Bestselling author Marian Keyes has said it is an “utter outrage” that a “rapist” is in the White House.
The novelist was back in her native Limerick on Thursday evening to address a UL Creative Writing Festival, where she was in conversation with fellow author Joseph O’Connor. During the event, she answered questions from both the audience and creative writing students.
In addition to questions about her creative writing process and the books she grew up with, some audience members were also interested to hear her thoughts on current affairs and the patriarchy.
When asked how things compare now to what they were like in the 80s for women, she said: “ I think we're at this kind of really weird turn in the tide at the moment, and I think we're not going to dwell on this too much because it is so depressing.
“I think what’s going on in the USA, I mean to have a convicted rapist in the White House, what does that say? What does that say about how we value women?
“It’s an utter outrage. It's beyond belief, and I don't think things were better in the 80s. You can say about your grandfather being prone to rights for women, but it wasn't reflected in the laws, and the laws of the land have to be, women have to be equal.”
The author noted that in today’s climate, “we have to be” careful.
“The whole kind of deification of Andrew Tate. That anger from men, the whole incel business. I think we have to be very, very, very careful,” she added.
She also mentioned comments made by Nigel Farage, who called for debate on restricting abortion rights in the UK.
“That spanner Nigel Farage,” she started before laughter erupted in the crowd.
“He said abortion laws are far too lenient in this country. Basically he was getting a load of money from the American religious right. And he was gearing up for, and basically he was told to sit down and shut up, which is great to see. But we have to be vigilant.”
She noted that while she does not think “things are worse now”, they could “quickly become so”.
“People are being arrested for having miscarriages in the United States. This his real. This is happening right now. We’re all aware of it. Women are going to prison, women have had miscarriages, so we can't take anything for granted,” she said.
She was also asked about her thoughts on men being celebrated for themes and topics female authors, like herself, have been writing about for years.
“I used to get really frustrated, but now I don’t. I mean, we live in a patriarchy. This is how it is. Anything a woman does is going to get less value put on it by an identical thing done by a man. I mean, that is simply how it is, and it doesn't matter,” she said.
The novelist said it was “all connected” and that some women were mocked for writing about domestic violence 10 years ago.
“Then a man does it and he's like, ‘Well done, the brave, blah, blah, blah', that is exactly on the same spectrum that sees so few convictions for rape. We see such a tiny amount of people whose cases even get to a trial.
“They’re all connected. It's one long spectrum and we are all affected. And it bothers me for that reason. If you just withhold respect from women for anything, it trickles right down the way it affects all of us.
“That's what is so wrong and it's so frustrating. In a big old way, rather than me personally, I really feel at this stage, I feel so grateful for the life I have and that I have still been allowed to continue writing after all these years."
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