Jilly Cooper, 81, says men are being ‘diminished’ and ‘everybody is too PC’

‘Queen of the bonkbuster’ Jilly Cooper, 81, says men are being ‘diminished’ and ‘everybody is too PC’ now as she claims success of Fifty Shades of Grey shows women are attracted to a ‘dominant male’

  • Bestselling author Jilly Cooper said women are ‘attracted to a dominant male’  
  • Said Fifty Shades Of Grey books were a hit because they feature a ‘tough man’
  • Previously said her characters ‘would be locked up in prison’ in today’s climate

Jilly Cooper has spoken out about the Me Too movement and the role of men in society and popular fiction

Jilly Cooper has spoken out about the Me Too movement which she says ‘diminishes’ men, but claims women are ‘still attracted to a ‘tough man’.

The bestselling author, famously dubbed ‘the queen of the bonkbuster,’ said ‘everybody is too PC’ now and claims the Fifty Shades Of Grey series of books were a hit because they feature a ‘tough man’.

The 81-year-old, who previously said her male characters ‘would be locked up’ in today’s climate, also said women are ‘secretly attracted by the idea of a dominant male’.

The writer, who is known for racy reads including Riders, Rivals and Polo, spoke out about the role of men in society, and in popular fiction. 

She said: ‘I read it. The thing I love about her (author EL James) is that she has sold 100 million copies and she is published ‘by my publishers so they can afford me!’ 

‘I think because men are being so diminished now, everywhere – Me Too, Me Too, Me Too. I think (protagonist) Christian Grey is whacking away and he’s a dominant male.

‘I think secretly women, although they want to be in the ascendancy, they are quite attracted by the idea of a dominant male… They obviously like a very tough man.’

Last year the writer theorised that her lothario character Rupert Campbell-Black, who features in many of her books and is known for his sexual exploits, ‘would be locked up in prison’ in the current climate. 

Cooper, who was a guest at the Oldie Of The Year awards, also revealed that progress on her new novel, set in the world of football, was not as quick as she would like.

Cooper said: ''I think because men are being so diminished now, everywhere - Me Too, Me Too, Me Too. I think (protagonist) Christian Grey [pictured] is whacking away and he's a dominant male'

Cooper said: ”I think because men are being so diminished now, everywhere – Me Too, Me Too, Me Too. I think (protagonist) Christian Grey [pictured] is whacking away and he’s a dominant male’

‘I’m working on a novel about football. It’s going very, very, very, very, very slowly,’ she said.

‘It’s so difficult. For two years… I have research up to the ceiling and I am just working on the first chapter at the moment, which is shaming.’

She added: ‘It’s a very complicated game. It’s terribly complicated. I am working on it. I know about all these things that they do, corners and things.

‘Riders took me 15 years. I keep saying to myself, “Don’t worry darling, it’s only been two years.”

‘I start (work) at about 10 and I work through until about three, then I go and feed the birds and feed my dog and then I go back to it. I work all the time’

Cooper said that her own books ‘have very dominant characters’. 

She added: ‘There is a very good line in one of the books I wrote, the Pony Club, they are all suing (a man) because he didn’t make a pass at them.

‘Everybody sues everybody for jumping on them but they sue him for not jumping on them because he is so gorgeous.’

 

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