Date of Award
Fall 2021
Degree Name
Bachelor of Arts
Department
English; College of Arts & Sciences
First Advisor
JoAnn Weiner
Second Advisor
Marc Brasof
Abstract
Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale has long been studied for its cautionary warnings about sexist ideologies that exist between men and women; seldom has it been so closely analyzed for instances of inner gender oppression. Inner-gender oppression, which this thesis seeks to define and highlight through the novel’s context, offers artificial forms of power to those in oppressed classes, enough to attract women themselves to participate in the indoctrination and policing of their own sex. This essay highlights the ways in which Atwood’s dystopian society parallels sexist beliefs held by societies past and present.
Recommended Citation
Browning, Aliyah, "The Manifestation of Inner-Gender Oppression in Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale as Results From Intentional Patriarchal Power Structures" (2021). Capstone Showcase. 2.
https://scholarworks.arcadia.edu/showcase/2022/english/2
Included in
Other Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Commons, Religious Thought, Theology and Philosophy of Religion Commons
The Manifestation of Inner-Gender Oppression in Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale as Results From Intentional Patriarchal Power Structures
Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale has long been studied for its cautionary warnings about sexist ideologies that exist between men and women; seldom has it been so closely analyzed for instances of inner gender oppression. Inner-gender oppression, which this thesis seeks to define and highlight through the novel’s context, offers artificial forms of power to those in oppressed classes, enough to attract women themselves to participate in the indoctrination and policing of their own sex. This essay highlights the ways in which Atwood’s dystopian society parallels sexist beliefs held by societies past and present.