Huie vs. Atwood

Taken from the website: http://photos.wingyounghuie.com/p709406511/h79df8012#h74051bc3

 I have chosen a photo that I thought really stood out.  The photo was taken by Wing Young Huie from his collection called "We are the Other" taken between the years 2012-2013, and is published on Wing Young Huie's website.  In this picture I see two people, a boy and a girl, standing in what seems to be the inside of a gas station.  They both are wearing red and have on hats while standing in the middle of an isle holding a chalk board that contains a statement.  At first glance the guy could possibly be stereotyped as uneducated. This could be due to the color and type of clothing he is wearing along with the fact that he is a guy.  Nothing in particular about the girl stands out except that she has long messy hair.  What really has an affect on the opinion of the picture is what it is said on the chalk boards.  The guys chalk board says, "People think I'm in a gang, I'm in college."  While the girls says, "1. Pull up your pants. 2. Stay out of the wrong place. 3. Be more careful."  The guy is trying to express that based on his appearance he is judged, while the girl's message is saying, "Yes, people judging you is inevitable.  If you fix a few things and watch out people might not get a bad impression."

I think the message is very strong and relevant here.  That message is this: People are going to judge you at first glance, yes judging is wrong but can't be helped.  If you want people to look at you differently you have to do something about it. There's no way you can change a habit that has existed for a long time and is unfortunately something that humans do without thinking about it.  This relates to Atwood's work The Handmaid's Tale because the entire book is about judging.  Everyone is judging the handmaids.  The wives, the Commanders, the Marthas, are all making opinions about the handmaids.  The societies and therefore culture between this picture and in the book are different, but the concept is the same.  These people are being judged before the other person knows anything about them.  The cultural difference comes in when you look at the fact that the people in the picture are not told what to wear. They can wear what ever they please.  While the handmaids are told what to wear and do. Yet both groups are being judged.  Having opinions about different groups of people creates distinctions which eventually creates othering. Othering is alienating people or groups of people, and both of these examples are being alienated.  The difference is that the people in the picture are conscious of what they are portraying themselves, or have a way that they could change it, while in the book, the handmaids are being forced to be different.