Image: MGM Television
Margaret Atwood’s 1985 depiction of America’s toxic future has probably graced your screens once in the last month. If you’re anything like us at the Modibodi office, you’ve been obsessed. The Handmaid’s tale is a horrifying forecast into what the future of the world will hold if women’s rights regress further (or we have an apocalyptic nuclear war, fun stuff!) With the latest news claiming that men’s fertility rates have declined by as much as 60% in the last 40 years, the main themes of the novel don’t seem incredible farfetched.
The Republic of Gilead, a theocratic, dystopian society where women lose their rights; families are torn apart and fertile women are forced into surrogacy is place of terror. To us, at any rate. Radioactive activity has rendered most of the female population as infertile or ‘unwomen’, and has left those who are fertile with their children taken away from them and sent to the Red Centre.
The Handmaid’s are forced to be surrogates for the ruling class of Gilead’s society all whilst being looked down upon for their ability to have conceived a child previously.
The ultra-conservative society seems to be a forecast into the world’s current situation and the rights that are being taken away from women.
The issue of fertility is a pertinent one in our society, with one Chinese woman having to travel over 9,500km to freeze her eggs, as China doesn’t allow unmarried women to do so.
This practice happens in Australia too, the ABC dubbing the movement ‘Social Egg Freezing.’
Simone Campbell from the City Fertility Centre in Brisbane said the best age to start thinking about egg freezing was in your early 30s.
“Unfortunately a lot of the women who come and see me in their late 30s to discuss it — that's not the best time to freeze eggs," Dr Campbell said.
"If we can have people thinking about it earlier, they can at least assess the situation and make an informed decision.
Success rates of conception is under researched, but 20 eggs has a 70% chance of producing a baby.
"It's a mini insurance policy that has no definite pay off at the end,” Dr Campbell said.
Fertility is a hotly debated topic, the issues that have arisen from Atwood’s Handmaid’s tale explore our attitudes towards fertility and infertility and how they affect women. Countries all over the world are reflecting on the practises they allow within their countries.
The right to freedom, to have ownership over your own body and the right to decide what you would like to do, buy and participate in are all freedoms we luckily have in Australia.
Offred, the main character in the Handmaid’s tale has no autonomy or privacy. Her womb and its processes are the news of the entire household as she must ask the house keeper for hygiene products. Everyone ‘knows’ about her failure to conceive. If only she had her Modibodi’s she could have keep it all a secret.
We’re all about empowering women and making you as comfortable as can be. We welcome periods and leaks because we take care of them for you.
At Modibodi, we are modern women with a fearless take on making our “unmentionables” absolutely mentionable. Being in tune with our bodies is what makes us feel comfortable, confident and fiercely ourselves.
It’s something we won’t shy away from because we truly believe that women are undefinable and unstoppable. No matter what her size, shape, sexuality or story, we want to inspire the ladies in our life by opening up the conversations others are too afraid to have.
We believe that periods are precious, that sweat is therapy, and that feeling 100% protected during both is the stuff of dreams. We’re for stronger pelvic floors and leaky life-giving boobs. We’re down with our discharge, even prouder of our pregnancy shows, and you betcha – runaway bladders are welcome here too.
Don’t keep your period a secret, tackle it with style and grace with Modibodi.
