Margaret Atwood, the 79-year-old author of The Handmaid's Tale, has stated she refuses to label herself a 'feminist' because she does not follow a 'doctrine of ideas' of any kind. In an interview with Good Weekend magazine, Atwood emphasised the importance of independent critical thinking, particularly for a novelist.
'I don't think you can be a novelist and have a doctrinaire set of ideas, [it means] you are just going to write propaganda,' she said. Atwood added that it is 'very annoying for some people' when she resists labels that might make her uncomfortable.
The Canadian author explained that there are 'so many different types of feminists' that she refuses to answer the question 'Are you a feminist?' Her comments come ahead of the release of her sequel, The Testaments, set 15 years after the original novel's ending.
Atwood also dismissed comparisons between the United States under President Donald Trump and the fictional dystopia of Gilead. 'We aren't there yet,' she said, adding controversially, 'It could be a lot worse.'
