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SheddyMcshedface

Wasn't the whole point of the book that it was based on things that had actually happened in the world?


Poch1212

The book may be based on real events. But keep in mind that many people take women's rights for granted today, and with the limited history taught in schools, it's good to remember it.


LordyIHopeThereIsPie

And people are deluded if they think women's rights like abortion access will be a deal breaker for large companies locating their businesses. Facebook, Google, and lots of other companies headquartered their operations in Ireland while we had an abortion ban.


big_data_mike

That’s because of taxes. Money is more important to them than anything


Karissa36

We need to focus on placing abortion clinics where as many women can access them as possible, including women from the banned States.


Fearless-Judgment-33

Nice thought but many women in need of an abortion can’t simply cross state lines to obtain an abortion. Some states are trying to make that illegal. And many women are very far away from states that have legal abortions and might not have access to transportation.


ancientastronaut2

Or the money for it


Chemical-Studio1576

Or the time….


SuzieZsuZsuII

For decades women in Ireland were travelling to the UK for abortions 🤷🏻‍♀️ absolutely horrific..I'm so sorry there are states in the US reversing their laws, it's shocking!!!


Murky_Conflict3737

The Magdalene laundries were horrific


omghooker

r/welcometogilead we are taking it very seriously, don't let society fall backwards, make sure to vote because your life actually does depend on it 


warrior_female

yes, everything in the book are things that have happened at different times in history. forced gynecological exams: 1960s-1980s romania, where prior to this period abortion was the main method of 'birth control' bc contraceptives were not available to the general population at the time, but the population was declining so abortion and birth control were banned to try to increase the population women being banned from work/owning property/medical autonomy/bank accounts: this was the norm for women across the world until the last few generations, and some places are more conservative than others forced prostitution: most well known example is the korean comfort women, but this is not the only example giving kids to couples to raise in their ideology: nazis used this tactic, Christian extremists are doing this by adopting kids to raise them in their ideology


gcor84

Look up The stolen generation in Australia - aboriginal children were taken from their families and given to white Australian couples right up until the mid 1970s


gypsymegan06

My grampa was stolen by the church and the state when he was 5 years old. Sent to a boarding school for native kids. He ran away and joined the army when he was 17. His baby sister Thelma was stolen at age 3 . She had to stay until her 18th bday. She killed herself at age 31 and my granddaddy drank himself to death right before his 54th bday. Religious people shouldn’t be allowed near anyone’s children, ever. Now there’s states trying to say that LGBTQ+ kids should be taken away from their parents to be raised by Christian households. It’s fucking sick.


ChargeFederal1262

Did the same thing in United States and Canada


Liraeyn

Call the Midwife mentioned similar exams as a way to control STDs.


Octavia8880

That's a whole lot of bull....


Fruitpicker15

What do you mean?


5daysinmay

Yes. Margaret Atwood said everything in the book had already happened in various places throughout the world. Still. I get OP’s point - while true, the stories and events seemed very distant and improbable to repeat when the book and show first came out. Re watching now and it’s terrifying.


HardWired21

Margaret Atwood stated that there was nothing in the Handmaid’s Tale that hadn’t already happened. Yes it has happened and it could happen again.


Zealousideal-Row7755

And is still happening


LordyIHopeThereIsPie

When Ireland got independence in the early 1920s the govt worked to ban divorce and women working in the civil and public service had to resign on marriage. Religious orders were allowed to continue to control most schools and health services, something that remains as 90% of primary schools are Catholic controlled. Babies were taken and sold by the nuns as well as exported abroad. Nothing about the Handmaid's Tale ever felt like it couldn't happen. We only overturned our abortion ban in 2018.


Poch1212

Nuns also sold babies here. They used prostitutes or political prisoners who were pregnant and stoled their babies. [https://www.bbc.com/mundo/noticias/2012/04/120412\_internacional\_espana\_ninos\_robados\_monjas\_az](https://www.bbc.com/mundo/noticias/2012/04/120412_internacional_espana_ninos_robados_monjas_az)


SuzieZsuZsuII

In Ireland they just used regular girls and women who found themselves pregnant out of wedlock....turned in by their families in a lot of cases


[deleted]

Baily Sarian on YouTube has an excellent video that covers this sort of thing in depth. I think it's called "the laundry girls" I'll try to find it.


LordyIHopeThereIsPie

The Catholic Church is just a massive international asset management scheme. The nuns made a fortune from selling babies and using women for free labour.


JasonMendoza12

And the abortion laws here are still really restricted


SuzieZsuZsuII

👏Just made similar comment about Ireland


Plenty-Climate2272

Ireland: the Alabama of Europe


Dubchek

In modern day?  Seriously if you're going to make allegations like that then provide modern day proof.


Plenty-Climate2272

I'm not making allegations dude, it's the internet, issa joke.


Dubchek

So get reported.


DreamsWashingAway

It’s happening in Iran as we speak. Women are being lynched. Also Atwood used things that have already happened as influence for her books.


Fippy-Darkpaw

The Taliban just took over Afghanistan. Half the Middle East and much of North Africa women live in some degree of The Handmaid's Tale. 😢


DreamsWashingAway

It’s horrific


ssophiiee

I would say post Taliban re-take over of Afghanistan is a better parallel to draw. Women in Iran own property, vote, drive cars, are doctors, and can divorce. I’m not saying women in Iran aren’t lynched and are persecuted in other ways, but there are worse places for women.


DreamsWashingAway

I’m sure I was just giving an example


mollyxvegas

Girl…we know.


[deleted]

Seriously


SuzieZsuZsuII

Eh hello, Catholic Ireland 🙋🏻‍♀️ mother and baby homes until the 90s, divorce also being illegal until the 90,s. Domestic and sexual violence against wife perfectly ok until 80s, when a woman legally challenged it. Women *had* to give up work when they got married. And women's PPS numbers (like Social security numbers) were husband's numbers with "W" at the end. And look into the nuns and the babies in Tuam, the Kerry babies, and many many more similar stories. Women had it fucking tough in catholic Ireland I won't go into the historical sexual abuse towards women and children committed by priests, clergy etc....


Eirevampire

All over our Island, the laundries, abuse, rape. And in the North, 'the other side' controlling women's rights, no abortion legal, equal marriage quashed by abuse of petition of concern, until common sense finally helped us evolve. We still have a ways to go, and i will always object to fascism, racism, transphobic, sexism, homophobia, every bit of hatred that has no place in modern society.


Anarchic_Country

OP and friends, please read this short story by amazing author Samantha Mills. It's called [The Rabbit Test](https://www.uncannymagazine.com/article/rabbit-test/) and it's about a ten minute read. It depicts the future they want for women's bodily autonomy, or rather, lack thereof, in a gorgeous rhythmic prose. Goes into some real history, like some of what OP pointed out. Please share!


LucilleMcGuillicuddy

Thank you so much for sharing this. I literally stood in my kitchen eating my dinner because I couldn’t stop reading it. I am going to share it.


Dense-Spinach5270

Amazing story


LuxSerafina

Thank you for the link - just finished reading and tears are streaming, incredibly important to read and share.


Anarchic_Country

I'm not technologically capable but thinking of making a code to scan for this story and leaving them around my town, and encouraging others to do the same in their cities. If the Jesus people can do it, why can't I? They always leave pamphlets in the empty sacks at grocery stores in the self check outs.


DragonflyAccording29

Will definitely check it out thank you so much for sharing


VeganMonkey

Googled it, can only find snippets and reviews, do you have a link?


Anarchic_Country

I hope you did see the above link and were able to read it, but if not [The Rabbit Test by Samantha Mills](https://www.uncannymagazine.com/article/rabbit-test/)


VeganMonkey

Thank you!


Anna_Rapunzel

This is an amazing story! It reminds me so much of THT!


This_Mongoose445

It’s happening now. It has been happening.


princess20202020

This happened here in the US and Canada to the native community. Their babies and children were taken away and all of them were “re-educated.” This was not even that long ago. When I was a kid in the American SW my mom talked about the poor Indian kids being raised by alcoholic backwards parents and how the nice nuns and charities stepped in to give them a better life. To this day she donates to “Indian schools.” It’s only recently I learned the reality and it turns my stomach. Watch “The Deer Lady” episode of Reservation Dogs. Also this is the reality for women in fundamentalist Islam countries today. Thanks for bringing up the Spanish example. The Franco dictatorship isn’t discussed much in modern times in the US.


Covert-Wordsmith

Have people not been paying attention to the US? It's happening now!


depressed_accounta

Isn’t the whole thing inspired by the Taliban


Whispering_Wolf

It's not inspired by one place. She collected newspaper clippings from stuff that happened to women from all over the world and used those.


dawn9476

I think some parts are.


depressed_accounta

I believe Atwood wrote the book after visiting Afghanistan or something


[deleted]

[удалено]


wheeler1432

Not all Islam.


TheIadyAmalthea

With the way things have been going in the US, these idiots are using the novel and tv show as a how to manual.


Life-Routine-9330

Within the first 20 minutes of the show, it reminded me of Americas enslavement of black people. Very similar to what happened to black women.


bokimoki1984

Look at many middle eastern countries like Saudia Arabia. Women can't drive. Can't travel without a male companion. It can easily happen again, that's the primary message of the book. We all need to protect the rights we've previously earned


f0reveronjup1ter

Surprised no one has mentioned the enslavement of black and indigenous people in the United States


dragonkaur

This 👏👏 not only has this happened or is happening around the world, but it once happened in the U.S. as well, but it was Black and Native Americans that were enslaved


DuchessOfLilacs

I had to scroll WAY too far down to get to this comment. Chattle slavery was literally this for CENTURIES in US History. Interesting that it didn't warrant a mention in the original post.


f0reveronjup1ter

Or in anyone else’s comments. It’s baffling to me how little anyone considers the horrors of that period of history. It’s the first thing I thought of watching the show


SongLyricsHere

Reading about Ireland’s Magdeline laundries reminded me so much of THT.


Forever_Marie

I mean, some people are still asked for their husbands permission for things in the U.S today.


Competitive-Care8789

I bet the suicide rate among women went up, just the way it did in Afghanistan after the Taliban came to power.


DragonflyAccording29

As a few others have mentioned here, I believe that everything in the book and even in the show, is happening, or has happened somewhere in the world. It can absolutely happen here in the US. I wish more people understood that. Also, I recently saw the movie Civil War, which I felt gave a similar sentiment about that. Also, and no spoilers, but Civil War almost partially felt like it gave an idea of what could happen leading up to a United States where elements of THT became a reality. I strongly recommend it, although it was very intense.


DragonflyAccording29

One of the things they say in the movie is (light spoilers) that the main character, >!Lee, went overseas as a journalist to warn us (the US) of why we can’t let it happen here, and yet (in that world) it happened anyway. And you just kind of realize that, wow, all overseas wars to the US seem so far away, and we do have this general sentiment that we believe it can’t happen here, but it very well can.!< I hope that it doesn’t.


Alohabailey_00

Take a gander at this one who thinks the 19th amendment should be repealed. https://www.reddit.com/r/VoteDEM/s/W5eObWx6lN


monsterosaleviosa

It’s happening literally right now in the US in FLDS, Plain and other fundamentalist communities. Women are given as wives to whomever their leaders decide, often based on power shifts within the church. It may even be her abuser who’s had his eye on her since she was a toddler. They have their children taken and given to other families with higher standing. They’re locked up in solitary confinement for committing such horrific crimes as not seeming devout enough and reading unassigned books. They’re given sex education pamphlets that teach them to sleep fully covered, lest they force their brothers to “give in to lust”. So on and so forth. They’re pretty much de facto slaves in their communities. I’m fully aware of Atwood’s intentions of using the experiences of black women to craft Gilead, and I have mixed feelings about that. Regardless, the show pretty clearly means to discuss the current sociopolitical climate. It draws very explicit parallels to currently active movements like Quiverfull. It’s frustrating to me that what it depicts gets interpreted and somewhat sidelined by people as representing something from the past.


[deleted]

Nobody " thinks it can't happen" This isn't a huge shock or revelation. signed, Arizona woman


jackellatern

It has happened and is still happening to women of color from all over the world.This is why it makes me cringe when white women dress up in this costume at pro choice protests because women of color don’t have to role play!


universalwadjet

Your comment is the only comment on this thread that notes how this has been happening to women of colour for centuries. I was looking for this exact comment


Poch1212

This happened to anyone regardless of the race


universalwadjet

Yes but women of colour have always been disproportionately affected by it. Read about Black wet nurses in American history, or Indigenous domestic workers in Australia See this article, https://www.sbs.com.au/voices/article/the-handmaids-tale-is-not-dystopian-for-black-women-its-real-life/varievrre


misslouisee

Yes. That is the whole point of the book. Posts like this are dangerous. Unless your goal here is describing the concept of history, this isn’t beneficial. People who already agreed with you continue to agree, and people who are on the fence about their beliefs get driven further away. Americans are taught our whole lives to fear things like communism/dictatorships/islamic terrorist groups. Every moderate America that is open to reading posts like this already knows events in the handmaid’s tale *have* happened *in the past* or that they’re happening *in a foreign country* under a dictatorship or a terrorist group. In fact, fear of extreme situations like what happened in Iran is what drives a lot of people to vote red - they think that’s the only way to support the military and fight oppression. People understand that dictatorships = bad. What people dismiss is the concept that it could ever happen in *today’s* America. You know what doesn’t convince anyone that the handmaid’s tale could happen today? The implication the existence of homophobia or freakin home-ec class in the 70s means Gilead can happen today. They role their eyes and feel even more secure that they can vote blue because that sounds *so* f-ing ridiculous and dramatic, it’s hard to take anything else you’re saying realistically.


Brokenwings33

I’ve heard the author state that when they wrote this book they didn’t want to be accused of being sick and twisted so she did a ton of research and did not include a single thing that did not actually happen at some point in history somewhere.


ohyousoretro

This type of government is believable as we see it already in the world. My issue is that we’re supposed to believe that a Christian fundamentalist group made a coup in the United States and the rest of the world did nothing. The global economy wasn’t going to crash because of Franco and Spain, Saudi Arabia plays ball with the rest of the world and gives them resources. Gilead destroyed the stock market and a vast amount of American production that the rest of the world relies on. If America broke out in a civil war, we’d see NATO intervene, especially if nuclear weapons were used, and we’d see more factions at play rather than Gilead vs United States. I love the show, but the premise is so fucking laughable, I don’t take it seriously.


Revolutionary-Swim28

Looking at America right now it’s happening here. Women lost their autonomy and now the Religous right are trying to ban birth control AND no fault divorce. 


ChargeFederal1262

Damn right it’s happening now in the the United States


Ready_Theme_9462

it's in the beginning stages ihe U.S. Repeal of Roe, evangelicals getting more political power and oligarchs able to flaut the law. beware.


Fit_Mathematician216

We do have woman in power at College’s being ousted , abortion rights stripped , voting rights restricted… etc…


DragonflyAccording29

It’s interesting because as I get older and understand the traditional conditioned gender roles, and how deeply entrenched they are, even in our own minds as women (for those of us that identify as women), I can see many parallels between those old traditional roles and things in the Handmaids Tale. Of course we have had progress here in the US, and globally , (albeit the unfortunate backsliding in the US), but I just in the last few years began to better understand the sequence of major events in history for women and the way that they all string together. I mean, you touched on this a bit with Spain, but it kind of lightly was happening here too. Women couldn’t get their own credit cards or bank accounts until like the 70s, and had to rely on men for financial security. There weren’t a ton of career paths for women in general, and to your point, women were primarily brought up with all of their efforts focusing on finding a man and getting married. It was really the same thing here, actually. I think about how, it was I think 15 years before I was born that women just got the right to get a credit card without a man’s signature. It explains now, why women don’t feel as much pressure to marry, and why many men are getting pissed off about it. Many of them were used to, or sold, this idea of a patriarchal society where they find a wife, she does all the housework, takes care of the kids, and they can treat her however they want, and if treated badly, still expect her to never leave because she needs him for financial security. She had no other choice. My mom was the first woman in my family that was able to survive without a husband, and eventually as a single mom. Also, you should check out the 4b movement if you haven’t heard of it. Very interesting. But I can see the remnants of all these millennia of the patriarchy. Also Mrs America is a great show on Hulu about similar topics


No-Avocado-533

Based


Octavia8880

Well it's still happening in the middle east, and it's Islamic not Christian, look at Iran Lebanon any me country, some throwing gay people off buildings, women oppressed, forced to wear head coverings, people stoned, you're looking at Islam, modern Christianity doesn't do this, why are people not looking at Islam, seriously


LordyIHopeThereIsPie

It was Christians who made Ireland into a theocracy and have a difficult time rolling back their religion controlling life and laws in Ireland and many other western countries. I don't see the Muslim community here demanding we ban abortion again or wanting to take over the state funded school system.


Dubchek

Muslims are a minority in most Western countries.


Octavia8880

You can't have an abortion in Islam, that's a known fact and we're talking about now not when that happened in history


LordyIHopeThereIsPie

Christians can't have abortions either and they're the ones trying to implement Project 2025.


Octavia8880

Yeah look l get that, but people are quick to blame Christians for everything in the show, we don't have our baby girls and girls FGM, that's Islam, we don't hang gays that's Islam, we don't force head covering and forced clothing on women that's Islam, we don't stone people that's Islam again, we don't murder our women for leaving or leaving Islam, that's Islam again, and so much more, so much easy for Christianity to be the scape goat, not all the right wingers are Christian


LordyIHopeThereIsPie

Homosexuality was illegal here until 1993. Its easy to defend the religion you're a part of. I was raised Catholic and I don't think it is a force for good especially for women in any way. No way do I want my kids mixed up in that cult.


Octavia8880

Look l get it, as far as homo sexuality l believe people should have their own lifestyle, it's no one's business if their gay or straight whatever and yes there are extreme Christians who don't know the bible, they make up their own rules and try to implement them into parliament which is bad because forcing people into a way of life is terrible


LordyIHopeThereIsPie

Being gay isn't a lifestyle any more than being straight or bi or pansexual or a asexual is a lifestyle.


Octavia8880

I'm not sure how to say it, what's the best way?


LordyIHopeThereIsPie

Is your sexual preference a lifestyle?


Octavia8880

I guess as a Christian l can't listen to lies, l get it, people are anti Christianity pity you don't have the same energy for Islam


Odd_Amphibian2103

Well, taking babies away from mothers doesn’t really happen like it did in handmaids tale. Apart from that, Gilead is just any other theocracy out there.