The Effects of Objectification of the Human Body in...

Kylie Greenham March 29, 2012 In recent history, there have been many cases of rape all over the world that have been sparking public outrage, not only because of the perverse acts but also for the way that society has responded to these attacks. The Steubenville, Ohio case is one account, where a sixteen year old girl was raped by two high school football players. Instead of focusing on the tragedy of the rape, the public and the media chose to speak about the two rapists - the boys - and how their promising football careers were over. It was suggested that the girl was at fault for being drunk, and that she was known for lying in the past, and could possibly be lying about the case (Poladian, 1). This is only one example of†¦show more content†¦Where the upper-class aestheticize the body and give it a monetary value, the poor aestheticize it for means of control. Sex in public and rape are almost common place occurrences, and Cynthia claims that if one of the men tried to come on to her, that â⠂¬Å"the police would say [she] asked for it† (Hopkinson, 60). Much like in the Steubenville case, the victim of the rape would be blamed by the police for the fault of the rape. The only form of control that the lower-class have over their bodies is to objectify them. They cannot feed themselves properly, they cannot take care of themselves properly, and they cannot exchange their bodies like the upper-class people can. The police, who are the political influence, are corrupt with their biased opinions about the lower-class citizens. They would automatically assume that the women were asking for sex, even if what had happened was non-consensual. This freedom from condemnation gives the lower-class people the only means over power and control they have, through the objectification of other human bodies. In â€Å"The Handmaid’s Tale†, instead of giving control of other people’s bodies, the authority take control of bodies. The women who are still fert ile are revered, but forced into a lifestyle of sex and bearing children for a man they do not know. These women are no longer individuals. They now belong to a man, as is seen by the name that the protagonist is given: Offred. The name is intended to