Context

Question 1

When was The Handmaid’s Tale written?

Answer 1

1985

Question 2

When is the novel set?

Answer 2

2015-2045

Question 3

What were the ‘Christian Right’ fundamentalist group interested in?

Answer 3

In the 1970s, the ‘Christian Right’ were interested in rebuilding the US as a Christian theocracy.

They viewed civil rights and feminism as a threat to Biblical practice. Notably, Margaret Thatcher becoming Prime Minister of the UK, and Second Wave Feminism.

The Handmaid’s Tale highlights the hypocrisy of such groups, who have overthrown the US in her novel.

Question 4

Who argued for Anti-Pornography Feminism?

Answer 4

Andrea Dworkin and Catherine MacKinnon.

They believed that pornography violated women’s rights and should be abolished.

Question 5

Who argued against Anti-Pornography Feminism?

Answer 5

Ellen Willis and Gayle Rubin

They believed that the women’s movement should embrace sexuality and resist the efforts to control women’s sex lives.