From the Bookshelf of 2015 Reading Challenge [Closed]…

Bad Feminist

Roxane Gay

Finish date: January 28, 2015

Discussion: . Week 9: Female Author

Why we're reading this: Because the author is a woman.
[close] Because the author is a woman.

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. Week 9: Female Author

* Week 9: Introduction
By Jessica · 11 posts · 207 views

last updated Mar 02, 2015 12:01AM

* Week 9: Progress Post
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last updated Oct 27, 2015 04:32AM

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What Members Thought

Aug 07, 2014 Stephanie rated it it was amazing

Shelves: feminism, non-fiction

My review from Stories with Stephanie:

I wish everyone would read this book. I’d quote the whole thing at you if I could—I practically did over at my tumblr. Reading these essays was like sitting down with my best friend and having casual but heartfelt discussions about the problematic nature of pop culture and politics, or like delving into a series of the best blog posts ever written about feminism and entertainment.

But I don’t want to put Gay on a “Feminist Pedestal,” a position she intentiona My review from Stories with Stephanie:

I wish everyone would read this book. I’d quote the whole thing at you if I could—I practically did over at my tumblr. Reading these essays was like sitting down with my best friend and having casual but heartfelt discussions about the problematic nature of pop culture and politics, or like delving into a series of the best blog posts ever written about feminism and entertainment.

But I don’t want to put Gay on a “Feminist Pedestal,” a position she intentionally tries to avoid by preemptively labelling herself as a bad feminist: “People who are placed on pedestals are expected to pose, perfectly. Then they get knocked off when they fuck it up. I regularly fuck it up. Consider me already knocked off.”

Regardless, Gay has a lot to say—about more than just feminism—and she says it well. In 38 essays about gender, sexuality, race, politics, entertainment, and her own life, Gay covers topics ranging from Scrabble to The Hunger Games to Chris Brown to The Help. She’s unapologetically candid in sharing her thoughts and experiences, even when it comes to opinions that might not be popular with all her readers (the chapter on trigger warnings comes to mind).

I’m sometimes nervous about reading nonfiction essays because I worry they’ll be tediously academic or filled with technical jargon, but the beautiful thing about Bad Feminist is that it’s so accessible. I hate to use such a cliché word, but it fits here. A lot of feminist texts might be daunting or turn readers off because they address the complex history of feminism and issues of sex and gender in such dry, scholarly language. That’s not to say those writers aren’t doing important work, but Gay shares her knowledge and experience in a way that turns a feminist text into an intimate reflection and conversation that anyone can join.

Part of the reason I loved Bad Feminist so much is because Gay puts into words everything I’ve felt about sexism in media and politics (see the chapters on 50 Shades of Gray, rape jokes, Chris Brown, and women’s reproductive rights). And at the same time, she opened my eyes to so many other issues I’d been ignorant to, often because of my privilege; the essays on race and entertainment were especially enlightening.

I only had one issue with Bad Feminist. In her last essay, Gay says she is “failing as a feminist,” and as proof she points to her desire to be taken care of, her affinity for the color pink, her appreciation for music with lyrics that degrade women, and so on. “If I take issue with the unrealistic standards of beauty women are held to, I shouldn’t have a secret fondness for fashion and smooth calves, right?” Wrong. I think this is one of the biggest misconceptions about feminism (and feminists are, admittedly, partly to blame).

It’s OK to shave your legs and like makeup, as long as you’re doing it for yourself and not because the beauty industry tells you you should. It’s OK to like movies or books that are problematic, as long as you understand and acknowledge why they’re problematic. Being a “good feminist” doesn’t mean hating men and babies, being totally independent, and not shaving your legs.

Being a good feminist means advocating for equal rights for men and women, calling out sexism when you see it, and being critical of media that promotes misogyny, rape culture, or domestic violence. In this sense, Roxane Gay is not a bad feminist—in fact, she’s the complete opposite—and I think she knows that. But good or bad, she’s still a feminist, and that’s a wonderful thing to be. ...more

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Dec 28, 2015 Heather Godwin rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: 2016-book-riot-challenge, memoir-biography

"I resisted feminism in my late teens and my twenties because I worried that feminism wouldn’t allow me to be the mess of a woman I knew myself to be. "

I disagree with the author on a lot of points in this book, I also agreed with some very well written essays in here.
The idea that feminism means being radical in your choices as a woman isn't what feminism means to me.
Feminism allows women to be a hot mess, it lets women be women.
It is about wanting equality with men in everything.
that's it. ...more

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Jan 05, 2015 Morgan rated it it was amazing

Shelves: 2016-reads

I have no idea why this took me a month to finish.

There were so many times I yelped with joy but also so many I had to shut up and listen. Thank you for this, Ms. Gay.

"I would rather be a bad feminist than no feminist at all." ...more

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Aug 07, 2014 Hannah Norman rated it really liked it

THANK YOU ROXANE GAY!!!! I have always felt like a "bad feminist" because I like pink and rap music. Thank you for making me feel better!

While I don't agree with all of her points, I truly appreciate her beliefs. Roxanne shows that it is okay not to follow the "norm" when it comes to how one believes or acts. I can't wait to read more of her writing.

...more

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