"Exceptional women are the chief imprisoners of nonexceptional women, simultaneously proving that any woman could do it and assuring, in their uniqueness among men, that no other woman will." - Carolyn Heilbrun
Isn't that a good part of what The Handmaid's Tale is about...?
But yeah. There's a similar dynamic with the people who do make it rich - "I did it. Why can't you?"
I remember some years ago, self-made BC billionaire Jim Pattison gave a speech at a high school where he urged young people to drop out and make their own fortunes. Of course, he might not have started with money, but he had opportunities and there were circumstances in the time he grew up that those kids are unlikely take advantage of.
Handmaid does have a large amount of woman-on-woman violence and hostility. But I don't know if I would put it in the same category, because in that system, there is absolutely no meaningful class mobility; women are assigned their roles for life, period. In our world, women who are extremely beautiful or extremely guileful (preferably both) can use their valued attributes to get ahead as trophies or celebrities. In a way, living in a prescriptive dystopia would alleviate the mental anguish Heilbrun alludes to, because it would remove the perceived obligation imposed on women to strive for perfection and opportunity.
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But yeah. There's a similar dynamic with the people who do make it rich - "I did it. Why can't you?"
I remember some years ago, self-made BC billionaire Jim Pattison gave a speech at a high school where he urged young people to drop out and make their own fortunes. Of course, he might not have started with money, but he had opportunities and there were circumstances in the time he grew up that those kids are unlikely take advantage of.
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