Me Too a wake-up call, not the solution: Margaret Atwood

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Press Trust of India Toronto
Last Updated : Feb 02 2018 | 1:30 PM IST
Author Margaret Atwood, whose "Handmaid's Tale" is at the centre of the cultural debate surrounding women's rights, believes #metoo is symptom of something bigger.
In a piece for the Wealth Simple, Atwood said the movement was a result of a rot in the structural support for women.
"#metoo is a symptom of something bigger. The same way having a temperature when you're sick is a symptom. When you have a temperature, you think, there's something wrong with me. What shall I do? That's what #metoo is. It's a wake-up call, not the solution. Structural support for women was allowed to lapse. We were told all we had to do was wear more Chanel and smile a lot and lean in," she said.
Her 1985 novel "Handmaid's Tale", a dystopian story where women have no rights and are reduced to a womb, has been successfully adapted into Hulu series.
The author is happy that people are talking about the book but she finds it saddening that it is still so relevant.
"I'm glad people are talking about The Handmaid's Tale again. Every election, there's a surge in book sales.
"But I would like to live in a society where people are not saying, 'Oh my god, this is where this is going to happen.' I would prefer this not to be happening. It's like that sign that someone was holding up during the Women's March. 'I can't believe I'm still holding up this fing sign.

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First Published: Feb 02 2018 | 1:30 PM IST

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