Podcast: Books, MeToo & Margaret Atwood

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BOOKS, CULTURE, and my opinion on major events that impact women. The “Between the Sheets” podcast is new for 2018.Let’s talk books.Let’s talk Margaret Atwood and MeToo when she wrote “Am I a bad feminist?” The #MeToo moment is a symptom of a broken legal system. All too frequently, women and other sexual-abuse complainants couldn’t get a fair hearing through institutions – including corporate structures – so they used a new tool: the internet. Stars fell from the skies. This has been very effective, and has been seen as a massive wake-up call. But what next? The legal system can be fixed, or our society could dispose of it. Institutions, corporations and workplaces can houseclean, or they can expect more stars to fall, and also a lot of asteroids. – Margaret AtwoodUm… No.Great Britain’s Spiked stuck up for Atwood.I’m detecting a massive chasm with what young American women experience today and what it looks like from Margaret Atwood’s vaunted station, but also what the British are saying.What does a literary elite like Ms. Atwood know about being a 20-something woman in America? Maybe it’s an American feminist issue? Consider the uproar over one woman’s date with Aziz Ansari that went viral when it appeared on Babe. Katie Way attacked Ashleigh Banfield when she took issue with the piece. But when HLN invited Way on to discuss the issue this is what she wrote:It’s an unequivocal no from me. The way your colleague Ashleigh (?), someone I’m certain no one under the age of 45 has ever heard of, by the way, ripped into my source directly was one of the lowest, most despicable things I’ve ever seen in my entire life. Shame on her. Shame on HLN. Ashleigh could have “talked” to me. She could have “talked” to my editor or my publication. But instead, she targeted a 23-year-old woman in one of the most vulnerable moments of her life, someone she’s never f—ing met before, for a little attention. I hope the ratings were worth it! I hope the ~500 RTs on the single news write-up made that burgundy lipstick bad highlights second-wave feminist has-been feel really relevant for a little while. She DISGUSTS me, and I hope when she has more distance from the moment she has enough of a conscience left to feel remotely ashamed — doubt it, but still. Must be nice to piggyback off of the fact that another woman was brave enough to speak up and add another dimension to the societal conversation about sexual assault. Grace wouldn’t know how that feels, because she struck out into this alone, because she’s the bravest person I’ve ever met. I would NEVER go on your network. I would never even watch your network. No woman my age would ever watch your network. I will remember this for the rest of my career — I’m 22 and so far, not too shabby! And I will laugh the day you fold. If you could let Ashleigh know I said this, and that she is no-holds-barred the reason, it’d be a real treat for me.Thanks,
KatieAs I explain in the podcast, #MeToo was coined years ago but it only gained momentum in 2017. Let’s talk about what happens when powerful feminists like Atwood, or Banfield, make public judgments against young women.Are Atwood, and Banfield, doing to “Grace” and the women of #MeToo what men have been doing for over 2 centuries in America?Something is very wrong here and it’s not the first time feminism is getting the blame.

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