The Irony of Freedom

Despite the active involvement of advocates of feminism for two decades that led to the "rebirth" of feminism in the 1970s, women, today, ironically, are not better off than those who had lived before the rebirth of feminism. First and most importantly, women have gained reproductive and legal rights. Furthermore, they have been more likely to pursue higher education which have resulted them entering trades and professions. However, problem arises here. Women who are more "loaded", "educated", and most importantly, "liberated" are not as free as before. In other words, women can now enjoy freedoms that were unavailable to them in the past, yet they feel more restricted than ever before. Very ironical is it not? Let me explain why this is not ironical but is actually paradoxical.

Before women were granted freedoms in the 1970s, they were free from many of things. Women were restricted in terms of legal rights, progressing to tertiary or quaternary educations, and entering trades. Today, women have freedom in terms of legal rights, educational rights, and trade union rights. Yet, they feel less free because they are preoccupied with appearance/image. They are concerned with bodies, facees, hair and clothes. They value the "surface" more than the "matter" itself. As a result, it causes stress to those women. Eating disorders have been rising exponentially to keep their "hot looks"; comestic surgery has become the rapidest growing medical industry, again, to improve "looks". Here is one example of eating disorders that happen during model contest. Some contestants suffer from anorexia nervosa to keep their minimal wieght. In Korea, many women's lack of confidence in their appearance results in the nation's rate of cosmetic surgery being the highest in the world. Today, the "self" restricts freedom rather than some forces external from the self. (NB: Carl Rogers, one of the humanistic psychologists, once said people are free to do anything or at least have the capacity for individual freedom to do anything if they are fully integrated beings- the gap between their actual selves and ideal selves should be minimised.)

Relating this notion of ironical (or paradoxical- the fact that women does not seem to be more free than before though they gained more freedom from the society) freedom to The Handmaid's Tale, the ironical part is that Offred is not aware whether she is more or less free than before. Completely by the corrupted state, Gilead, and under constant surveillance from the Eyes, she does not fully motivate herself to engage in activities that can change the way the society treats her. Instead, she seems to be motivated by Nick, who at the end of the novel, guides her to the Mayday.