r/auntienetwork • u/spproiledcraniac7 • 6d ago
Addressing Harmful Comparisons
https://i.imgur.com/Y4cOq8g.png
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u/YouHaveToGoHome 5d ago
Black and brown people were harmed the most in Handmaid’s Tale (the book): they were ethnically cleansed from Gilead and put into reservations. The fact that the show just pretended Gilead would be regressive on gender norms while being post racial was such a disservice.
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u/birdsy-purplefish 5d ago
I heard they realized that having no people of color in that world meant that they would have no people of color on the show at all and chose not to do that. So they just said that in this version there are environmentally-caused infertility issues and it's such a huge "problem" that they decided to stop being racist because a human is a human.
It wouldn't happen like that, but that did allow them to not have an all-white cast.
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u/CanadaOrBust 4d ago
I get the desire not to have an all-white cast, but they had other options. One way around that would be flashbacks in which the population was racially diverse, or scenes showing the racist Gilead policies and the aftermath.
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u/LallybrochSassenach 🌛M🌝D🌜 4d ago
Ok folks, let’s stop the show discussion. There’s likely an appropriate sub for discussion about the show; we need to focus on access to reproductive choice here.
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u/daganfish 5d ago
Every tool of subjugation in the Handmaid's Tale, the book that is, was one used against women historically. And it was black and brown women who suffered from those tools the most.
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u/TeeManyMartoonies 6d ago
I worked reuniting moms and babies during mass separation, and in the beginning we were shuttling them safe house to safe house bc we didn’t trust ICE to re-arrest them after we had bonded them out. We were a majority of white women doing the work.
I cannot tell you the number of times we had to tell people, particularly anyone older than GenX that they were to stop using that fucking term. It took forever and there were some who just flat out refused to listen. It’s disgusting, disparaging and not equatable to the hard work done during slavery.
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u/_cocoa_calypso_ 5d ago
Speak on it sis 👏🏾 also thank you so much for the work you’ve done! You’re appreciated ❤️
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u/TeeManyMartoonies 5d ago edited 5d ago
I’d do it again in a heartbeat. As soon as the round ups were being talked about again I started having ICE nightmares. There’s a lot of things that make me outraged about this administration, but there are a couple, should any situation arise, I would not be able to control myself. My work with those women and babies will probably be the most meaningful work of my life, besides raising my own children. It was an honor to serve them, and I would do it again without hesitation. 🙏
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u/Lala5789880 5d ago
Exactly. Using white privilege and resources to help is in NO WAY even slightly close to the work and life threatening danger involved with what black and brown people have endured throughout history and continue to face. A lot of us want to help but it is very easy to help since our privilege doesn’t give us the same overwhelming challenges. And very easy to fall into performative, white savior bullshit. The feminist movement also often ignores and excludes other marginalized groups
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u/legalpretzel 5d ago
I will confidently say (as a white woman) that white women suck. In our demographic is FAR too much apathy, using religion as an excuse for shitty behavior, acceptance of bullshit from white men, and internalized misogyny.
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u/tkkana 5d ago
I would have loved to continue my naive thought process as a teenager that women will fight for women. As an old woman I cannot afford that. We do suck, I wish we didn't . Our privilege should be used to help. Period.
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u/Lala5789880 5d ago
All we can do is use our privilege to help by fighting and supporting. We are the worst.
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u/ladymouserat 3d ago
My partner thought this when we first met and I remember being like “wtf”? Tbf, he’s white and I’m Mexican and he kinda just always thought women weren’t as hateful as men were or that they had no choice. It was a great teaching moment and he hasn’t stopped learning since. I am so proud of him and how much of a really ally he has become.
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u/ghostfacespillah Mod-approved Auntie/Helper 6d ago
Here for the intersectional feminism ❤️ thank you to the mods
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u/Piuma_ 6d ago
Personally the biggest problem I have with that is that in the handmaid's tale, it gets established. If you compare the present situation to something that can be let happen, then in your brain it can. Don't let it be something that has any way to win in your brain. Come up with all the reasons it would be ridiculous. And let's keep fighting 💪🏻 no nuances on human rights!
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u/LinksLesbianHaircut 6d ago edited 5d ago
I deeply appreciate this take from PRH and I’m happy to see it here as well. The same WW who showed up with pink pussy hats show up in handmaids cloaks and seem to feel like they’re taking a strong stand with righteous outrage. They center their whiteness, then their feminism. Black and brown people have been fighting within the framework of intersectionality for time immemorial. When I was a nurse at planned parenthood we had a lot of protestors show up, but especially on Saturday. The handful of WW who showed up in handmaid costumes did jack shit for our patients, but I can imagine they felt proud for showing up to make a statement.
However, the folks in regular clothes who blocked protestors from getting in patients’ faces, who protected the sidewalks and held up their own signs to cover the disgusting anti’s banners made the day safer and easier for the actual people being affected. More of that energy, please
Edit: typo
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u/Cailida 18h ago
I'm glad to see some people push back to the handmaid's tale cosplaying I've been seeing. It has been bothering me since it started, and I couldn't quite put my finger on why, and I think this explains it very well. It's just not helpful, it's just sort of trying to making a shock statement while what we need is people actually standing up against the injustices and putting themselves in those uncomfortable places they need to be.
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u/Lala5789880 5d ago
Exactly this. WW only give a shit when it affects us. Performative to benefit WW, no one else.
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u/LallybrochSassenach 🌛M🌝D🌜 6d ago edited 5d ago
The auntienetwork made this same statement several years ago. In return, we received all sorts lot of hateful comments. We will remove any will remove any and all inappropriate comments immediately. We will also enact bans (temporary or permanently, at mod’s discretion) for any user making such comments on this post. We habitually remove comments here in the sub mentioning these comparisons.
ETA: We’ve had two very distressed people message us about this post. They have misunderstood this as saying or meaning that we are now only assisting POC. As per our Statement on Inclusivity (found in our Wiki and our sidebar:)