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vaekay's review against another edition
reflective
medium-paced
3.75
I struggle sometimes to review older material such as Bad Feminist (10 years later) because oftentimes it loses relevancy. Many essays in this book have lost all relevancy or are on popular cultural artifacts that have been discussed to shit by now (i.e. The Help and Orange is the New Black). It isn't a crime to be dated or to discuss the then-and-now with no concern for how relevant it will be 10 years from now, but I want to warn other readers that much of it is outdated. Many essays were good and interesting; some essays were extremely hypocritical and irritating due to what felt like an elementary level of self-reflection and understanding as well as comfortability with her voice as an essay writer. Gay's implications that reveling in more traditionally feminine things like pink, materialism, weddings, and — I guess — sucking dick means you're not a feminist (or at least not a good one) was weird. That implication was probably the least feminist thing about Bad Feminist because in her moment of self-doubt and projection, she tore down other women. It felt weird and uncomfortable... and not the sort of discomfort that is well-meaning in its ability to challenge you. Unfortunately, the first and last essays are the worst ones in the text, which seems like an interesting choice to hook readers and leave them fulfilled by the ending.
That said, I want to read more of Gay's more recent work to see how her voice and ideas have grown and changed in the last 10 years.
That said, I want to read more of Gay's more recent work to see how her voice and ideas have grown and changed in the last 10 years.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Outing, Sexism, Sexual harassment, Toxic relationship, Xenophobia, Fatphobia, Police brutality, Slavery, Pregnancy, Racial slurs, Rape, Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Dysphoria, Hate crime, Miscarriage, Pedophilia, Sexual violence, Violence, Medical content, Bullying, Eating disorder, Misogyny, Body shaming, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Racism, and Sexual assault
Moderate: Abortion and Homophobia
Minor: Ableism, Drug use, Genocide, Religious bigotry, Drug abuse, and Islamophobia
lauradoesnothing's review against another edition
fast-paced
2.0
HOUSEKEEPING: Since Gay doesn't believe in content warnings, I should advise that the essay starting with 5 pages of squeeing over The Hunger Games does handbrake turn into a graphic SA story after page 6. Reader beware.
The next time I start reading a collection of feminist essays, please take the book out of my hands and slap me in the face with it. It's the only way I'll learn.
This book is fine, but if you've read one book about feminism, you've read this one: abortion and contraceptive rights are essential, pop culture is fun but problematic, rape jokes aren't funny, body image issues, sexual assault story, and that's a bingo! Gay is Haitian American, and I was excited to see what she had to say about race that might expand my perspective, but I didn't learn anything from this book.
The shining moments come when Gay lovingly describes books she's particularly fond of, a bit like when you go to a friend's birthday party and meet someone new you really hit it off with - so much so that a decade down the line, neither of you remember whose party it was.
The next time I start reading a collection of feminist essays, please take the book out of my hands and slap me in the face with it. It's the only way I'll learn.
This book is fine, but if you've read one book about feminism, you've read this one: abortion and contraceptive rights are essential, pop culture is fun but problematic, rape jokes aren't funny, body image issues, sexual assault story, and that's a bingo! Gay is Haitian American, and I was excited to see what she had to say about race that might expand my perspective, but I didn't learn anything from this book.
The shining moments come when Gay lovingly describes books she's particularly fond of, a bit like when you go to a friend's birthday party and meet someone new you really hit it off with - so much so that a decade down the line, neither of you remember whose party it was.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape
cmsmith's review against another edition
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
This was the text I badly needed when I started reading it 10 years ago, and needed permission to be myself and pursue a more equitable outlook at the same time. Because Gay addressed such timely topics when the work was published, some of it is a little dated as a current read, but there I still think there are important positions to consider and admire.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape
smkoontz's review
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racial slurs, Misogyny, Racism, Sexual assault, and Rape
Minor: Bullying
neni's review against another edition
dark
informative
reflective
slow-paced
3.0
Good writing but themes were inconsistent and often irrelevant to the feminist cause (there were quite a few book and movie reviews that just didn't fit). Giving it 3 stars because there were definitely a couple of really powerful, well worded essays, but I struggled to finish the rest
Content Warnings
Graphic: Xenophobia, Violence, Sexual assault, Sexism, Rape, Sexual harassment, and Sexual violence
larajgriff1's review against another edition
challenging
funny
hopeful
informative
reflective
slow-paced
3.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence and Rape
dreareads_'s review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
3.25
Reading this book made me feel like a Bad Feminist because I did not love it...
I will begin by saying that there are plenty of essays to love, and Roxane Gay is at times a very engaging author. Her writing is at its best when she is clearly passionate about the topic and unrestrained in her opinions.
That being said, I feel like this book is a clear product of its time. The discussions on feminisn, gender, and representation in media were examples of the liberal feminism that was rampant in the early 2010's. This is not necessarily a bad thing (the essays were written at that time) but it does make it more difficult to fully engage with it in 2024. I also had my own frustration with her takes on academia, because while I agree with majority of her criticisms, as a woman of color in Academia myself I found that some of her stances perpetuated a kind of toxic expectation on students of colors that is prevalent amongst academic of colors from older generations. I was also left wishing for a more in depth exploration on the significant role of class and wealth and discussions of representation.
I still believe this is a book worth while reading. Especially because despite of it being a product of the 2012's a lot of the discussions on misogyny are still unfortunately too relevant today. I look forward to reading more of her contemporary work and seeing how (and if) her perspective has evolved in the years since the release of Bad Feminist.
(Idk how relevant this is, but I listened to the audio book and I was disappointed that it was not narrated by her. It created a sense of disconnection between the written essays and the audience that I hadn't experienced before)
I will begin by saying that there are plenty of essays to love, and Roxane Gay is at times a very engaging author. Her writing is at its best when she is clearly passionate about the topic and unrestrained in her opinions.
That being said, I feel like this book is a clear product of its time. The discussions on feminisn, gender, and representation in media were examples of the liberal feminism that was rampant in the early 2010's. This is not necessarily a bad thing (the essays were written at that time) but it does make it more difficult to fully engage with it in 2024. I also had my own frustration with her takes on academia, because while I agree with majority of her criticisms, as a woman of color in Academia myself I found that some of her stances perpetuated a kind of toxic expectation on students of colors that is prevalent amongst academic of colors from older generations. I was also left wishing for a more in depth exploration on the significant role of class and wealth and discussions of representation.
I still believe this is a book worth while reading. Especially because despite of it being a product of the 2012's a lot of the discussions on misogyny are still unfortunately too relevant today. I look forward to reading more of her contemporary work and seeing how (and if) her perspective has evolved in the years since the release of Bad Feminist.
(Idk how relevant this is, but I listened to the audio book and I was disappointed that it was not narrated by her. It created a sense of disconnection between the written essays and the audience that I hadn't experienced before)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol, Bullying, Abortion, Racism, Death, Child abuse, Grief, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Sexism, Rape, Cursing, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Hate crime, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual assault, and Misogyny
liviburke1's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
4.5
This is an incredible collection of essays on current events and what it means to be a feminist in this day and age. Would highly recommend to anyone who is aiming to be a more intersectional feminist.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Physical abuse and Rape
music_teacher's review against another edition
informative
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
I enjoyed it and learned a lot from her perspective despite its being 10 years old. I’m glad I read it and will look for more of her work.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Rape and Racism
maryhungerford's review against another edition
emotional
funny
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Rape and Abortion