Comments on: A (rented) womb of one’s own

By: Jeet

Jeet — Thu, 20 Apr 2006 19:10:08 +0000

It gives new meaning to the term “Cheap Labor”

By: Matty JÃ³hanns

Matty JÃ³hanns — Mon, 03 Apr 2006 18:33:07 +0000

I am married but no cildren. I was the last child of my parents, and my sister and brother had gone from home by the time I remember them. I newer know my grandparents. And now my parents are dead too. My hustbands family lives in Denmark. So I have only distant family. I have always hoped for children and now I see surogasy as my last hope. Having a family is more inportant then enything. In the end mony is not importand.

By: dhaavak

dhaavak — Fri, 24 Mar 2006 23:50:43 +0000

Oh yeah. We had to read that book in high school. Gave me nightmares for weeks. What was the opera like?

they had surtitles so i could follow along - but i think those who've read the book might have enjoyed it more - more because there is the thrill of recognition of a character you've imagined in print
other than that - the subject matter isnt exactly entertainment - the only stimulus i got was in drawing up the parallels between the fictitious Gilead and the post-9-11 united states - it is a stretch but the adaption leveraged that to some extent - i also felt the adaptation (or maybe it was atwood's vision originally) tried to position canada as the benign neighbor to gilead to which the slave-girl wanted to escape to - but that might be just in my eyes. the music i do not remember, but some of the visuals and the stark costumes i remember vividly - on the whole, ok
fyi, i did a quick search and found this review. Mind you, this is from the year 2000. The last para caught my eye.

Ruders and Bentley see in Atwood's 1978 novel an accurate forecast of the Taliban in Aghanistan, and they believe the story holds warnings for the West as well. Ruders cites the rise of religious fundamentalism in the U.S., which has religious educational institutions "where sober, dedicated intelligent people study, they prepare, for the New Jerusalem--or you could call it Gilead."

Note also, this opera was originally a Danish production.

By: Rupa

Rupa — Fri, 24 Mar 2006 21:09:29 +0000

Oh yeah. We had to read that book in high school. Gave me nightmares for weeks. What was the opera like?

By: dhaavak

dhaavak — Fri, 24 Mar 2006 20:54:57 +0000

you might be interested in Atwood's "The HandMaid's tale" . Here's an excerpt from this link .

The Handmaid's Tale is set in the futuristic Republic of Gilead... Most women in Gilead are infertile after repeated exposure to pesticides, nuclear waste, or leakages from chemical weapons. The few fertile women are taken to camps and trained to be handmaidens, birth-mothers for the upper-class. Infertile lower-class women are sent either to clean up toxic waste or to become "Marthas," house servants. No women in the Republic are permitted to be openly sexual; sex is for reproduction only. The government declares this a feminist improvement on the sexual politics of today when women are seen as sex objects.

I've just seen the operatic adaptation, but i'm sure there are folks out there who might have an Angle on this. Pray illuminate.

By: Rupa

Rupa — Fri, 24 Mar 2006 20:16:23 +0000

If they're planning on having sex, they can still do the things that two men can do, no?

Of course, but there's something to be said for the option of vaginal intercourse for a woman.

Maybe they're planning on jumping straight to kids, no sex ...

That...wow. Sounds like my idea of a nightmare.

By: Manish Vij

Manish Vij — Fri, 24 Mar 2006 19:41:47 +0000

Maybe they're planning on jumping straight to kids, no sex ...

Don't tell desi parents about this option, we'll never hear the end of it.

By: Ennis

Ennis — Fri, 24 Mar 2006 18:34:32 +0000

I wonder how they're planning to have sex.

If they're planning on having sex, they can still do the things that two men can do, no? Still, I'm wondering about the if, precisely b/c the implication is that she hasn't had this surgery. Maybe they're planning on jumping straight to kids, no sex ...

By: Rupa

Rupa — Fri, 24 Mar 2006 18:30:09 +0000

And I just thought of something else! Once the patient has reached age of informed consent etc a gynecologist and a plastic surgeon will usually operate to reconstruct a vaginal cavity (of course they’re still infertile but can have intercourse with hetero partner now), but it doesn’t sound like she’s had that done yet, because she..uh, “doesn’t have a vagina.” I wonder how they’re planning to have sex.

By: Ennis

Ennis — Fri, 24 Mar 2006 18:29:57 +0000

Dharma starts once you’re married (and the man might well cheat as well). The question is, why would somebody get into an arranged marriage of this sort (if that’s what it is – if it’s a love marriage then that’s different).