The Handmaid’s Tale Gender Analysis Essay
Humans have the freedom to do whatever they choose as long as they do not violate laws
designed to protect them and others. However, women are expected to live according to
rules that prevent them from making decisions on their own, especially regarding their
bodies. One of these laws that constrain women in our society is the prohibition of
abortion. This dehumanization of women can be seen to perfectly match how our
modern culture is portrayed in the book The Handmaid's Tale. This Gilead society is a
world where women are only seen for their bodies and are similarly dehumanized like
women in our society. However, in modern society, women have gained leadership roles
and the ability to stand up for their rights. This makes the fight for women's rights truly
double-sided. Therefore, showing how our world can be linked to Atwood’s portrayal of
our contemporary society turning into The Handmaid’s Tale and how it can likewise be
inverted and lead to our society's resistance to change.
Women are capable of making their own decisions but are forcefully deprived of
choices regarding their bodies as the authorities or government can lead them in one
narrow direction, causing them to lose a sense of control or power over themselves. This
constant control women are under in our current society further illustrates how realistic
Atwood's society depicted in The Handmaid's Tale is compared to ours.
Gilead oppressed women's bodies based on low birth rates. As women and our
world have the option of not giving birth or getting an abortion, our world is also one
step closer to being a world with a low birthrate, opening up the idea that our
government will take coercive measures to force women to raise the birth rate. Further
, illustrating how the society portrayed in Gilead is similar to the world we live in.
Reproduction is a vital role in society that only women can partake in, giving women a
chance to decide what to do with this ability. Even though Handmaids also partake in
this significant role, their only purpose is to bear a child, a factor in their lives that is
truly detrimental to their survival. This constant pressure under their bodies leads
Handmaids to "not want to look at something that determines (them) so completely."
(68) However, this is not just applied to Handmaids but is seen in women in our current
society. Our world's fertility rate (births per woman) has dropped from 4.4 to 2.4 over
the last fifty years. With women’s empowerment in the workforce and the avoidance of
high-risk complications, women have personal and extremely acceptable reasons for not
wanting to give birth, causing the birth rate to decline. However, the government says
otherwise, "It (the birth rate) just keeps going down, in many cases to a very low level,
and that’s the problem." (Kramer) One way the government will reduce this rapid
decrease is by creating a "logical system that takes care of an insecurity which surrounds
most women and most families in having children" (Kramer). This insecurity refers to
the expenses of childcare and other funding needed to support a child. Even though this
additional support will benefit women, this bribe to make women give up on their hopes
is the government's form of control over women.
Society's pressure on women to raise their fertility rate can also be connected to
laws against abortion. After abortion legalization, at least 10,000 babies that were
meant to be aborted were saved. This directly shows that the legalization of abortion has
allowed the fertility rate to rise, having a positive outcome for the government's goal to
increase the birth rate. However, many do not realize the hardships women must endure
due to this law being removed. This law being the overturning of Roe V. Wade. Many
Humans have the freedom to do whatever they choose as long as they do not violate laws
designed to protect them and others. However, women are expected to live according to
rules that prevent them from making decisions on their own, especially regarding their
bodies. One of these laws that constrain women in our society is the prohibition of
abortion. This dehumanization of women can be seen to perfectly match how our
modern culture is portrayed in the book The Handmaid's Tale. This Gilead society is a
world where women are only seen for their bodies and are similarly dehumanized like
women in our society. However, in modern society, women have gained leadership roles
and the ability to stand up for their rights. This makes the fight for women's rights truly
double-sided. Therefore, showing how our world can be linked to Atwood’s portrayal of
our contemporary society turning into The Handmaid’s Tale and how it can likewise be
inverted and lead to our society's resistance to change.
Women are capable of making their own decisions but are forcefully deprived of
choices regarding their bodies as the authorities or government can lead them in one
narrow direction, causing them to lose a sense of control or power over themselves. This
constant control women are under in our current society further illustrates how realistic
Atwood's society depicted in The Handmaid's Tale is compared to ours.
Gilead oppressed women's bodies based on low birth rates. As women and our
world have the option of not giving birth or getting an abortion, our world is also one
step closer to being a world with a low birthrate, opening up the idea that our
government will take coercive measures to force women to raise the birth rate. Further
, illustrating how the society portrayed in Gilead is similar to the world we live in.
Reproduction is a vital role in society that only women can partake in, giving women a
chance to decide what to do with this ability. Even though Handmaids also partake in
this significant role, their only purpose is to bear a child, a factor in their lives that is
truly detrimental to their survival. This constant pressure under their bodies leads
Handmaids to "not want to look at something that determines (them) so completely."
(68) However, this is not just applied to Handmaids but is seen in women in our current
society. Our world's fertility rate (births per woman) has dropped from 4.4 to 2.4 over
the last fifty years. With women’s empowerment in the workforce and the avoidance of
high-risk complications, women have personal and extremely acceptable reasons for not
wanting to give birth, causing the birth rate to decline. However, the government says
otherwise, "It (the birth rate) just keeps going down, in many cases to a very low level,
and that’s the problem." (Kramer) One way the government will reduce this rapid
decrease is by creating a "logical system that takes care of an insecurity which surrounds
most women and most families in having children" (Kramer). This insecurity refers to
the expenses of childcare and other funding needed to support a child. Even though this
additional support will benefit women, this bribe to make women give up on their hopes
is the government's form of control over women.
Society's pressure on women to raise their fertility rate can also be connected to
laws against abortion. After abortion legalization, at least 10,000 babies that were
meant to be aborted were saved. This directly shows that the legalization of abortion has
allowed the fertility rate to rise, having a positive outcome for the government's goal to
increase the birth rate. However, many do not realize the hardships women must endure
due to this law being removed. This law being the overturning of Roe V. Wade. Many
