All or Nothing

Women are very complicated.  A lot of the time it does not make sense that we expect to have all the rights as men, yet expect to be treated different then men.  Jenna Marbles, a youtube celebrity, brought this to my attention.  Women expect to be treated as equals in the work place, but still believe that the man should pay for dinner.  Why should girls get gifts randomly just because they are the girlfriend in the relationship?  Yes, I'll admit, when I have a boyfriend I would be shocked if he didn't at least offer to pay half the bill.  But why is society so prone to believing that women deserve to be pampered when we have worked so hard to become equal to men in every way possible? 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LQ7wT4CUprQ 

The women in The Handmaid's Tale are only used for sex.  The way the society in Gilead is set up is so women are only needed to get pregnant and have babies.  It is interesting how women in our society appear to have the luxury of having a job, being a wife, a mother, and still being pampered just because that is how women are supposed to be treated.  It appears that when women are seen as for only sex, all of those other  positive things in a women's life disappear along with it.  This explains why the women in Gilead are seen as objects.  Also, when the women in Gilead begin seeing themselves as only being used for sex, they begin to lose site of who they really are.  Even Offred, one of the strongest Handmaids, gives up hope and just let fate take control of her situation.  "Nolite te bastardes carborundorum. Fat lot of good it did for her. Why fight?" (237).  Moira is completely overtaken by the idea that she is only needed for sex when she trades her dignity for some handcream and cigarettes.  "The food's not bad and there's drinks and drugs, if you want it, and we only work nights" (261).  Moira has completely forgotten that women have any other purpose besides sex, and therefore sees her situation as a positive one.  

This makes sense of why women feel the need to have all the benefits that men have and more.  This also proves why there is a double standard between men and women in general about sex. By taking everything away from the Handmaids, we see how important everything women have in our society is for their self-esteem and security.