A review by kchulhu
Bad Feminist by Roxane Gay

challenging informative tense fast-paced

4.0

Emotions play a large part in fuelling a writer’s imagination, which later turns into the pieces we read. For Roxane Gay, I assume fury is her major drive.
 
She writes to vent her anger and resentment towards everyday injustice, sexism, racism, and other societal ills. She is angry, but not explosive. Her fury is cold, controlled, and methodical. At least in this book (her Twitter outbursts are a different matter). Perhaps writing 280 characters requires less effort than essays for established publications.
 
The tools of the modern age afford us many privileges, but they also cost us the privilege of time and space and distance to properly think through tragedy, to take a deep breath, to feel, to care.
 
This book is a series of essays covering politics, culture, and social issues. It’s well structured, the arguments are supported by extensive literature, and nicely wrapped with Gay’s sharp observation complete the piece.
 
Her personal anecdotes are fascinating, but her writings on culture are chef-kisses. To be honest, the lines in these pieces are frequently blurred. Gay frequently begins her articles with personal tales before gliding into the main subject—the most recent blockbusters, series, or books. For example, she began her Sweet Valley High Reboot article by reminiscing about her teenage years; spent yearning to be like the twins.
 
And she is merciless. People tend to be more lenient towards others within their group or settle with the bare minimum when things are bad. Let’s see her takes on two of the most lauded movies highlighting racism and injustice towards Black People in the 2010s: The Help (2011) **and 12 Years a Slave (2013).
 
The Help is, in the absence of thinking, a good movie, but it is also an unfairly emotionally manipulative movie.
 
I am worn out by slavery and struggle narratives. I am worn out by broken black bodies and the broken black spirit somehow persevering in the face of overwhelming and impossible circumstance.
 
Understandably, this might stem from the fact that White and Black people experience life differently. What might have been considered a large step for one group is merely the bare minimum for another. And Gay refused to compromise, she wants to see something that raises the bar. I have to agree with her, because it’s the only way for society to move forward.
 
The creme de la creme of this book, though, is the titular Bad Feminist essay –divided into two parts. It resonates with a personal struggle I’ve been having for years. I won’t divulge much, but the gist is:
 
The most significant problem with essential feminism is how it doesn’t allow for the complexities of human experience or individuality. There seems to be little room for multiple or discordant points of view.
 
Though I mostly enjoy her thoughts and perspectives, some of them can be overreaching. Furthermore, angry writings may not be to everyone’s taste, but they do appeal to certain groups. If not, how come the book has nearly 4 stars rating on Goodreads?
 


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