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Bad Feminist by Roxane Gay

27 reviews

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with no concern for how relevant it will be 10 years from now, but I want to warn other readers that much of it is outdated.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.

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dreareads_'s review against another edition

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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)

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maryhungerford's review against another edition

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emotional funny inspiring reflective medium-paced

4.5

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sponberry's review against another edition

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challenging hopeful reflective medium-paced

4.5

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evangelinew's review against another edition

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funny hopeful informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

5.0

I really enjoyed it. Tore through. I don’t agree on everything, and some parts haven’t aged perfectly, but I think that’s alright. She is witty, smart, and admirable. Most of all I found her prose and perspective fascinating. In the best possible way, I see myself in Gay so much in terms of passions and experiences, but rarely in how she sees the world.

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catgibbons's review against another edition

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dark funny informative reflective medium-paced

4.5

Insightful, measured and thorough in her observations, with humour running through the whole book. I just wish I had read it when it had come out 10 years ago as everything she discusses feels so up to date with what was happening when it was written.

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florizona's review against another edition

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informative reflective medium-paced

2.25

This wasn’t really what I expected- rather than a collection of serious essays, it’s more like a series of hastily written, personal POV-driven op-ed columns. Nothing particularly well-considered, heavy-hitting or profound. Just not into it at all, despite enjoying some other writing by the author.

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klathe's review against another edition

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emotional reflective slow-paced

3.5

I would just like to list here some of the essays that I loved from this collection before I state criticisms:

To Scratch, Claw, or Grope Clumsily or Frantically

I loved this one purely for the passion of the game of Scrabble and the witty illustrations of the social dynamics of the game. Well written exploration that invites the reader into a niche world. Made me want to play Scrabble even though I have never played.

The Careless Language of Sexual Violence
What We Hunger For
The Illusion of Safety/The Safety of Illusion

These 3 essays together tackle the topic of sexual violence in our culture and also draw upon Gay's own personal experience of rape. I found these passages to be raw and enraging, and as devastating as any and all stories of unspeakable abuse. I think it did a superb job of showing the reality of the cruelty of these acts, and in a way that completely destroys any attempt at a victim-blame argument. There is no room for question here.

Reaching for Catharsis: Getting Fat Right (or Wrong) and Diana Spechler's Skinny

After reading 'What We Hunger For' I was introduced to what I believe the thesis of Gay's future book, 'Hunger: A Memoir of (My) Body' seeks to explore. Here, in 'Reaching for Catharsis', this topic of body, hunger, fatness, and catharsis is explored in a unique way that makes me very excited to read 'Hunger'. Gay excels as a media and cultural critic in these moments.

Also I will add here a quote that resonates from the essay, The Alienable Rights of Women. Quote:

"I struggle to accept that my body is a legislative matter. The truth of this fact makes it difficult for me to breathe. I don't feel like I have inalienable rights. I don't feel free. I don't feel like my body is my own." (p. 273-4).

Quotes such as the one above, and those essays above that I mentioned, I feel have a timelessness to them that will always be reflective of the plight of misogyny and life under patriarchy. Particularly in the above quote I found myself relating to the sentiment of 'my body is not my own' as a trans person living in the year 2023.

Elsewhere in this collection, however, this timelessness is lost and it so clearly reads as a text of its time (published in 2014). Despite many highlights and particular essays and points of interest I will take with me, I was left wanting more in many of Gay's media critiques and there were some moments where this definitely read as a feminist text born from the Tumblr era, or the feminist blogosphere as she states. I'm not sure yet if this fact on its own makes it good or bad, I found myself likening it to a kind of time capsule for pop culture and pop feminism of the time.

Take from it what you will. I liked this book and I have found a writer that I enjoy in Roxane Gay. I will definitely continue to read her work.

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luce98's review against another edition

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informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

4.5

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leweylibrary's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional funny informative reflective slow-paced

3.75

I feel like a jerk rating this so low because it's Roxane Gay and she's amazing, but I felt like the essays were a little all over the place for me? They were all well written of course and many were powerful, but there was just hat something special, that oomph missing for me I guess.

It is fascinating thinking about how these essays were written almost ten years ago and so many of the issues they deal with are still just as prevalent now. And not in a fun way, in a depressing way.

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