In the Handmaid’s Tale, the totalitarian state of Gilead is one where women are see as subordinates to men, and are put in roles where if they are not useful to men in terms of bearing children or fulfilling the role of wife or sexual object, they are seen as disposable. Fertile women take the titular role of Handmaid, to be solely purposeful as surrogates that carry and birth children for the wives of the most powerful men of Gilead. In this novel, abortion is not an option, and undesirable children are simply gotten rid of after childbirth. Atwood’s novel is seen as a depiction of what the world would be like if women lose agency of their bodies and an extreme example/depiction of the real world reproductive politics, where women’s bodies are in someway controlled by the state through abortion politics. The very fact that women’s right to abortion is a debatable topic makes women’s bodies politicized. She discusses how the debate on abortion is centered on the contradiction of the woman’s rights versus the fetus’ rights. In Atwood’s novel, the fetus is considered more important legally than the women, reduced to their wombs and whether they could bear a child. It’s quite interesting because under early abortion laws , women and abortion doctors could be severely punished for abortions, which in some sense can be seen as putting the life of the fetus ahead of the rights of the woman. It’s quite scary to think that the potential life of a fetus is considered more important than a living breathing human woman. Other scholars Latimer cites bring up interesting points about the separation between the pregnant woman and fetus, leading to a ‘fetus citizenship’, with the fetus being more privileged and represented than the pregnant woman by law, and paternity.
I quite enjoyed Latimer’s works, and Atwood’s novels. The novel’s satirization of the patriarchal society we live in is eye opening and scary. The scariest part is that women still do have their agency trivialized in some countries, with abortions being seen as illegal, as well as women being forced to cover up, or women being punished for promiscuity and even for being raped. Latimer calls it an important feminist text,  and rightfully so, as Atwood’s novel has theme’s that are extremely applicable that need to be discussed, but that are uncomfortable for a society where the state can preside over women’s bodies. We consider ourselves to be a forward thinking society in the West, but really, how progressive are we when women are still being  told what to do with their bodies, being slut shamed for wearing revealing clothing, and telling them that their choice in clothing when they are raped discredits them.