Guy Mansplains 'The Handmaid's Tale' to Margaret Atwood on Election Day — Again

Unfortunately, even the most successful women aren't immune to the mansplainers of the world — in fact, they're the ones who are probably subjected to it most often. Just ask Margaret Atwood, the award-winning novelist of The Handmaid's Tale, who has her book mansplained to her all the time.

The novel depicts a totalitarian, patriarchal society known as Gilead in which women are viewed as property of the state. Of course, it has a lot to say about the American politics of today ... even if mansplainers try to say otherwise.

It's especially rife during an election season, and on Nov. 5, 2024, Margaret attracted a whole new gaggle of audacious keyboard warriors when she posted a political cartoon invoking imagery from her popular novel-turned-TV show.

Let's take a look.

On her X (formerly Twitter) account, Margaret posted a political cartoon that depicted a line of women wearing the iconic red cloaks and white bonnets of The Handmaid's Tale. As the women entered the voting booth, they became free from their oppressive garb and exited wearing normal, 21st-century clothing.

It's a strong political statement, but if you've followed Margaret for quite some time — or read any of her work, one could argue — it should come as no surprise. However, many right-leaning men seem to have taken issue with the statement, and some have even gone the route of mansplaining her own literature to her.

One of the worst offenders, an X user by the name of FacesOutOfContext, said, "The author of that book used Islam, not Christianity, [as] a model for her imaginary world. This is obviously true, as it resembles Islamic culture and law, not Christian."

Of course, FacesOutOfContext didn't seem to realize that the author he was referencing was also the very person to whom he was sending his ill-informed post.

Another mansplainer wrote, "Uh … not sure this cartoon says what you think it does."

In response, he has been absolutely roasted by women on the platform: "This is the best thing I've seen since the time that guy mansplained The Stand to Stephen King. Good luck being a joke for the rest of eternity, dude. Double down nice and deep."

Sadly, it's not Margaret's first rodeo with mansplainers on social media. In fact, it's been happening for years.

On Reddit, where the screenshot of one of the mansplaining X posts was shared, fans of the author lament the frequency of this occurrence.

"Again!? This happened last election, too. So many men rush to her tweets to correct her; it’s hilarious and awful," a Reddit user said.

For her part, Margaret has largely been able to ignore the uneducated criticisms and mansplaining, continuing to use her platform to promote awareness on issues that she's passionate about, like abortion access and women's rights.