can remember pain, once it’s over? All that remains of it is a shadow, not in the mind even, in the flesh. Pain marks you, but too deep to see. Out of sight, out of mind.”  Engaging in a gender based analysis of how women are treated in Gilead is interesting on a couple of levels. The first is that such an analysis reflects the very purpose of dystopian literature because it provides "fresh perspectives" on the "problematic social and political practices" of gender equity.  The issue of women's rights and ownership of reproductive rights is of critical importance in Gilead.  Yet, it is also a relevant topic in the modern setting.  Atwood's work reminds the reader that one cannot afford to take the issue of women's rights "for granted or considered natural and inevitable."  Another reason why the gender issue proves to be interesting is because it enables the reader to fully grasp the insider/ outsider dynamic in terms of the relationship between men and women.  

Examining the role of gender in Orwell's 1984 is a bit more intricate because the silencing of voice is not necessarily gender driven in Oceania.  Big Brother does not target women over men.  The Party seeks to silence any voice of dissent regardless of gender.  At the end of the book when Winston and Julia meet to discuss their betrayal of one another both of them tell the other "I betrayed you."  Gender is not the primary issue that defines insider/ outsider status.  Yet, the issue of women's rights can be seen in specific situations. Similar to Gilead, the Party asserts that sex can only be used for procreation, resulting in a lack of reproductive rights for women.  In both settings, examining the role of gender reveals how government intrusion on the rights of the individual can lead to vitiation of all rights. Echoing the fundamental belief of dystopian literature, the examination of gender issues in 1984  can result in transformative thought regarding "social and political practices."

Examining the presence of gender relations in both works is interesting because it aids the reader in better understanding the appeal of dystopian literature.  It can serve as a looking glass in which readers are able to gain more insight into their own world through the vision presented of "the other."  Gender relations in dystopian literature such as Atwood's and Orwell's helps to achieve the ability to think critically about issues within the individual and the world in which they live.

Two approaches that explore gender and its role in these novels which can be applied very usefully to help understanding of the position of women concern the portrayal of women and in particular how they are treated and judged in these two dystopian novels. Firstly, consider the role of sex. Julia is a character who is judged and condemned because of her attitude to sex, in exactly the same way that Moira is. In two worlds where men try to control sex and make it purely functional rather than based on love and emotion, both Julia and Moira stand out through their determination to enjoy sex and to be sexual beings. Note what Julia says and her thinking why sex is so threatening to Big Brother:

When you make love you're using up energy; and afterwards you feel happy and don't give a damn for anything. They can't bear you to feel like that. They want you to be bursting with energy all the time.

Sex is dangerous to the Party precisely because of the way that it concerns the unpredictable arena of emotions and happiness, which is something that threatens the grip of power that Big Brother has over its citizens. In both texts, Moira and Julia are judged incredibly harshly by society at large because of their sexual appetite. The male-led leadership within society determines the vision of what a perfect woman should be like, and this invariably promotes chastity and monogamy. Any deviation from this norm is greeted with censure and disgrace. Katherine in 1984, Winston's wife, is shown to be a perfect woman in her society because of her attitude towards sex and how she viewed it both as repulsive but also necessary in order to have children.

Secondly, a literary theory concerning gender in these two novels relates to Atwood's own reasons for writing The Handmaid's Tale. Part of her inspiration for writing her dystopian classic was reading 1984 and being left with the desire to explore dystopia from "Julia's perspective." She argued that Julia is reported from a male gaze, and as a result is something of a flat character who displays characteristics that are slightly out of place with her gender. Such an approach argues that Julia is a character who is at heart, deeply selfish, and when push comes to shove, in the Ministry of Love, she betrays Winston and their relationship to avoid pain and to protect herself. She goes as far to say that she didn't "give a damn what he suffered" because she only cared about "myself." Atwood argued that this presentation of Julia fed into stereotypical ideas that men hold about women, and signifies the white, male readership that Orwell anticipated, and indeed his own thoughts and ideas. By contrast, Offred in Atwood's novel is a much more believable and psychologically developed female character, written from a woman's point of view.