Handmaids Tale

[ThisisSparta]

I have finally got round to watching The Handmaid’s Tale, and oh boy it’s bloody brilliant! I’m finding some parts very difficult to watch, but a very small snippet of a scene has really resonated with me- (and it’s not even one of the grim scenes!)

The scene in the cafe when Junes’ card is declined - the pure spite of the young man behind the counter has really hit a nerve, he was revelling in his hatred for these women- like he had been waiting all his life to put those uppity bitches* in their place, this absolutely echoes the work lefty dude bros and it’s bloody chilling !

You can see examples of this all over twitter and Facebook right now, and it’s spilling over into in real life (incident at speakers corner, protesters at WPUK meetings, recent attack on Magdalen Burns etc)

There are very clear parallels between Gillead and oppressive regimes in the Middle East, Daesh, the Taliban, and Iran are the most obvious examples, and I think it’s a good thing that we have a glimpse of what life is like living under these regimes- the reality that being gay can get you hung, being a woman means you have no rights, this is daily life for thousands of people right now. Looking at pictures of Iran pre revolution i always think how on earth did they get to where they are now- and the answer for me always comes back to they start by removing the rights of women. (I also thought the boiling frog analogy was spot on).

Sorry this has turned into a bit of an inner monologue! I don’t really know what the point of my post is except to say that the fact women are being mocked, ignored, and silenced by the left is something that ought to send alarm bells through us all.

I stand for all women, especially any living under regimes where there very freedom and their lives are in danger just because they are women.

You might be interested in Radio 4's Bookclub which will have Margaret Attwood talking about the novel, and from the trailers, the awareness that a book she wrote 30 years still has alarming resonance today.

www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0b4zf0w

Thanks DadDadDad will definitely be listening!

I read the Handmaids Tale when it first came out, and was really struck with the notion of how we take our liberties for granted, and how rapidly that can change. So many people seem to regard the treatment of women in certain countries as an intractable, age-old problem, yet are unaware, that for some, life was once very different. The picture shows university life in Kabul in the 1970's.

For many people, Feminism as a concept is still seen as rather fringe, out-dated even. WE all have equality, right? Yet as a society, gender-roles are still rigorously enforced, it's still pink for girls, etc. I'm obviously not conflating the GRA bill with life under the Taliban, (!) but the Handmaids Tale (and the actions of the MRA's) are a clear warning that rights can be hard won, but easily lost.