Bad Feminist: Essays

Gay's perspectives and opinions feel authentic and the work is consistently thought-provoking, challenging many social ideas I held. Her work felt utterly relatable while maintaining eloquence. Throughly enjoyed this read.

I enjoyed this book as it raised issues that were new to me. Slavery isn't something that I had thought about although i had seen the film"12 years a slave" and thought that it was horrific.Living in NZ is quite different to living in USA.The gun laws are quite different too.

In essays ranging from the good to the stellar, Gay succeeds most when she makes it personal- and I respected her willingness to lay bare her life and experiences fearlessly. She'd likely argue that she was nearly paralyzed by fear, but "nearly" makes all the difference. Girl don't hold back.
As a white woman, there were interesting insights she offered that I'm not generally exposed to in race and culture. I honestly did not know who Tyler Perry is, but I now know much and more about his movies. There are also quite a few, "well, duh" moments, such as critiquing Daniel Tosh for perpetuating rape culture with his puerile and offensive treatment of the female heckler in his audience. Of course I agree, but it's not exactly earth-shaking. Still, there were enough earth-shaking moments to warrant a 5-star review. I feel like I know her, that we'd bump the gangsta rap while loathing every lyric, and be BFFs.

Truly inclusive collection of essays regarding the author's personal feelings about what it means to be a feminist. Very refreshing after reading all the books out there that claim all feminists should believe in exactly the same creed, regardless of their background.

Roxane Gay's book Bad Feminist was excellent! I felt like I could relate to many of her essays about the love and hate of popular culture, intersection of race, class, gender and how we make sense of society. I appreciated how she articulates that feminism isn't a binary but rather a collection of beliefs and opinions shaped by our unique experiences.

These essays are beautiful and surprising. It made me think about intersectionality in ways I hadn't before. It was wonderful, and it's changed the way I see almost everything. I definitely want to get this for all the women in my life. :)

This was not exactly what I expected, though it was thought provoking. Having read this shortly after the Ferguson and NYC "incidents" happened, as well as being in an interracial relationship, I find the dialogue about race interesting. I don't necessarily agree with all the positions taken by the author in regards to race, gender, sec, etc she does lead you to ponder a different point of view or a combination thereof. Sometimes things just need to be what they were intended and not always picked apart to find any underlying issues. I also found that reading this caused me to have a range of emotions, from anger to joy, in some of the scenarios or examples set forth. It was a rather lengthy read too.

She is hilarious, unapologetically honest, vulnerable, and an incredibly strong women. Laughed out loud, and occasionally shed a tear, but in all she has a great head over her shoulders everyone should read this book.

I really have always enjoyed different takes on the feminist perspective and this is one of the best and most open yet. its less about the agenda and more about Gay as a feminist and her relationships, or at least that's what I got from it. Its also about her personal evolution from a little girl to a woman at times, which I loved reading because it was so vulnerable and horrifying (I mean that in a good way, as I too know how much it sucks to be a young nerdy girl in a sea of cool girls, though I was not a black daughter of immigrants so I could never know her full feelings). In any case, a dramatic, intense, and hilarious read all in one. Loved it.

As an African American college professor, I struggle with the label feminist. I know I am one by the beliefs I hold dearly, but sometimes the word is too limiting. You are so right, Ms Gay!

This book helped me understand why I rejected and loved some movies, stories and ideas even when I could not articulate it. It is a great read because it opens your eyes regarding issues and ideas. It also furthers the notion of why social media is here to stay and newspapers and news shows are too little too late.

Thanks for writing such an interesting and insightful book.

Well-written, funny, thought-provoking. I really enjoyed reading this book. Feminism is a subject that is close to my heart but I often feel like a "Bad Feminist". I could also answer to the term "confused Feminist" because it is so hard to explain or accept that I can fail and flail so frequently in terms of something that is so important. Reading Roxana Gay's words reassured and reaffirmed my beliefs (and somewhat flawed method of living those beliefs) in a way I did not expect.

Had the honor of hearing Roxane speak @ Town Hall recently and she is absolutely brilliant!
This book is a compilation of short essays and it's very nice in the sense that what she writes about you want to take a pause, ingest and ponder and move onto the next. My recently purchased book is already highlighted as there are so many profound/inspiring and thought provoking essays. She also has a TedTalk that is excellent.

Loved the personal essays about her life as a professor in a small Midwest town and Scrabble champ, loved her dissections of pop culture especially books, mostly liked her analyses of current events (sometimes they didn’t have enough of a personal touch or the topic had been done to death), and loved her discussions of race and gender. Loved it.

I thought this was going to be more about Feminism but it leans towards being more about the Author's experiences in her life. It's set in an "essay" format/style. I really enjoyed the author's Ted Talk video so I thought I would love this book. But I haven't picked it back up for over a month.

Short, well written essays on a wide range of topics. Roxanne Gay provides a window into a life experience completely different from my own, but I find that I agree with many to most of her opinions and admire her clear thinking. Many of the essays are very funny, but still convey serious points that are worth thinking about. I have already given this book as a gift and will no doubt do so again.

AMAZING READ. I would often put the book down and feel so emotional yet pensive in everything that R. Gay described. At times I felt like she was in the room having the conversation with me and was frankly a little sad when I couldn't respond or continue to topic. I found that after reading the novel I was so much more aware and proactive on the issues brought forward.

Great book.!