gained a sense of urgency in the wake of Donald Trump’s election. And yet Wiley’s most important role might be the one she has taken on offscreen. As as a queer woman of color thriving in an industry sorely lacking in role models, Wiley has been thrust into that strange space between actor and activist — even if “going gay” as a public figure is still something she is getting used to.

And just how beautiful is it that Samara Wiley and Lauren Morelli's March 25th Palm Springs wedding is featured in Martha Stewart Weddings? Pretty damn wonderful! ~ Anne

Anne Enke's Anne of Carversville Tells Women's Stories From Fashion To Flogging

Jamilla Hoogenboom Has A Roman Holiday Lensed By Federico Sorrentino For ODDA Magazine

Anne of Carversville finds fashion to be most interesting when studied through the lens of the larger culture of women artists, women's history and women's rights. My personal history is one of kissing the ground when my plane landed in Italy. 

In my role as Fashion Director and Director of Product Development for Victoria's Secret, my travels put me in Italy nearly every month. The ancient history of Italy enveloped me, along with its sensual lens and predominance of Catholicism throughout the country.  This lens of personal experience is embedded in the heart and soul of Anne of Carversville

For the moment I share a recently updated article on Italy's luxury fashion brands, while pull ing together some of AOC's most relevant writings on the impact of Catholicism on me personally and on women's rights worldwide. ~ Anne

Italy's Luxury Brands Lead In Restoring Famous Heritage Sites: Colosseum, Spanish Steps, Rialto Bridge & More AOC Salon

Melinda Gates On How Birth Control Made Indonesia World's 8th Largest Economy

Melinda Gates return recently from Indonesia -- a trip planned long before President Donald Trump reinstituted the Mexico City rule, aka the global gag rule, in a significantly harsher updated version. 

Melinda and Bill Gates have one of the world's best brain banks when the topic is transforming economies -- not only with lip service words about empowering women -- but also with giving them access to contraceptives. As Melinda explains in her USA op ed, contraceptives are one of the greatest anti-poverty innovations the world has ever seen. 

Fifty years ago, fewer than one in 10 Indonesian women used birth control. The average Indonesian woman had five or six children and the entire family lived in extreme poverty. 

When offered support from donor nations like the US, Indonesia implemented a hugely successful family planning initiative in give decades. Today most women in Indonesia have two or three children, who stay longer in school. More women work outside the home and not only did family incomes rise, but so did the entire country's. 

Today, Indonesia has the globe's eight largest economies and family planning is a key reason. But now access to contraception is perilous across the world, because of proposed cuts by the Trump administration to family planning. 

Read AOC's Women News in-depth from (a furious) Melinda Gates about the impact of political budget cuts from the Trump administration. We MUST view these cuts through a dual lens. Yes, they are part of a massive attempt to cut everything from arts funding in America to school lunches. But the cuts to women's health are also politically motivated to curb women's empowerment and advancement worldwide.

The majority of members of the Trump administration say they believe in women's empowerment while taking every move to cut of funding to clinics who even utter the word 'abortion' not even offer them in their facilities. By greatly expanding the language in the Mexico City rule, the Trump administration is cutting off any access to contraceptives at the same time. His ultra right-wing administration has advanced this agenda around women for years.