15 Issues I Found With 'The Handmaid's Tale'
The issues begin with female sexual and moral oppression, but don't end there.
At first, I avoided watching "The Handmaid's Tale" on Hulu because it seemed overhyped. I also enjoy Margaret Atwood and didn't want to be disappointed if the series did not live up to the quality of the novel.
I am watching the show now and it has exceeded my expectations. I enjoy watching Elizabeth Moss as Offred. Her performance really drives the show. The entire cast is super talented as well. They are so talented, in fact, that I feel a connection to their characters.
Their characters have become real to me. It pains me to see my favorites so early on be devastated as their attempts to regain their lost freedom are thwarted by Gilead.
Just as a refresher for those familiar with the show and an explanation for those who aren't, the premise of "The Handmaid's Tale" is an underground organization, the Gilead, takes over the U.S. They overthrow democracy and deal in their primary resource: fertile women. Women are forced into being Handmaids, where they must obey the law of Gilead and be nothing more than a womb for the most powerful men who cannot have children with their own wives. They say that they are granting these women with freedom from the immoral and corrupt laws of the former U.S. as they strip these women of their identities.
As much as I love praising the show for everything it has going for it, I can't help but be bothered by the unethical events and actions of characters. Namely, Offred when she was June.
I can already name several issues within "The Handmaid's Tale:" Women on the show suffer many kinds of atrocities. In season one, the handmaids are beaten like animals (through the use of cow prods) by the women who process the handmaids and the commanders' wives. Season two shows that commander wives are treated just as poorly by their husbands, unifying women. Though the more recent seasons offer somewhat redeeming storylines, the show is anti-woman.
Atwood's vision of a dystopia where reproduction is the most valuable product of a nation can happen. But the length the commanders of Gilead go to make their utopia the nation's reality is insane to me.
Here are 15 issues I found while watching the show:
1. An oppressive regime could actually destroy our democracy.
In politics, Democrats are fighting against Republicans. The existing government is repelled by any chance of changing the political system. Bernie Sanders lost his race against Hillary Clinton because of his socialist views. As rooted as we are in our beliefs of democracy, we are more protective of our own views than the views of the whole country. We are vulnerable now more than ever by challengers of democracy, whether that be some underground regime or an alternative political party.
2. Women could be stripped of their rights and choices, just to become surrogates for the powerful.
Women have no choice in Gilead, especially in the reproduction process. They cannot choose the father of the baby, the way to care for the baby during pregnancy, or to remain with the baby after birth. This is a case of lost identity for women.
This also represents the internal conflict men face over the extent to which they must go to achieve the ideal masculinity. Masculinity in "Handmaid's Tale" is portrayed as toxic. Women and their victimhood are very emphasized by the treatment of the handmaids.
3. Procreation is a woman's purpose.
Making babies is the sole value of a woman's life in the world of Gilead. Without the ability to reproduce, a woman's sins cannot be forgiven and faith cannot be comprised by perpetrators of violence against these women. Considering we live in a world where some still believe the value and purpose of a woman is to birth and raise children, it's scary to see just how extreme that belief could become.
4. Barren women are invisible while "fruitful" women are dehumanized.
If a woman cannot reproduce, they can serve in other roles. But they are overlooked. Handmaids get all the wrong attention from commanders and their wives. The handmaids are nothing more than their ability to reproduce. Their fertility makes them targets for the commanders' volatile moods.
5. Handmaids are reduced to their wombs.
They are nothing but their genitals and the wombs used to carry the baby to term.
6. "Under His Eye" is similar to "Big Brother is Watching You."
"Under His Eye" is a greeting used to instill fear and intimidate the weaker sex (re: women) and others who show vulnerability. Gilead promotes distorted views of Christianity. In some cases, the phrase can be referring to God; in others, it is the people looking out for the handmaids' rights. Either way, this saying indicates that someone is at the helm of everything.
7. People who can help the handmaids choose to be bystanders.
So many people, including the Mexican ambassador, could have done more to help the handmaids. But instead, she chose to accept a trade deal to increase the fertility rate in her country. The doctor at the hospital could have offered more than to get Offred pregnant himself.
8. Sex is represented as pleasureless, solely for procreation.
A lot of the sex on this show is displayed as forced and meant to satisfy specific requirements, ignoring the pleasure aspect. The handmaids are toys for sexual gratification for the commanders they serve, but more than that, they are put in situations where they must grin and bear what comes next. This show is not the right show to learn about how sex should be. The way the sex scenes are done works for the intentions of the show's creator.
9. Use of the Bible for oppression.
So many people alter the teachings of the BIble. The Bible has parts of particular testaments that encourage the mistreatment of women and homosexuals. Gilead selects parts of the text to support their morally corrupt actions. The commanders spin the interpretations in their favor in all situations.
10. The brainwashing
The handmaids are brainwashed, point blank. They are allowed a walking partner, but cannot speak to each other about whatever they want. The intention of Gilead is to make them wary of one another, distrustful, so that they may be more cautious in their actions and speech. The handmaidens' pasts are beaten out of them, so they believe their pasts aren't real.
Perhaps worst of all, the handmaids are convinced to believe things like compassion could exist by harming someone else. Compassion is not teaching a woman a lesson by stoning her to death so she becomes closer to God after attempting to save her baby by jumping off a bridge. They are brainwashed to see each other and themselves as commodities.
11. Homophobia towards lesbians.
A gay man is lynched in a university square. One of the primary handmaids and Offred's original walking partner, Ofglenn, is a pronounced lesbian. She must hide her desires to avoid the consequences of Gilead's hyperhomophobia.
12. Lesbians are "gender traitors."
Women and femininity are linked to sexuality. Lesbians are considered a violation of womanhood. They are non-women because they resist the purpose of women-reproduction.
13. The main character forcing her friend with benefits to leave his wife.
June is both the other woman and the main woman in the show. In her past, she began an affair with a man who was still married. Her choice to marry him and start a family with him is something she reflects on while in captivity. She lost her child and her husband. She thinks this is karmic because she might just be that fallen woman. She also feels jealousy that her new love interest, Nick, is married to a younger woman. He is being taken from her in a way, too.
14. The punishments never quite fitting the crime.
A woman speaks out of turn and her eye is gouged out. A lesbian sleeps with a lesbian servant; the servant is lynched but she gets her clitoris removed. A woman defends her fellow handmaid and gets her tongue cut out. The punishments are highly extra on this show.
15. Separating a mother from her child.
Motherhood is a beautiful experience. A child and the mother should not be separated. They need to form that intimate bond from birth. Taking a woman's child is like killing a woman once. A child is a piece of the woman who carried them. Not much else needs to be said. This is the worst of offenses by Gilead.
I do not know why, but I feel bad about watching "The Handmaid's Tale." It is supposed to be about female empowerment with Offred's rebelliousness, but there are some moral contradictions that are glamorized in a way that has me feeling conflicted.
The whole premise of the story could happen. That is the scariest part of all.
