Bad Feminist
If you frequent certain corners of the internet, it seemed like Roxane Gay was everywhere this summer. She released her novel An Untamed State
to huge critical acclaim. I saw two different online book clubs devote
their time to reading it as soon as it came out. Shortly thereafter, she
released a collection of essays called Bad Feminist. Both of these books made it on to the New York Times Bestseller list.
I first heard about her because I began reading The Rumpus, where she was a contributing editor, right around the time An Untamed State came out. I hadn't heard about her before, but it wasn't long before I was seeing links to her writing all over the place. Then one of my favorite sites, The Toast, announced that she would be running their first vertical starting in mid-October. I knew that I had to seek out more.
I picked up Bad Feminist because it seemed easier than An Untamed State. The latter is about a women who is kidnapped, assaulted, and raped. It sounds heavy and depressing and I've encountered several people who couldn't finish it. I'll have to work up to it. The former, however, is a collection of essays about feminism and how it intersects with race and sexuality as seen through the lens of popular culture and politics. Heavy to be sure, but the kind of weight I'm used to lifting.
Gay spends a lot of time on cultural critique. She analyzes a variety of books through a feminist lens, from Sweet Valley High to Gone Girl. She uses popular movies, from The Help to Django Unchained to Fruitvale Station to talk about current racial relations. She talks about current popular figures like Daniel Tosh and recent cultural events like the Boston Marathon bombing. A lot of what she discusses is rooted in personal anecdotes, making it feel personal and easy to read.
I really enjoyed this book and found it to be a pretty quick read. It probably helped that I found myself agreeing with Gay about a lot of things. We share a very similar basis for our feminism - that it's all about a woman's right to make her own choices and live her life the way she wants to - but realize how complicated that gets when put into practice. It can be so hard to be constantly vigilant when it comes to feminism, not to mention exhausting. And given that no one is perfect, there are times when you have to just let it go. It's okay to dance to that sexist song or enjoy a book written by a terrible person, or to eat chicken from a demonstrably evil company every now and then just because it tastes good. If we didn't, we'd never be able to enjoy anything at all.
I first heard about her because I began reading The Rumpus, where she was a contributing editor, right around the time An Untamed State came out. I hadn't heard about her before, but it wasn't long before I was seeing links to her writing all over the place. Then one of my favorite sites, The Toast, announced that she would be running their first vertical starting in mid-October. I knew that I had to seek out more.
I picked up Bad Feminist because it seemed easier than An Untamed State. The latter is about a women who is kidnapped, assaulted, and raped. It sounds heavy and depressing and I've encountered several people who couldn't finish it. I'll have to work up to it. The former, however, is a collection of essays about feminism and how it intersects with race and sexuality as seen through the lens of popular culture and politics. Heavy to be sure, but the kind of weight I'm used to lifting.
Gay spends a lot of time on cultural critique. She analyzes a variety of books through a feminist lens, from Sweet Valley High to Gone Girl. She uses popular movies, from The Help to Django Unchained to Fruitvale Station to talk about current racial relations. She talks about current popular figures like Daniel Tosh and recent cultural events like the Boston Marathon bombing. A lot of what she discusses is rooted in personal anecdotes, making it feel personal and easy to read.
I really enjoyed this book and found it to be a pretty quick read. It probably helped that I found myself agreeing with Gay about a lot of things. We share a very similar basis for our feminism - that it's all about a woman's right to make her own choices and live her life the way she wants to - but realize how complicated that gets when put into practice. It can be so hard to be constantly vigilant when it comes to feminism, not to mention exhausting. And given that no one is perfect, there are times when you have to just let it go. It's okay to dance to that sexist song or enjoy a book written by a terrible person, or to eat chicken from a demonstrably evil company every now and then just because it tastes good. If we didn't, we'd never be able to enjoy anything at all.
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