A review by klathe
Bad Feminist by Roxane Gay

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. 
Expand filter menu Content Warnings