The Handmaid’s Tale showed a chilling dystopian future for women. Now they’ve finally come out with a version for men. And it’s perfect.
The Handmaid’s Tale just finished its first season and it made a huge splash. Ever since the election, real-world comparisons to the show, which has women lose their rights to an authoritarian government, felt inevitable. Just this week, women dressed up as Handmaids to protest an anti-abortion bill in Ohio.
But what if The Handmaid’s Tale were about men? Would it have the same type of harrowing impact? Well, finally, we have our answer.
Funny Or Die just came out with a new meninist The Handmaids Tale parody called “They Finally Made a Handmaid’s Tale for Men,” which airs on dudehulu. And it is everything.
In this chilling version of the Republic of Gilead, the evil Feminazis have taken over. Now Fred has become Manfred in this terrifying new world. “I was asleep before,” Manfred says in a replication of Offred’s speech. “When they didn’t date us because of feminism, we didn’t wake up. They ruined Ghostbusters, and we didn’t wake up then, either.”
So what’s the world like in the Men’s Rights Activists’ dystopia? While Offred used to work in publishing and is now forced to breed with the Commander, Manfred used to be a Senior VP and now he’s a Senior VP “with some female colleagues.” While the Handmaids can’t read, the Handmen have to see movies with strong female protagonists like Wonder Woman. And they can’t manspread anymore. The horror.
(Warning: the video contains some NSFW language.)
“Better always means worse for some,” Manfred’s Commander says, copying Offred’s Commander. “But usually that doesn’t apply to straight, white men,” a baffled Manfred replies.
Luckily, there’s a resistance on 4Chan and Reddit. And Manfred intends to survive this harsh new reality.
And the reviews from men’s rights activists have been flowing in. They love it! Finally, they’re included in The Handmaid’s Tale. “A harrowing look at our future,” National Coalition Of Men writes. “If you’re a Men’s Rights Activist, you’ll be shaken to your strong, masculine core,” ReturnOfKings.com adds. “Finally, a show for men,” TheRedPill aptly says.
This pitch-perfect parody shows just how ridiculous the men’s rights movement, which has been a backlash to feminism, is. Men’s rights activists claim that men don’t have more power or privilege than women and that feminism has taken things too far and now they’re the ones who face gender-based discrimination.
According to A Voice for Men, the men’s rights activists’ mission is “to provide education and encouragement to men and boys; to lift them above the din of misandry, to reject the unhealthy demands of gynocentrism in all its forms, and to promote their mental, physical and financial well-being without compromise or apology.”
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But this hilarious The Handmaid’s Tale parody provides a sharp counterpoint.