The Handmaid's Warning

So, I've been watching The Handmaid's Tale on Hulu during the latest round of Republican hate-slation. (See: a healthcare bill that targets women with "pre-existing conditions such as rape, c-sections, and other 'ailments,' a religious freedom executive order that permits religious organizations to participate in politics, as well as legislation regarding overtime--three guesses how that one turned out.) It's been anxiety-inducing to say the least. That said, it's an important novel (and TV series) with a message that needs to be heard right now by those who are sitting on the fence on the issue of women's rights.

Is it an exaggeration? It's SF dystopia. Of course it is. However, this is one of those instances where the exaggeration isn't much of one. Offred's world is only a couple more political pendulum ticks over to right from where we are now. It's the natural result of all the bigoted policies being instituted in the US government now. It's the ultimate conclusion via a belief that women's bodies are not their own and that the possible unborn's life always cancels out the mother's. It's the consequence of treating rape as a "gift from God."[1] It's the end result when LGBT persons are declared "gender traitors" and have their rights stripped.

Don't make the mistake of thinking this could never happen. Women know all too well that it can--particularly after the last election. Frankly, I'm glad that I'm not married to a man that poo-poos my fears in this arena. (Again, not after the last election, he doesn't.) There's a scene where June's husband does this very thing after her job and her bank account have been taken from her. "It gives me the opportunity to take care of June and Hannah [his daughter]. What's wrong with that?" It gives me chills--particularly since I actually saw a woman on FB saying that she was going to give up watching it with her husband because he sees the whole thing as being ridiculous. [shudder]

Yeah. Tell HRC and her supporters and every woman and LGBT person that's been sexually abused, beaten, discriminated against in the workplace, and murdered that there's no misogyny and that it's not dangerous or harmful. Go ahead.

I'll add that the show is a brilliant adaptation of the novel. I read it more than twenty years ago, mind you, and I've recommended it to just about every woman I know. I'm definitely due for a reread.
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[1] At least two US congressmen have made that statement, and as far as I know have never apologized or admitted they were horrifically wrong.