From the Bookshelf of The Reading Challenge Group…

Bad Feminist

Roxane Gay

Start date: November 1, 2015

Finish date: November 30, 2015

Discussion: Group Read Archive 2014-16

Why we're reading this: Nonfiction Group Read (Travel/Food/Essays) - Nov 2015
[close] Nonfiction Group Read (Travel/Food/Essays) - Nov 2015

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Group Read Archive 2014-16

Genre Group Read (Humour) - December 2016 - You Are Not So Smart
By Allison , Quest Hound · 11 posts · 30 views

last updated Dec 28, 2016 04:05PM

Alternate Group Read (Classics) - December 2016 - Mansfield Park
By Allison , Quest Hound · 5 posts · 18 views

last updated Dec 04, 2016 09:34AM

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What Members Thought

Jul 30, 2014 rachel rated it it was amazing

Shelves: 2015

There is no one in the world that I don't know but want to be friends with more than Roxane Gay. Her middleground of bad feminism is very similar to my own; I guiltily turn up "Blurred Lines" every time it comes on the radio, but I also support NOVA and think Wendy Davis is a hero and those are where my active heart really lies. For me personally, this collection of incisive essays helped illuminate the ways in which The Help is not as harmless as I presumed it to be, Daniel Tosh's humor is ...more

10 likes · Like · see review

Oct 16, 2014 Literary Ames rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: read-in-2015, kindle, feminism, non-fiction, bought-in-2014, favourites, memoirs, interracial-multicultural, priority-high

Bad Feminist is an anthology of witty and confessional essays mixing personal experience; opinions on race, politics, media, gender and sexuality; and reviews of books, TV and film - sometimes all in the same essay. Roxane Gay lays out what it is to be a feminist. That there's no such thing as a 'perfect' one. Being human precludes us from perfection. We're complex creatures. We can enjoy something even if we don't agree with the ideas behind them. That's the very definition of cognitive dissona ...more

9 likes · Like · see review

Mar 26, 2018 Wendy rated it really liked it

Shelves: 2018, audiobooks, girls-rock-the-boys

This was a very worthwhile collection of essays, and I'm so glad I finally got around to reading Roxane Gay. Some were funny, some harrowing, most of them pissed me off in a "preaching to the choir" sort of way, and I was pleased to have some of my deeply (and silently) held opinions articulated in such an artful way. My one regret is that I did not have a 100% pop-cultural overlap with the author which prevented me--slightly--from enjoying this collection more. I will definitely be reading more ...more

2 likes · Like · see review

Aug 26, 2018 Sean Harding rated it it was amazing

From self analysis to thoughtful essays on gender and sexuality and issues such as abortion and then to even an essay on Scrabble - this collection covers a wide range of topics but it is brilliant and Gay is an engaging author, who takes you into her world, and even when you may not agree with her, you understand why she believes that way and have empathy towards her viewpoint. A recommended read.

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May 16, 2019 Savi rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: non-fiction, audiobook, feminism, read-in-2019, essays, author-poc, author-female

I want to give this a 3.5 but since goodreads offers no such I'll just round it up.

Roxane Gay's opinions are well thought and it's interesting to listen to her take on modern (mostly American) culture. I sort of assumed all essays would be about feminism but the book critiques pop culture, current affairs, race and other issues as well. I don't agree with everything she says or believes in, but perhaps that has more to do with the fact I'm not American or live in the western world so some of th ...more

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