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A review by jennu__u
Bad Feminist by Roxane Gay
informative
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
4.0
There's something special about reading a piece of feminist literature almost a decade past its publication. We're able to celebrate small triumphs, like frequency in which we see strong and flawed female characters in entertainment. Like how we hold more people responsible for their actions and their words.
But we can also feel frustration on what hasn't changed. This is the first book I've read involving intersectional feminism - specifically around race. And Gay's arguments are still so extremely current today. While feminism has progressed, I constantly feel like us BIPOC women are still being left behind.
The section that hit the hardest for me was around abortion. This is one of those cases where I don't want to be the one "seeing into the future". Gay celebrates the successful defence of basic abortion rights in America, and I was overcome by the need to protect her and all the women in 2014 from the future we're currently living now. I'm not even American and the overturn of Roe v. Wade felt like a punch in the guts.
Overall, these essays were vulnerable, honest, educational, and incredibly validating. Reading these essays in 2023 only add to their impacts.
But we can also feel frustration on what hasn't changed. This is the first book I've read involving intersectional feminism - specifically around race. And Gay's arguments are still so extremely current today. While feminism has progressed, I constantly feel like us BIPOC women are still being left behind.
The section that hit the hardest for me was around abortion. This is one of those cases where I don't want to be the one "seeing into the future". Gay celebrates the successful defence of basic abortion rights in America, and I was overcome by the need to protect her and all the women in 2014 from the future we're currently living now. I'm not even American and the overturn of Roe v. Wade felt like a punch in the guts.
Overall, these essays were vulnerable, honest, educational, and incredibly validating. Reading these essays in 2023 only add to their impacts.