A Couple Brilliantly Cosplayed The Handmaid's Tale for Halloween
This beautifully, eerie Handmaid’s Tale Halloween cosplay and pregnancy announcement has angered quite a few people on the internet.
Leah Hampton and Marquis Wimberly decided to announce their pregnancy with a creative cosplay of Hulu’s adaptation of Handmaid’s Tale. Unfortunately, their choice of costume was met with a lot of negative attention from people on Facebook.
Hampton posted the photos on her personal page, which someone then shared. The photos quickly made the rounds on the internet sparking outrage from women. While some comments seemed to stem from concern, other comments were downright rude, accusing the couple of being “tacky and distasteful” and “misunderstanding” the premise of the show. One person even went so far as to share the national domestic abuse hotline.
Yikes on several fucking bikes. My cringes are cringing. I'm just going to leave the domestic abuse hotline number right here just in case you're a victim. 1−800−799−7233
“The Handmaid's Tale is a Hulu original thriller series based on Margaret Atwood’s 1985 dystopian novel of the same name.” It’s set in the very near future, where an extremist Christian group takes over the United States and replaces the government with a totalitarian, theonomy called The Republic of Gilead.
The Handmaid’s Tale won an Emmy for Outstanding Period/Fantasy Costumes for a Series, Limited Series or Movie in 2017 and has been nominated for the same category in 2018 and 2019. The show’s symbolism is one of the aspects that draws people in, takes their breath away, and really makes people’s heads spin. Part of the symbolism includes the carefully selected costumes.
Hampton, unmoved by the harassment on her Facebook page issued this statement:
Some people have been so viscerally moved by the Handmaid’s Tale that our photoshoot has upset their sensitivities. They care so deeply and passionately about women that they have resorted to harassing a pregnant woman on Facebook.
Folks, we are UNMOVED.
We hope you continue to enjoy our Halloween/Baby Announcement photos and our take on the the fictitious television show, the Handmaid’s Tale. Not everyone will like or agree with our theme. We don’t give a f**k. ♥️
Blessed Day! We are happy to announce that I am carrying the precious fruit, arriving February 2020. HAPPY HALLOWEEN! 🎃👻🍭
The photographer issued a statement saying that she had never seen the show and apologizes to anyone who was offended.
While joking about rape and sexual assault is never okay, this cosplay didn’t seem to be about poking fun at rape or sexual assault. It seemed to be about something else—great costumes. What’s also not okay is harassing people. And let’s be honest about something: Leah and Marquis’s costumes would make Handmaid’s Tale designer Ane Crabtree proud.
Opinion: We have people who dress up as serial killers every year. Last year and this year seemed to favor the child-terrorizing clown IT. People, understandably are upset by The Handmaid’s Tale photoshoot because of the very real dangers of rape and sexual assault that women face day in and day out. The Handmaid’s Tale, though fiction, was inspired by real events. And, with recent legislation that police women’s bodies, and more bills waiting to be passed, it feels as if the United States is one step closer to becoming Gilead.
Yet, I’m able to separate a couple dressing up as characters from a tv show for Halloween from the tragedy that the show portrays. What do you think about this particular costume choice? I wonder why she dressed up as a handmaid and not a commander’s wife.
