Brave New World is a slightly satirical, speculative fiction, dystopian novel. As it was written during the 1930’s in England, it was written with an inherent set of social prejudices against women. In this dystopia, where everyone's equal and everyone's happy (Huxley 91), everyone shouldn't be. Women who do not have their reproductive organs sterilized in the fetal stages of development (Huxley 13) are drilled over and over and over again on the usage of various contraceptives to prevent pregnancy, limiting freedom and choices. No female characters are Alphas, the highest in society. Every developed female in the novel, which is about two, could be the poster child for the typical woman in the World State. However, the developed male characters, …show more content…
John is desperately in love with Lenina, but wants more than sex and to use her body for pleasure. He wants to respect her, to not just degrade her to a thing, which is what every other man does and what she is happy with. He compares her to women in Shakespearean plays, begging her to let him show his worth. And how does the lovely, virtuous, Lenina respond? With the words: “What a horrible idea!" (Huxley 191) Which she quickly followed up by stripping and trying to kiss him. Lenina can't be blamed though. That's what she's grown up being taught. It's instinct by then. Not for John. John the rebel was appalled, and struck her and called her “Whore! Whore! Impudent strumpet!” (Huxley 194) Not exactly relationship goals. Women in this society are just used to make the men happy. Are we any better? Did you know that women are only paid 80% of what men are, on average? Not because of degree level, either. The World State is no different. No female Alphas are mentioned or portrayed in this novel, while male Alphas are abundant. The highest caste female in the book is Lenina. Lenina has a very good job. In a factory. At an assembly line (Huxley 16). Bernard is an expert in hypnopædia, Helmholtz is a professor, Mustapha Mond is a world controller, and John is a savage and has no job. Men in the society have all the intellectual, professional jobs while the women are stuck in the factories, symbolizing their inequality to the superior men of the society. In Brave New World, women are treated as inferior, unintelligent, pleasure toys