Wing Young Huie East 46th St & South 2nd Avenue, Minneapolis, MN 2012
Everyday when I drive down Capital, I see them. Everybody does. The panhandlers. We try not to make eye contact with them because if we can't see them, they must not exist right? This photograph depicts a panhandler. Nothing special, nothing unique. Complete with a cardboard sign.
However, this person's story is a tad different. The cardboard sign doesn't say 'Hungry Please Help Godbless'. This sign says:
Embarrassed
but
Hopelessly Desperate
Please Help...
Left Bad Relationship
Usually panhandling is enough to become an 'other', but now she is also a victim of an abusive relationships. Two not so pleasant topics. Two reasons for becoming an outcast. It's no question we treat people who are homeless or begging different then everybody else.
This idea is illustrated in a YouTube video called 'The Real Homeless Man Experiment' by QuietAssasins.
This video connects Wing Young Huie's photograph and idea to The Handmaid's Tale very clearly. In The Handmaid's Tale, the different 'castes' can be identified by their clothing. The red habit and wings identify the handmaids from the rest of the population. The use of clothing as a tool for segregation is considerably exaggerated in Gilead, however there are parallels. People gave extra to the man wearing a business suit without a thought. When they saw the homeless man, they avoided eye contact and didn't say a word. This stems from the stereotypes associated with each appearance.
Atwood's use of clothing as a marker is nothing new. Now, I'm not saying that people trust everyone who wears a business suit and mistrust everyone who looks homeless or unkempt, but there is a distinct correlation. The stereotyping of people who look a certain way (whether they are wearing a red habit or clothes that haven't been washed in days) creates divides in our society. It allows us to dehumanize people.
