Bad Feminist: Essays ~ Roxane Gay

In these funny and insightful essays, Roxane Gay takes us through the journey of her evolution as a woman (Sweet Valley High) of color (The Help) while also taking readers on a ride through culture of the last few years (Girls, Django in Chains) and commenting on the state of feminism today (abortion, Chris Brown). The portrait that emerges is not only one of an incredibly insightful woman continually growing to understand herself and our society, but also one of our culture.

Book Review:

I picked this book up because I was in the mood to read someone else's feminist perspective, as a feminist myself. I was anticipating a slew of feminist rhetoric, practically a history lesson on different feminist agendas, and kind of a how-to guide to be a better feminist. Now, I wasn't necessarily let down, but I wasn't blown away either. I learned a lot about myself, my ideas, and the movement in general. I was able to relate and put words to my feelings in a more coherent way. I really enjoyed much of the essays. 

Those that I found fell flat or weren't necessarily what I was looking for, were the complete and utter breakdowns of multiple bits of pop culture. I didn't necessarily find those interesting nor did I understand the ones that were about books and movies that I hadn't read or seen (the latter is my fault). Also, the bulk of the book dealt with racial issues, not the feminist agenda. Had I been looking for racial developments and ideas, I would probably have loved the book in its entirity. 

I whole-heartedly appreciate how Gay attempted to correlate her two agendas: feminism and racism. It did give an interesting perspective and I rather enjoyed some of those essays; I was just looking for more. Overall though, I really enjoyed the book. 

Pages: 399                                                                                                                          Rate: 3/5

Favorite Quotes:

“I believe feminism is grounded in supporting the choices of women even if we wouldn’t make certain choices for ourselves.” 
― Roxane Gay, Bad Feminist: Essays

“It’s hard to be told to lighten up because if you lighten up any more, you’re going to float the fuck away.” 
― Roxane Gay, Bad Feminist: Essays