‘Handsmaid’s Tale’ protesters greet Pence in Philly

Vice President Pence was greeted in Philadelphia on Monday by dozens of women dressed in the style of “The Handmaids Tale.” 

Pence is hosting a Monday night fundraiser for Pennsylvania GOP Senate candidate Rep. Lou Barletta.

Protesters gathered outside in silence, wearing red cloaks and white hoods in a nod to the Margaret Atwood novel and current dystopian Hulu television show, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported.

The Handmaids are in formation pic.twitter.com/Glwy8YAEVS

— claudia irizarry aponte (@clauirizarry) July 23, 2018

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— claudia irizarry aponte (@clauirizarry) July 23, 2018

Crowds are coming up Broad street from City Hall pic.twitter.com/YPDpOWWt9S

— claudia irizarry aponte (@clauirizarry) July 23, 2018

Dozens of women organized for months to sew the costumes prior to Pence’s visit to protest what they described as his anti-women and anti-LGBT stances, organizer Samantha Goldman said.

The costumes have become a visual representation of modern day women’s rights, she said.

“We just felt that the visual of the ‘Handmaid’s Tale’ costumes, a society in which women in Gilead are stripped of their most basic rights and their humanity, was appropriate,” Goldman said.

The protest was organized by Goldman’s group, Refuse Fascism, with Philadelphia’s chapter of the National Organization for Women and the Delaware County chapter of NOW.

The registration page for the protest calls Pence “one of the most dangerous reactionary figures in modern history.”

Atwood said earlier this year that the United States has “Gilead-like symptoms going on,” referencing the society portrayed in the story.

“We’re not living in Gilead yet, but there are Gilead-like symptoms going on,” the Canadian best-selling writer said, pointing to attacks on press freedom, sexual harassment and an attempt to roll back reproductive rights.