A review by libvin96
Bad Feminist by Roxane Gay

5.0

Wow, wow, wow this book was amazing. The cultural phenomena Gay comments on took me back to the newsreels I witnessed throughout high school - the outrage over "Blurred Lines", Amy Winehouse's death, Fifty Shades booming in popularity, the Boston Marathon bombing, the 2011 terrorist attack on Norway, the murder of Trayvon Martin, the ubiquitousness of the word "feminist" and who was a good one versus a bad one, etc. - and addresses them sharply, tactfully, and illustriously. It was really interesting in summer 2019 to read these essays that were published as this book back in 2014, before Trump's campaign, before even more mass shootings / terrorist attacks and instances of police brutality, before more instances of racism, sexism, and the justice system failing survivors of sexual assault came into being - and to try and imagine how Gay's words would apply to today. I loved how direct and sincere the author was throughout. I encourage everyone to read this one.