If you’ve ever scrolled through Hulu or picked up Margaret Atwood’s 1985 classic at a bookstore, you’ve probably seen the labels. Science fiction. Thriller. Drama. Political manifesto. But if you're trying to pin down exactly what genre is The Handmaid's Tale, you’ll find that the answer is a lot messier than a single sticker on a spine.
Margaret Atwood herself famously fought with the "science fiction" label for decades. She didn’t do it because she looked down on the genre—she’s a fan of Ray Bradbury, after all—but because she felt it didn't quite describe the specific brand of terror she was building in Gilead. To her, science fiction involves things we haven’t invented yet, like warp drives or teleportation. Gilead? Everything in Gilead has already happened. Somewhere. At some point in history.
The Speculative Fiction Argument
Atwood prefers the term speculative fiction. This is the big one. It’s the category that most scholars and die-hard fans land on when they’re debating what genre is The Handmaid's Tale.
Speculative fiction acts as a giant umbrella. It covers everything that isn't strictly "realist" fiction. But specifically for Offred’s story, it refers to a "what if" scenario based on existing social trends rather than imaginary technology. There are no aliens. No one is traveling through time. Instead, the story takes the current political climate, the history of the 17th-century New England Puritans, and the rise of various extremist regimes, then pushes them to a logical—and horrifying—extreme.
Honestly, the distinction matters because of how the book (and the show) makes you feel. When you watch a movie about a robot uprising, there’s a level of detachment. You know we don't have sentient AI yet. But when you see the Handmaids marching in lines, it feels like a memory. That's because Atwood famously had a rule while writing: she wouldn't include any event or technology that hadn't already occurred in human history. The "Particicution" scenes? Based on historical accounts of mob justice. The red robes? Inspired by the restrictive clothing requirements in various historical theocracies.
Dystopian Literature and the Political Warning
You can't talk about Gilead without calling it a dystopia. It sits right on the shelf next to 1984 and Brave New World.
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A dystopia is basically the opposite of a utopia. It’s a "bad place." But it's more specific than just a setting where life sucks. A true dystopia usually involves a high degree of state control and the stripping away of individual identity. In The Handmaid's Tale, names are literally taken away. You are "Of-Glen" or "Of-Fred." You are a utility.
What makes this particular dystopia stand out is that it’s a theocratic dystopia. Most 20th-century dystopian novels focused on "Big Brother" style communism or hyper-consumerist capitalism. Atwood pivoted. She looked at the religious right in America during the 1980s and wondered what would happen if a group used a fertility crisis to justify a return to Old Testament-style law. It’s a political thriller, sure, but it’s one where the "thrills" come from the slow, agonizing erosion of civil rights.
It's about power. Who has it? Who loses it? How do they get you to give it up? Usually, it's one small step at a time. A bank account frozen here. A law changed there. Suddenly, you’re wearing a bonnet and you can’t read a book.
Is It Feminist Fiction?
Labels can be tricky. Some people get defensive when you call it "feminist fiction," as if that somehow makes it less universal. But let's be real: it’s the definition of the genre.
The story is told through a strictly female lens. It explores the commodification of women's bodies. It looks at the different ways women interact with power—from the Commanders' Wives who help uphold the system to the Marthas who keep the gears turning in the kitchen. It’s a critique of how society views reproduction.
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However, Atwood has often pushed back on the idea that it’s "pro-woman" in a simplistic way. She shows women being cruel to other women. The Aunts are some of the most terrifying characters because they are the ones enforcing the rules. This complexity is why the genre often gets categorized as literary fiction as well. The prose is dense, poetic, and full of wordplay. It isn't just a "beach read" plot; it’s a study of the human psyche under extreme duress.
The "Scifi" Controversy
So, if you go to a library, why is it in the Science Fiction section?
Basically, the publishing industry uses "Sci-Fi" as a catch-all for anything set in the future. Since the story takes place after a massive environmental collapse and a coup, it fits the technical requirements. Also, the later seasons of the TV show lean harder into the "thriller" and "war drama" aspects, which often overlap with sci-fi tropes.
But if you want to be precise—and we’re being experts here—calling it "soft science fiction" is more accurate. Soft sci-fi focuses on the "soft" sciences: sociology, psychology, and anthropology. It’s less about how the guns work and more about how the society broke.
How to Categorize It Yourself
If you’re trying to explain what genre is The Handmaid's Tale to someone else, use these benchmarks to decide which label fits your conversation:
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- Speculative Fiction: Use this if you want to sound like a literary critic. It emphasizes that the story is a "thought experiment" about our own world.
- Dystopian Fiction: Use this if you’re comparing it to books like Fahrenheit 451. It highlights the oppressive government.
- Political Thriller: This fits the TV show best, especially the middle seasons where the plot focuses on the resistance, Mayday, and international espionage.
- Social Science Fiction: This is for the nerds who want to acknowledge it isn't "hard" sci-fi but recognize its place in the genre’s history.
Why the Genre Matters Right Now
The reason we still care about the genre of this book 40 years later is that it keeps feeling relevant. When we label it "Speculative Fiction," we’re acknowledging that the "speculation" feels uncomfortably close to the nightly news.
The genre serves as a shield. By calling it "fiction," we can talk about the terrifying realities of reproductive rights, environmental collapse, and totalitarianism without it feeling like a direct attack on our current reality. It gives us a sandbox to explore our fears.
Gilead isn't a galaxy far, far away. It’s Cambridge, Massachusetts, just with different flags. That’s the most important takeaway. The genre is cautionary. It’s a warning.
Practical Steps for Fans and Students
To truly understand the DNA of this genre, you should look at the "ancestors" and "descendants" of the story.
- Read the "Historical Notes" at the end of the book. This is the most important part of the novel. It’s a transcript from a fictional academic conference in the year 2195. It completely changes the genre from a memoir to a historical artifact, adding a layer of satire that many people miss.
- Compare it to Children of Men by P.D. James. This is another seminal work of speculative fiction regarding a fertility crisis. It helps you see how different authors handle the same "speculative" prompt.
- Watch the 1990 film version. It’s a very different take and leans more into the "erotic thriller" vibes that were popular in cinema at the time, showing how genre can be manipulated by the medium.
- Look up "Atwood's Rules." Research her interviews where she discusses why she refused to invent any new horrors. It will change the way you view the "science fiction" label forever.