You can never be woke enough.
Beloved feminist author Margaret Atwood, famous for writing “The Handmaid’s Tale,” was blasted online for daring to tweet out an article from someone questioning the use of gender-neutral language. The article, called “Why can’t we say ‘woman’ anymore?” and written by Rosie DiManno, begins by replacing some well-known lyrics about women with some of the various, dehumanizing replacements used by the excessively woke:
“You Make Me Feel Like a Natural Person with a Vagina.”
“Man! I Feel Like a Person who Menstruates”
“Oh, Pretty Person with a Cervix”
The opinion piece argues that inclusion is a worthy goal, but erasing women in the process causes harm.
Atwood simply tweeted out the article, without adding her own comment. This led to a backlash from fans online, The Daily Beast reported, including mocking comments: “Oh no you’re right I just tried to say it and a bunch of non-binary people stormed into my apartment and made me throw out my dresses.”
Atwood tweeted the article on Tuesday and spent time that day responding to those angry at her for sharing it, mostly telling them to actually read the piece before responding. She also at one point said DiManno is “not a terf,” a term that means “trans-exclusionary radical feminist” and has been used to dismiss feminist opinions about transgender issues that don’t align with current woke orthodoxy.
As The Daily Wire has reported, this is not the first time feminists have turned against Atwood for not standing in lock-step with them. In January 2018, Atwood suggested the burgeoning #MeToo movement accept due process, which supporters of the movement decried as anathema to justice. From The Daily Wire:
Earlier this week, Atwood penned an introspective article in the Globe and Mail titled, “Am I a Bad Feminist?” praising the “#MeToo movement for taking down longtime alleged sexual aggressors like Harvey Weinstein, and calling the movement “a massive wake up call” for powerful men who saw themselves as untouchable.
But Atwood went on to criticize #MeToo, claiming that vigilante justice — making claims about harassment and then demanding men be punished without trial, destroying careers and ending families — violated the accepted civilizational norm of affording due process, and turned radical feminists into tyrants.
“If the legal system is bypassed because it is seen as ineffectual, what will take its place? Who will be the new power brokers?” Atwood wrote, likening her support for her colleague as he faced allegations of sexual harassment to standing by the accused during the Salem Witch Trials.
“The public — including me — was left with the impression that this man was a violent serial rapist, and everyone was free to attack him publicly, since under the agreement he had signed, he couldn’t say anything to defend himself,” she added. “A fair-minded person would now withhold judgment as to guilt until the report and the evidence are available for us to see.”
Atwood was accused of “warring against women” for suggesting mobs don’t get to accuse and judge someone without evidence or a chance to defend themselves.