How misogynistic is Panem and is Katniss treated to any misogynistic treatment by Snow and Coin?(and others in her life)
(Sorry this ask came in back in March and I’m only posting it now, I’ve had a lot of thoughts on it but wanted to get them all in order before responding)
I was actually thinking about this yesterday-I think that there are some hints of remnants of a patriarchal structure in Panem, and especially in the Capitol. The most obvious being the fact that surnames are patrilineal, and it seems like Merchant businesses might pass down through the sons (I can’t for the life of me remember where I got that idea and am too lazy to check) but besides that there is a LOT more evidence in my opinion.
It’s noteworthy that in The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, Coriolanus is the one who went to school and not Tigris, he was the one the Snow family put all their hopes for a better future on, despite Tigris being older by three years. There is also a lot of focus on the Snow family name, and absolutely no connection to the heritage of his or Tigris’ mothers, which I find interesting.
Also, in Ballad, I definitely think Lucy Gray is a victim of misogyny, especially by Billy Taupe and Coryo based on the way they speak about her and treat her, Coryo with his deep rooted possessiveness and both with their slut-shaming of her. They have a conversation at the Covey’s house (though I don’t remember what page this is on) that I think contains the most evidence for this (Billy Taupe verbally attacks her in it, and LG tries to explain herself to Coryo afterward. It’s the same chapter where Sejanus meets Billy Taupe)
There’s also 1 line in Sunrise where Haymitch says to Sid that when he dies in the Games, Sid will be ‘the man of the house’ and have more responsibility, which I find very strange considering he is ten years old and his mother is a grown, working woman perfectly capable of taking care of both of them on her own. The fact that the phrase ‘man of the house’ has carried over in Panem from the old world is pretty indicative of remnants of some fort of patriarchal structure in my opinion.
But about the main trilogy:
We also know that in the Capitol, at the time of the main trilogy, fathers still walk their daughters down the aisle for their weddings (as mentioned by Effie asking Haymitch if he’ll do it for Katniss in her father’s place) which is an inherently patriarchal tradition, and even if it’s still fairly commonplace now, the roots of it are quite literally about the handing of property over from one man to another (since women were not legally considered people for large parts of European and Western history due to coverture laws). There are also the beauty standards of a fully shaved body, makeup, thinness and even body modifications starting at a young age, including breast augmentation, as we know from the end of the first book, which many argue are deeply misogynistic standards of beauty, which I agree with. This tied with some of the information we get in the Prequels definitely has implications of misogyny to me.
Something else noteworthy to me is how a lot of people say Snow hates the Covey (specifically Covey women, viewing them as manipulative) but I think he just hates women in general, which I think you can tell based off the first chapter alone with how he thinks about Tigris selling her body. Especially since his only ‘hatred’ of the Covey is expressed through his hatred of the women within it.
I don’t have a lot of thoughts about sexist treatment of Katniss specifically throughout the main trilogy, except for perhaps the way both Snow and Coin view her as just ‘using’ Peeta based on their conversations (remember Coin suggesting they position Gale as her new lover since Peeta was taken?), which is a deeply strange view to have considering she has saved his life (at the risk of her own) multiple times, and I can only explain that view point through (you guessed it) more misogyny.
If you want more thoughts on gender dynamics and misogyny within the Hunger Games, you should definitely check out ‘Deborah the Explorer’s video on YouTube about how President Snow used the women around him here: https://youtu.be/OONtp8TBizo?si=JzNKKHn4C13r5mDY
And also @sadieillustrates video in gender dynamics here: https://youtu.be/aDkqGa1uKao?si=dqkhW3RZlZKMbj7D
