Pornography

• The growth of pornography is a concern of many people, especially feminists such as Margaret Atwood, as it often depicts and encourages violence and objectification on women.
• Margaret Atwood wrote a novel, "Oryx and Crake", which attacks child pornography.
• Violence against women is described horrifically in "The Handmaid's Tale", where handmaids are forced to watch films depicting violence against women, including rape, beatings, and killings.
• The aunt uses the film to comment that "you see how things used to be like? That's what they thought of women then".
• Offred's mother is also against pornography, bringing Offred to watch the burning of pornographic magazines.
• The idea that both feminists and people of Gilead can agree on the issue of pornography shows how Atwood wants us to reflect on this issue.
• Pornography may be vile but its suppression involves censorship, another controversial issue.
• Some research in the USA suggests that a growth in pornography has led to the reduction in sex crimes.