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Rape In The Handmaid's Tale

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The Handmaid’s Tale additionally brings the biology perspective on rape into the novel. The explanation for the commander having, what is basically forced, sex with Offred is for reproductive purposes in order to populate the society. The novel even brings in the social cultural view of rape culture as well by showing us that the commander also wanted “forced” sex for other reasons such as lust or romance. Therefore, making the novel’s approach more combine, similarly to Owen D. Jones. The Handmaid’s Tale ultimately still can help spark conversations about rape culture that have to grow and develop in order to make progress with the issues of rape culture. The novel Herland, by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, brings rape culture to attention through scenarios that parallel issues that currently occur in our society. The prominent scene focused on rape …show more content…

Although Van finds Terry’s crime to be inexcusable, he mentions that he still somewhat blames Alima since she has what he calls “a far-descended atavistic trace of more marked femaleness” (Gilman 111). Van’s belief in this rape myth makes him blame Alima as well as his inconsistent views on gender roles and attitudes. Van’s character portrays the current finding of Madeleine van der Bruggen and Amy Grubb that rape myth acceptance can be an important predictor of blaming the victim. Furthermore, just the fact that Van is a male support their finding as male are found more likely to hold strong views and accordingly tend to blame victims more so than women do. Herland’s attention to blaming the victim is still a very relevant issue in current research and today’s society in general. It is likely that one has heard the words “her skirt was too shirt” or she “should not have been out so late”. Herland exposes the readers to rape myths in a similar manner to the current researchers’

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