Television series The Handmaid’s Tale, based on the Margaret Atwood book, recently revealed preview photos for their sixth and final season. The show’s preview photos came out on November 12th, a week after Donald Trump’s victory in the presidential election. The theme of the show has drawn parallels to Trump’s campaign and Republican beliefs, leaving some women worried for their rights post-election.
The Handmaid’s Tale follows Offred, a woman living in the dystopian, patriarchal society of Gilead (formerly the United States), in which women are used as “vessels” for childbirth and are not allowed to read or even speak. Atwood’s novel has been banned in schools throughout the country, citing its “anti-Christian overtones” and depictions of sexuality.
Sarah Phelps, a member of Pines Charter’s English department, recalled, “The morning after the election, a coworker… approached me to ask if I was teaching The Handmaid’s Tale… I taught it for nearly twenty years, yet ironically enough, despite its value, I am not teaching it now.”
“The truth is that I feel afraid.”
Trump’s campaign, which was strictly anti-abortion, created anxiety within some women across the country. Moreover, the rise of Republicans’ “Project 2025” has also factored into women’s fear for their reproductive rights. Project 2025 states that it would remove abortion access, as well as censor class discussions surrounding gender, race, sexual identity, etc. among many other bans.
“When I first read the book and then during all the times I thought about it afterward, I was most struck by how all of the events in the story can be traced back to real moments throughout human history,” says Jasmine Pérez, a Pines Charter alumna who studied this book her senior year with Mrs. Sarah Phelps.
“This is the part that terrifies me the most: humanity has proven itself routinely capable of forcing women into subjugation and oftentimes the cycle repeats itself, despite how many times we swear it won’t,” she continues. “For as long as we can tell stories, there will always be hope for our future.”
As women across the country prepare for the next four years, they hold onto hope. Hope that women will not have to fight for their rights again. Hope that their reproductive rights will not be interfered with. Hope that, one day, dystopian TV shows and books won’t parallel the government. Though Project 2025 and Donald Trump’s plans for the United States have caused panic throughout the country, women will continue the fight for equality.
