Exploitation Of Women In Brave New World

Brave New “Men’s” World

Aldous Huxley’s novel Brave New World paints a dystopic vision in which the government exercises control over women’s bodies and reproductive rights. Women are denied any form of freedom over their own bodies, as demonstrated by the quote, “There was no escape from the servitude of their own bodies” (Huxley 5). This authoritarian system forces women to accept their predetermined station in life and threatens them with the idea of being removed or banished if they defy it. The government is able to manipulate the population through a strict procedure of sleep-teaching and “hypnopaedic” conditioning, which reinforces gender roles and shuts down any hint of rebellion. Huxley further emphasizes the lack of freedom women

The government's control over their reproductive rights is painfully clear; of the two-thirds of women unable to have kids, the majority are required to use contraceptives, and ovaries are removed surgically. This dystopian lack of freedom is further emphasized by Huxley's profound quote "words can be like X-rays, if you use them properly – they’ll go through anything. You read and you’re pierced". It shortly shows the control over sexual mores and reproductive rights that suffocates women's ability to have control over their bodies. In a brave world, the ability to freely make choices about their own bodies is a fundamental, essential right that shouldn't be debated or taken from them. As stated by the Center for Reproductive Rights "Simply put, reproductive freedom lies at the heart of the promise of human dignity, self-determination, and equality" and should be defended and respected

This lack of power among women is a dangerous consequence of the backwards views on gender present during Huxley’s time period, and it still influences the present day. In Aldous Huxley's Brave New World, the backward ideas of gender, particularly concerning women, are highlighted in order to emphasize the need for female control of their own reproductive rights. Through themes of dehumanization, constraint, and anti-feminism, the novel serves as a powerful reminder of the limitations imposed on women in controlling their own bodies. For example, medicine has been used to reduce women to nothing more than objects of reproduction. Furthermore, reproductive rights are women’s rights, and access to legal and safe abortions is a human right that must be protected. Thus, Brave New World shows both the challenges and importance of striving for a better future in which female reproductive rights are protected and