Some of the protesters planning to welcome Vice President Mike Pence to Colorado Springs on Friday will be wearing the red robes and white bonnets from the dystopian novel “The Handmaid’s Tale,” which depicts a fundamentalist society that treats women as property, organizers told Colorado Politics.
“It’s our way of making kind of a shocking statement,” said Ryan Barry of Unite Colorado Springs, one of the groups putting together a rally to greet Pence when he shows up to help celebrate the 40th anniversary of Focus on the Family, the conservative Christian organization headquartered in Colorado Springs.
“The Handmaid’s Tale,” a 1985 Margaret Atwood novel, gained renewed attention this spring when it was the basis of a Hulu TV series, inspiring some protesters across the country to don the distinctive garb.
“It’s a way of showing that Focus on the Family and Mike Pence stand for very restrictive, ‘traditional’ gender roles, opposition to choice for women and anti-LGBTQ positions,” Barry said, noting that plenty of the protesters won’t be wearing the “Handmaid’s Tale” outfits. “This is the way they see Focus, this backwards organization that’s promoting stuff that’s far beyond what most of us would consider applicable for modern society.”
Barry said it bothers him that Pence, who has “has made it very clear he is not OK with LGBTQ people,” will be “lending legitimacy” to Focus and its message.