Yandy's Tale - Rape Victim for Halloween

Yandy, an adult costume company, created a Halloween costume modeled after the dress the enslaved rape victims wear in Hulu's adaption "The Handmaid’s Tale." Twitter and women across the U.S. responded out of rage towards the company. Anyone cool with being a sexy rape victim for Halloween?

Original artwork for Maragert Atwood's novel, "The Handmaid’s Tale."

The color red likes to draw attention. It’s the first scheme you see in a store or on paper. Red can scream at you obnoxiously while you walk into a Target, or it can beckon you to take a crisp bite of a caramelized apple. Sometimes the color red signifies danger, while in other situations it leaks out of a stack of gray tabloids to give you the latest fake news. In Hulu’s adaption of Margaret Atwood’s novel, The Handmaid’s Tale, women are forced into sexual servitude to provide children for barren but wealthy married couples. The law states that a Handmaid must give her body to her Commander in the presence of his Wife to conceive a child. This is done without the Handmaids’ consent and she is used as a commodity to make a life that will be taken away from her. Wearing red is their rule. The modest outfit they cover themselves with displays the monthly blood that follows a failed pregnancy. These Handmaids are reminded every day that their only purpose in this totalitarian government lies within their rare and much-coveted fertility.  

This cruel practice is inspired by Genesis 30:1-3, which states: 

“And when Rachel saw that she bare Jacob no children, Rachel envied her sister, and said unto Jacob, Give me children, or else I die.

And Jacob’s anger was kindled against Rachel, and he said, Am I in God’s stead, who hath withheld from thee fruit of the womb?  

And she said, Behold my maid Bilhah, go in unto her, and she shall bear upon my knees, that I may also have children by her.” 

(Quoted by Atwood in The Handmaid’s Tale pg. 5)

Yandy is an online clothing company that focuses on lingerie, swimsuits, women’s apparel, and adult Halloween costumes. In late 2018, Yandy released a costume based on the outfit that these oppressed, fictional Handmaidens are forced to wear. They called it the, “Brave Red Maiden Costume.” A tall blonde woman models this habit. She extends one long leg as the thin red fabric stops mid-thigh to show off the white fishnets she wears. The red cape covens across her shoulders and billows behind the red mini-dress to show off her collarbone. Finally, the model leans back seductively to draw attention to the soft, white bonnet that creates the illusion of her face cunningly curving down. The bonnets that are worn by fictional Handmaids in Hulu’s adaption serve more of a purpose than a simple head covering. These caps go underneath what looks like a set of white wings that are made to shield the woman’s peripheral view ahead.

The idea Atwood conveys in her novel is “to prevent us from seeing, but also from being seen.” In this particular advertisement, there is no covering. The problem is that Yandy is sexualizing an outfit that is made for rape. CNN carried an article on the costume as it received intense backlash from social media; distinctly Twitter. Alaa Elassar and Nadeem Muaddi from CNN wrote, “An online retailer learned this week that there's nothing sexy about oppressing women.” Twitter was in hysterics; using the phrase, “Sexy Rape Victim” instead of “Brave Red Maiden.” 

Why was this costume so controversial? The show, “The Handmaid’s Tale,” was produced during the heat of the presidential election in 2018. This made it eye-catching as viewers were looking to find media that matched their own political opinions. Margaret Atwood’s novel was already an American classic, but the new adaption on Hulu soon sparked a discussion that would provoke rallies, political advertising, feminist propaganda, and even help shed light onto the #MeToo movement. The costume worn by the fictional Handmaid’s has evolved into a significant symbol for oppression. Actual women will wear it to symbolize their support of abortion rights and the fight against sexual harassment in the workplace. When confronted with the harsh arguments on Twitter, Yandy responded:

"Over the last few hours, it has become obvious that [the costume] is being seen as a symbol of women’s oppression, rather than empowerment. This is unfortunate as it was not our intention on any level. Our initial inspiration to create the piece was through witnessing its use in recent months as a powerful protest image. Given the sincere, heartfelt response, supported by numerous personal stories we’ve received, we are removing the costume from our site."

Although Yandy claims that selling the costume was supposed to be empowering, the blow-back caused them to remove the outfit from their website. Their apology seemed fake. At first, they displayed that they didn’t know what they were selling. After the angry trend on Twitter, Yandy apologized in a way that showed that they were completely aware of their actions. Retail and businesses will often forfeit when they know they’re going to lose. If a product doesn’t work out, they can work with the media to string together an excuse to please their buyers. Yandy keeping their reputation clean is more important to them than releasing clothing that could be beneficial and moving for the public.

The evidence shown by Yandy’s statement and Twitter’s outburst is why an advertisement like this is a problem. It can mislead people into thinking that what these fictional women went through is okay. Even worse, it sexualizes them to appeal to media viewers and creates a false idea of what these women stand for. Atwood’s Handmaids who live in red are forced to assume the role of Bilhah from Genesis. They are not only tainted by their own blood, but other’s as well. The wings they wear carry the same message: you do not have power. When these costumes, comments, and messages are made without thought to what the outfit really stands for, it is an insult to the real women that live in a society where rape, violent sexism, and moral panic is a reality. The costume was taken off Yandy’s website, and woman will still wear the more accurate, original outfit to bring awareness to what it means. Maragert Atwood leaves a quote with her characters to stand with:

Nolite te bastardes carborundorum.

She means, “Don’t let the bastards grind you down.” 