The handmaidens tale - could it really happen?

I see brexit as siding with America or siding with Europe. America has more military power

Brexit will mean the loss of valuable rights. On top of that, the Tories have already said they will be repealing the Human Rights Act.
And we are about to go through a massive upheaval and recession with Brexit, a big increase in power for the far right. I can well imagine things rapidly going pear-shaped.

I always have a shiver whenever I hear about cashless society being the future. That makes it very easy to control people (women) through them not having access to their money.

Men are physically stronger than woman, that's why they have dominated. To be fair though, 20 healthy ones in a cage with good genes could ensure the survival of the human race haha. Whilst that's true I know loads of lovely men and wouldn't like that to happen. Most men love their mothers, therefore love woman in turn. They are stronger than me though and it pisses me off

GardenGeek
Funnily enough I showed him the article in the DM about #manfriday after my post upthread and I think it’s starting to click! Fab!!

And sorry I don't think fascinating was the right word

Fascinating thread I have just got the book to read

I don’t have a job, my only access to funds is via our joint account. I don’t drive. I don’t have a passport. I am basically a (what are they called?) econowife. The ones in stripes.

Which bit do you think is so unlikely OP? The raping in order to obtain children bit? Plenty of places in the world where that happens.

The only ‘unbelievable’ bit is the scarcity of fertile women IMO. We are so used to controlling against fertility with contraceptives. So used to the idea that women ‘trap’ a man with pregnancy / in order to have babies (in reality this often happens the other way around). There is an oddness in the idea that women’s fertility would be rare and sought after.

I wonder how differently it would pan out if women remained fertile but male fertility nosedived?

LastOneDancing

Ask your DH to imagine life the other way round i.e. if as a man he woke up one day to having no money and allowed no job would be be quite so blase? And you told him not to worry because you will look after him...

If he can't even imagine it, then it's patriarchy in action. If he can, then he might just get it. But don't hold your breath.

As said above it’s happening all around you everyday.
Men who grope/catcall/watch porn, who would be horrified if another man did that/suggested one of the women in his life did porn as a viable job option. Because it’s HIS Mum, HIS sister, HIS daughter.

They don’t see women as individuals just as what they are in relation to them.

Even the good guys will not challenge rape jokes etc ‘cause it’s just Bob he doesn’t really mean it, stop being so sensitive. The old ‘it’s just banter’.

In other words Shut up and put up.

You only have to spend 5 minutes on the relationships board to see how nasty men can get when their woman starts getting uppity- ie: expecting to be treated as an equal.

And that’s not including real life…

As regards the book as I recall, maybe incorrectly, the daughters of commanders were being bred to be wives. I can’t remember where the new batch of Handmaids were going to come from?

Yes, I can see it happening. The potential TRA/natal female handmaiden example is one I’ve thought of as well. My dh really doesn’t get the TRA stuff. I’ve explained it til I’m blue in the face. But he can’t see the threat. He thinks it’s a bunch of silly men, who are best ignored.

brownelephant posted-
"It did already happen. sort of. in Iran and Afganistan."

This ∆∆∆∆

@LastOneDancing - yep agree. Many women (many more than stats indicate) find that when they leave a man, then they see the true side of him and many men - often ranging from indifference to downright unrelenting, spiteful, vengeful attacks on person, kids, and their well being. Many women can't speak out for fear of harm to themselves and their kids. Do other men or women stand up for them - rarely in both. Divorced women are often looked as as pariahs and threats

Materialist I was going to post something about that. I’m in the Middle East and the women here mostly have at least 6 kids. And they’re not necessarily always wanted - they can be passed to other family members to be raised or pretty much ignored to be raised by maids. I will post more later when I have protected myself - I have to be careful what I say.

It could definitely happen.

most men are happy for us to have rights, but have no interest in fighting for us to have (or keep) them. If it didn't impact them personally, they would not stand up for us.

^ This.
My husband is a good Nan and he loves me. But when I read the Handmaid's Tale and talked about how frightening it would be to one day wake up with no job or access to money, he couldn't quite get why that bit was so bad. Because, he'd look after me... Right?

It's much more prevalent than most can conceive and it's covert.

In the days of slavery, American plantation owners would rape slaves.

If their wives were unhappy with the fact of their husbands desires being located elsewhere they'd make the raped slaves lives even worse by punishing them for it.

Women's solidarity toward one another is as fickle as the stereotypes paint us all.

I believe it could happen. Most men would take a bit more in a heartbeat. The groundwork is all there.... the ideas of men as head of the household, the ideas of prostitution and the shame it brings to the prostitute (not the men) , the ideas that women should be pure, be seen not heard, are there to serve and have babies.... it's all there.

The blip is women owning their own lives, taking their own decisions, having access to money etc. It's not even been a 100 years for all of the above and it's not even been universally present. Not even once.

There's not even a lot of cognitive dissonance required... (I'll take care of you baby, it's for your own good).... there's more mental acrobatics required for the trans thing and look at the speedy progress made there.

Op have you read Animal Farm and 1984? If not I'd advise you to.

I’d add Huxley’s Brave New World.

I’ve had the unfortunate luck to come to know a number of men that would happily allow this, though of course they and all who know them would deny it.

An alarming amount of men seem to be able to completely compartmentalise their feelings for their own female family members and the oppression and abuse of women in general.

It’s never their mum who will become useless older invisible woman. Their mum was never ogled or abused when younger.

They never think about their daughters while ogling underage rape fantasy porn or attempting to assault other young girls.

Their wife would never get raped the way he fantasises about raping other women, because she belongs to him and isn’t ‘that sort’ of woman.

And by ‘that sort’ this kind of man just means a woman he isn’t related or emotionally attactched to.

I don’t want to, but I believe that if it was insidious enough we would find ourselves with less support from the men in our lives than you’d expect.

Some men would probably convince themselves that actually it would probably be for your own good.

After all, he thinks he’ll be better with the money and doesn’t agree with all of your purchases. He’ll be taking a weight off your shoulders really.

And if he gets the final say so on everything you or his daughters do he could convince himself that he will keep you safe, by restricting your freedom. And maybe he’d like the ability to make sure you’d never cheat on him if he’s one of the many insecure people out there.