Particicution Interpretations

In the historical notes of the book, the person speaking describes the particictuions as a "horrifying and effective way of ridding yourself of subversive elements but that it would also act as a steam valve for the female elements in Gilead." I think as the reader we are supposed to see this and question it rather than believe it. By looking back and reading about the particicutions we can see that clearly more was going on than just some women letting off steam. The men who were being killed were being presented as rapists to the crowds, rape being the highest crime there, when in reality these men were more often political enemies of the state. Women knew this fact, as demonstrated by Offglen and often did not want to participate in killing a man. We can see that there is much more than just releasing anger when it came to the participations by looking at Offglen's case in the particicution.

It mentions in the book that the person they were being made to kill was a man from the MAYDAY organization. So these women did not want to kill him, but do so in fear of what will happen if they do not. Offglen landed the first sharp blows to his head to kill him in order to stop him from suffering any longer. She felt extremely bad for the man secretly, but could not show her emotions to let on any suspicion, so really many of these killings weren't just anger releases to the women. I think a better way to analyze the killings is to look at the incentives of a government who maintains ceremonies like these.

The government is not looking out for the women at all as we can clearly see in the oppression they face everyday. So by saying that the particicutions were in anyway intended to help women by giving them a chance to blow off some steam is just ridiculous. I think what the government is really looking for is some act of faith, or submission. The act itself reduces the women to savages, and the idea is that they willingly do it. This idea demonstrates the power of the government and loyalty of its people. That is all the government is looking for in this process, or so I believe.

Blog #10 The End.

WOW is all I can say! I must admit I am kind of disappointed with the ending and how it left the reader wondering what really happened to Offred. I guess it is KIND OF neat that it left you in suspense. I like that it wasn't Serena who called "The Eyes" on Offred which actually leads me to believe that "The Eyes" that took Offred were apart of the resistance. Atleast I hope they were! The whole part where Serena confronts Offred with the sequened dress really got me thinking. It is hard to believe that the life Serena lives is the life she had been fighting for. It also shows the reader that even the most "free" women of Gilead are not free at all. With Serena knowing what her husband has been doing with both of their handmaids, she is still forced to stay with him and live with her cheating husband. She doesn't have the option to leave. The whole purpose of Gilead is to respect their women and keep them safe and yet the commanders are cheating on their wives and whoring out their handmaids! Complete disprespect. This book illustrates the idea of male power and really makes me wonder what our world would be like without feminists and women fighting for freedom and equal rights.

Twisted Words and Irony

In chapter 42 of the novel there is a woman's "salvaging". A salvaging is a large execution. They were held at Harvard in the yard. All women in Gilead had to attend. One wife and two handmaid's are hanged at this salvaging. in Gilead a woman was "salvaged" for three things: 1. killing a handmaid, 2. adultery, or 3. attempted escape. Handmaids were instructed to hold the long rope in the hanging almost as a representation of their acceptance to the salvaging. Offred is disturbed by the salvaging and rightfully so. It was such a cruel event that happened in Gilead.
It's interesting how the execution was called a "salvaging" because the word means "saving" which is not exactly what was going on here. could it be a saving to the society? what could the term saving have to do with "salvaging"? What were the women of Gilead being "saved" from? Another twisted word I came across was particicution. The word particicution was a twist of the words participation and execution which is similar to salvaging. This was carried out by a group. All the executions in Gilead were done in groups by the communities. This could have been done to show everyone what would happen if they decided to break the laws of Gilead. This Gileadean totalitarianism was both clever and gruesome. I believe the main function of these events was to provide an outlet for all the rage and hatred the Handmaid's built up towards the oppressive Gileadean men. In the novel during the particicution, the women of Gilead take out their anger towards a rapist and unify in the "participating execution". This allowed the women to channel their anger and may have been to prevent an upheaval in the handmaid community. Ironically this was done at Harvard symbolizing the freedom to pursue knowledge. However, as for where the salvaging was, it symbolizes the denial of access to knowledge. The novel shows many ironic and hidden messages if we look close enough to find them.

I am feminist, hear me roar!

The days of our final blogs have come. I don’t know about you guys, but I’m seriously going to miss anonymously sharing my opinions and thoughts of frustration, happiness, depression, and angst relating to our intense readings that have taught me so much, and have enabled me to think more critically than I ever had before. Call me cliché for saying this, but I will never look at our world the same. Up until taking this class, I truly believed men and women had equal rights and opportunities. I was wrong, clearly. How silly of me. I realize society made me believe that the daily oppression I face solely due to the fact that I am a woman is ‘natural.’ Feeling as though I have to be squeezed into binaries that society has ever so kindly created to control me, is really sad. As a women, I am to be motherly, pretty, thin, accepted, gentle, soft, docile, virginal, (but also skanky in the bedroom when my partner insists) heterosexual, married, & to produce a plethora of babies and be happy about it.
This is me virtually sticking up my middle finger to these binaries. I will choose how I want to act and live my life, screw everything else. I will resist the status quo if I wish, and will not care if you insist on calling me a lesbian for doing so.

Reading through chapter 13 of WVFV, I had a good laugh reading the cartoon entitled ‘Unrequited Love no5- Passing a Building Site Fantasy.’ Hilariously enough and also sadly enough, I do not believe this scene will ever come to be true. Construction working men staring at an attractive female walking by saying things like, “I bet she’s intelligent” and “Wouldn’t mind a game of scrabble with her,” is a huge stretch. All I could think about when reading this cartoon, aside from the fact of how hilariously ironic it was, is when the commander invited Offred to his office late at night in The Handmaid’s Tale. I assumed the commander, like many of you safely assumed as well, was going to either rape or seduce Offred. Yet, he asked her to play a mere game of SCRABBLE! HA! That got me good. Men say women are so quick to judge and see them as pigs, but they, they’re the ones who should be showing us otherwise, right? Maybe if men were to say comments that were said in the cartoon, women wouldn’t feel like we needed to keep up with our “rape schedule,’ even though statistics show women are most often raped by people they know. Anyway, that’s what came to mind when I read the cartoon.

More importantly, it was disheartening reading in Hogeland’s article “Fear of Feminism- Why Young Women get the Willies” of how so many young women fear feminism, just as I once used to. I admit, I am still sometimes afraid of saying it out loud in front of certain people, but I know I have to bite my tongue and deal with it if I want to help raise awareness and witness change.
Hogeland made a great point about feminism in relation to politics. She states, “Feminism politicizes gender consciousness [and] inserts it into a systematic analysis of histories and structures of domination and privilege.” (723). Women do not want to hear of how underprivileged and oppressed they are, and men do not want to let go of the power they hold over women. So, feminism is scary to many. Feminism raises issues that make you think, issues that contain no right or wrong answers. But, that’s the beauty of feminism and the study of gender, there ISN’T a right answer. You are free to be, and that is all. As humans, all we know for certain about ourselves is we exist. In the famous words of Descartes, “I think, therefore I am.” He is absolutely correct.
So let’s not hesitate to say it ladies and gents. “I am FEMINIST, hear me roar!”

Profeminism- Men have a place in feminism

I find it very important the point that Kimmel makes that men have a place in order to help feminism become more widespread. Kimmel makes the point that it is important to distinguish the fact that men should try and take over the feminist movement but because an auxiliary part to help other men come to realize the privileges that come with being a man and how that adversely affects women. Profeminist men are men that are a part of the feminist movement are able realize the importance of men in the movement and how they can help raise awareness of to other people. The article points out how men often feel indifferent about the problems that affect women these days like rape, sexism in the workplace, and violence against women. They say that because they don't do it themselves that they are not involved. But just because men don't take in the act themselves it still shows the idea of male privilege being alive and well when men feel that they can do what they want. There is also a men's movement to take back the power they have lost and they pledge to be faithful patriarch's shows how they are desperate to keep the power they have and are scared for any threatening of that power. But i think many men fail to realize that women gaining equality with men doesn't have to translate into men losing theirs. Men have to realize that it is going to take men's help to provide women with their equal rights and once we realize that we need women to have their equal rights both men and women in my opinion will be able to live in more healthy situations physically and emotionally.

I, used to be, my control...

A quote that really caught my eye was spoken from Offred. She states “I used to think of my body as an instrument, of pleasure, or a means of transportation, or an implement for the accomplishment of my will . . . Now the flesh arranges itself differently. I’m a cloud, congealed around a central object, the shape of a pear, which is hard and more real than I am and glows red within its translucent wrapping… (page 73). Offred is responding to her body in this quote from the reading. It seems as she’s saying her body is only important because of the main ‘object’, her womb, which bears children to make the men happy. But before her body was “an instrument,” it was hers. She seemingly has internalized Gilead’s attitude toward women, which treats them as objects. Gilead’s attitude towards women brainwashes these women to believe they are useless as an individual, they’re object and only important for children. It seems that Offred is mesmerizing over her past and having a daughter of her own and how she tried to escape with her. Her daughter was too young to understand that they needed to be silent when shots rang but unfortunately Offred had to witness her own daughter being taken away from her. Offred describes her selfless self as “a cloud, congealed around a central object, which is hard and more real than I am.” She’s just a resource that is needed for these men. Offred had the control over her body, and now that she’s just an object she no longer has that control.

Women of Gilead

The women of Gilead had their jobs and duties broken down and divided among other women. This also caused women to police themselves into following the state’s rules. In the historical notes this control of women over women is mentioned by Pieixoto in being a staple for empires with “indigenous members.” In a comparison to today, women are taught to police one another into our societal rules and standards. Deviating from the norm of sexuality, dress or behavior becomes grounds for ridicule by other women. The secret May Day society in The Handmaid’s Tale shows a resistance of women who wish to assist one another and break society’s rules and norms. May Day can be compared to today’s many different feminist groups that work to assist women and create a new norm for women and men’s sexuality, dress, behaviors and jobs.

The Handmaid’s Tale showed many aspects of today’s world in a different way. Readers were able to look at today’s world and think critically about how people are impacted by our cultural norms. Women specifically in the novel and in our society are treated differently than the other half of society, men. This book outrageously depicts the horrors of the loss of autonomy for women but it also helps one think critically about our world.