Margaret Atwood has taken to Twitter to defend herself after writing a controversial op-ed in which she wondered if she was a “bad feminist” for questioning the tactics of the #MeToo movement.
In a piece published Saturday in The Globe and Mail, Atwood called #MeToo “a symptom of a broken legal system”.
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The op-ed drew sharp criticism from some observers, who were angered by what they saw as a betrayal of feminist values by an author who has long been interested in examining and questioning power structures that subjugate women.
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She wrote in the piece that women are increasingly using online channels to make accusations of sexual misconduct because the legal system is often ineffective.
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But she expressed misgivings about the movement going too far, writing of the dangers of “vigilante justice” which she said can turn into “a culturally solidified lynch-mob habit.”
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The 78-year-old author of “The Handmaid’s Tale”, who is famously active on Twitter, sent out more than 30 tweets on Sunday morning defending the positions she made in the piece.
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