The Dystopian Future Depicted in The Handmaid's Tale - Who Would Want That?

You might be surprised.

Canadian author Margaret Atwood’s novel “The Handmaid’s Tale” has made it to the small screen.  The series now showing on Canada’s Bravo station is a picture of a subtle yet terrifying future where women have lost all their rights, where gays and lesbians are hung for all to see and where fertile women are forced to bare children for their newfound masters.

That is the briefest overview I can manage so, just go and watch the show – or better yet, read the book!

I’ve been ruminating on one quote made by one of the privileged masters.  Commander Fredrick Waterford says to his handmaid Ofred “better never means better for everyone.  It always means worse for some.”

Throughout history how often has that phrase been uttered – or at least considered?  When one group decides to wrest power for themselves it always comes at the expense of others.   Always?  Almost always.

One of the reasons that this T. V. series feels so timely – and terrifying – is because in recent years we have seen some things – some seemingly small things – that remind us that a future where women are little more than chattel and walking wombs is appealing for some.

Little thing number one.

The T.L.C. show “Nineteen Kids and Counting” gave us a glimpse into the world of the Quiverfull.  Yes, the family are sweet, faithful and attractive.  The wife looks adoringly at her husband who stands proudly in front of his brood.  The girls are all pretty – and well covered.  The older children help with the younger ones, they are home schooled and getting dinner on the table happens with military precision that would rival any restaurant or roadside diner.

They are a throwback to a simpler time – one where love of family is everything.  That is until the news leaked out.

Josh Duggar, the eldest son, had sexually molested 5 young girls including his own sisters.  The family, as previously mentioned, belongs to a so-called “Christian” sect called the Quiverfull who believes that the best way to bring God to the world is to give birth to as many babies as humanly possible so that they will outnumber “the enemy.”

Young girls are brought up to by “helpmeets” to men and that when they marry they are to accept their new husband as “Lord”.  They are not only made to be responsible for their own sexual purity but that of hapless men who simply can’t help themselves. Girls’ dress, behaviour, and their inherent womanliness are all seen as stumbling blocks for men who seem to not be able to manage their own behaviour.

You can see how Josh may have been excused for touching the breasts and vaginas of young girls – they clearly flaunted themselves shamelessly in front of him.

If women would just simply behave.

Little thing number two.

Trump.  While I’m tempted to stop there I feel compelled to expand only a little.

The President’s so called “locker room talk” about getting away with grabbing women’s pussies just because he could was so egregious that is spawned a world wide movement dubbed the “Pussy March”.

But alas, he was already President by the time they marched.  How did that happen?  It is interesting to note that the reporter who was participating in the locker room banter was promptly fired.  The was the appropriate reaction from a reasonable H.R. department.

But Trump?  Even after his supporters heard this shocking admission from him they clearly excused his sexual assaults perpetrated on his victims by going to the ballot box and casting their votes.

It’s just a little pussy grabbing, right?  Women should expect such behaviour, after all their vaginas are simply too tempting to ignore.

Little thing number three. 

OK.  This one is a little subtler but no less disturbing.  Mike Pence, Trump’s once running mate and current Vice President has a policy that he won’t dine alone with a woman without his wife in the room or be at an event where there is alcohol present.  Clearly for Pence every encounter with a woman is so sexually charged that he can’t be expected to behave like a normal human being unless his wife is there to keep him line.

Now imagine that you work in the Whitehouse or in the Senate as a female.  Everyone knows that the way that you can set yourself apart – or even above- your colleagues is to let the boss know why you’re so awesome.  This often happens in a less formal setting than in the office.  Yes, creating relationships sometimes requires a casual reception or a grabbing a bite to eat at the restaurant down the road but alas, there is likely alcohol available and, well, the Vice President of the United States couldn’t possible resist the nearness of a vagina under such circumstances.

(that was sarcasm for those of you who don’t know me)

The male staff all have these outside-of-the-office options available to them but by his own declaration women do not.  Who do you think will be promoted?  

Surely Margaret Atwood saw some little things back in the late 80’s that lead her to pen The Handmaid’s Tale but it seems even more poignant almost 30 years later.  For those of us who read the book and who are now enjoying the series (and we ARE enjoying the series) we see it as a dystopian look at the future – a cautionary tale.

But there are those for whom it is their idea of utopia.  They may even agree with Commander Waterford who said that making the world better for some means that it can’t be better for all. 

Now do I believe that we might wake up in Gilead tomorrow?  Do I think that my bank accounts will be frozen, that women will all be fired on the same day and that men will begin diminishing and demeaning half of the population with calls of “whore” and “cunt”?  No. I don’t anticipate seeing women covered from head to ankle keeping their eyes cast to the ground as to not accidentally tempt a hapless man.  I don’t think that fertile women will be rounded up and forced to have sex with their captors for the good of filling the Quiver.  I don’t think that lesbians who might be able to give birth will be castrated to cure them of impure thoughts in this society.

But I do believe that there are those who consider these possibilities as a future worth hoping for.

An older gentleman came up to me after I had spoken briefly about the show; the rampant misogyny, the daily rapes that take place in the name of religion, the subjugation of women, and he said, “it sounds like a great place to live.”

Maybe he thought he was being funny but sadly I don’t think he’s alone.  There may be more of him around than we care to admit.

We may work for them.  We may work with them.  We may be married to them. We may dine with them at family gatherings.

And just who they are might surprise you.

The line between one person’s dystopia and another’s utopia is a frighteningly thin one.