Margaret Atwood fans furious as she shares op ed lamenting gender neutrality

The latest headlines from our reporters across the US sent straight to your inbox each weekday Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} Margaret Atwood has angered many of her Twitter followers by reposting an article titled Why can’t we say “woman” anymore?’ The opinion piece, written by Toronto Star columnist Rosie DiManno, joined the debate around the use of gender-neutral terminology, and argued that the word ‘woman’ was becoming unacceptable. “‘Woman’ is in danger of becoming a dirty word … struck from the lexicon of officialdom, eradicated from medical vocabulary and expunged from conversation” she wrote, continuing: “It shouldn’t leave well-meaning people tongue-tied, lest they be attacked as transphobic or otherwise insensitive to the increasingly complex constructs of gender. ‘Woman’ shouldn’t be one of them.” Ms Atwood shared the article, prompting furious discussion about the views put forward in the piece. Meanwhile, other Twitter users supported the article’s views and congratulated Ms Atwood for sharing them, comparing the writer to JK Rowling, whose views on transgender issues sparked heated controversy last year.