A handmaids tale is a series based in a dystopian future where the government has been overthrown to create the ‘Republic of Gilead’. In Gilead, the women are treated as property of the state and are used to help repopulate due to the plummeting birth rate. They select the few fertile women left to fulfill this purpose.
We can apply bell hooks feminism theory to this series as she talks about how feminism is a struggle to end oppression. In a Handmaid’s Tale, we see how the handmaids or those with less power than the commanders and their wives will suffer extreme punishments for trying to overthrow them, such as being murdered, mutilated, or sent to the ‘colonies’. The handmaids are made to follow the commanders' wishes, and even the commanders' wives too. In the series, we see how one of the handmaids, Ofwarren, is sent to the colonies as she put her baby at risk. She was first sent to be murdered by the other handmaids, however, they all resisted.
bell hooks also talks about how race, class, and sexuality determine the extent to which individuals are exploited, discriminated against or oppressed. In the series, we see how the only upper-class women are the commander’s wives, who are partly in charge of the handmaids. Moreover, the wives can’t get in trouble the same way the handmaids can due to their authority. We see a number of situations where the commander's wives go against their set rules, but get away with it. We also see the story of Ofglen, who was discovered to be in a same-sex marriage with her wife, Martha. As a result of this, Martha was hanged and Ofglen made to watch before being sent to the colonies.
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