#texttoselfconnection

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Just A Reflection

The “Handmaid’s Tale” reflects an insight of the expectations that I had as a girl, how there would be people out there that objectify women, and to be very cautious. Due to the daily news about female victims, I grew up with strict family members.

This novel contains moments in life which I could relate to. Growing up, there would be people around me who would attempt to control me, make sure I always behaved like a lady, and implant fears into my mind about how dangerous some people are towards girls or women.

On a personal level, my aunt and grandmother would always remind me to wear very modest clothing. My aunt reminds me of the character Aunt Lydia in the “Handmaid's Tale”. Either it would be a dress or skirt that was over the knee, avoid using tight clothing, or long shirts. Honestly, I still wore what I wanted because my mom was fine as long as I was comfortable or was able to express the style I like. My aunt wore the same type of clothing she would tell me not to wear such as tight jeans or leggings herself, so I never found a reason as to why I would listen to someone who doesn't want me to wear tight jeans. I constantly remind myself to not feed into fear.

The wives in the story would always slut shame the handmaids as they were jealous and they remind me of the few people around me that would criticize friendships between opposite genders. Suspicions and rumors would rise just because some people would assume that friendships between a guy and a girl would automatically mean that they were dating or just more than friends. Some people would ignore it and others would feel pressured to prove that they had nothing more between their friendship.

Offred always heard stories from Aunt Lydia about how women were attacked and unprotected before the development of the Republic of Gilead, I had peers or people around me that experienced such events. Unfortunately, peers from my old school that were victims of assault were told that it was their fault for allowing such things to happen to them. There is no reason for a victim to be blamed for how the predator assaulted them because of how revealing their clothing was or what they wore. Even the women from years ago wore heavy layered clothing covering their entire body and were still raped. It is not a matter of what people wore, it was the horrible behavior, mentality, and decisions made by those sexual predators.

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As I read this with my students, I got the chills! #texttoselfconnection #runner #marathoner