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‘Handmaid’s Tale’ Author Slammed Over Gender Tweet

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Margaret Atwood shared another writer’s op-ed that asked, “Why can’t we say woman any more?”

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Margaret Atwood, the celebrated author of feminist dystopian novel The Handmaid’s Tale, angered some of her fans this week when she tweeted out an op-ed by another writer titled, “Why can’t we say ‘woman’ anymore?” While Atwood did not post a comment about the Toronto Star column, her followers saw her tweet as an endorsement of the message, which argued against gender-neutral language. Replies ranged from “Welp, that’s an unfollow,” to claims that she was being transphobic to mocking comments like, “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 did not back down, later tweeting that the op-ed author, Rosie DiManno, is “not a terf,” the acronym for trans-exclusionary radical feminist.

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