Reader Response Lit Log

Reflecting on Female Body Image

The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood is a complicated piece of literature. Atwood allows the plot of this story to flow nicely by narrating and using the perspective from Offred, the main character. Writing the novel through first person shows how much impact Offred has on the other women in Gilead. The Handmaid’s Tale focuses on the female gender. Offred has to obey the rules, do her duties, and continue to interact with other humans. There are activities like this I have to complete. I take my time in the shower washing my body, doing my laundry and folding my clothes, and participating in exercise to improve my body.

Throughout the novel, I noticed that Atwood often relies on short and choppy sentences that get right to the point. “ We are containers, it’s only the insides of our body that are important”(96). Ideas of feminism connect with me , as a young adult who identifies as a female. Young females struggle with healthy images of themselves. Often, girls pick on themselves affecting their emotional health. I have been meeting with a therapist. Though therapy is not a highlight of my life, I believe it should be more normalized to attend. I too have insecurities. I have struggled with being comfortable with my body.

smooth skin, delicate limbs, and curves around the body. the beauty standard that girls have been inspired from. Instagram models become popular followed by the public. This isn’t fair to people who are called fat, round, or thick. If the human body is healthy and functioning these variables should not matter.

Offred in Gilead often remembers things from the time before. In Gilead, the Handmaids’ purpose is to bear children: “I used to think of my body as an instrument, of pleasure, or a means of transportation… I could use it to run, push buttons of one sort or another, make things happen. There were limits, but my body was nevertheless lithe, single, solid, one with me”(73). Actions of the handmaids should at all times be toward getting pregnant. Boobs are examined looking for tenderness, and they are questioned about appetite. I too have body parts that identify me as a woman. I have to go through the monthly process of having a menstruation cycle. I run for frisbee, I walk and take the bus to school, and type on my computer to complete assignments.

I have a sweet tooth. There is barely any candy I won’t eat quickly. I often give into the cravings, stuffing myself with fast food, ice cream, and chocolate. Calories travel to different parts of the body and make them look wider or enlarged—My thighs feel too thick, my chest bigger than others, and my arms dangle. My parents often remark, “Dinah, I’ve noticed you look skinnier recently. Have you been eating lunch?” There are times where school lunches aren’t good. I deny it, I eat outside of school, I look healthy. I want to feel proud , confident, and special in my body. It will come with time and support from my friends, family, and classmates.