Book Review: Bad Feminist by Roxane Gay

“I would rather be a bad feminist than no feminist at all.” - Roxane Gay

“Bad Feminist” is an essay collection by Roxane Gay where Gay argues and critiques various aspects of society, whether it be politics and bodily autonomy or Fifty Shades of Grey, Gay is unrestrained in her voice as she speaks on these issues with honesty.

It feels different that I’m currently writing a review for Bad Feminist (book or article) around three or four years after reading it for the first time. Gay’s essays themselves were some of the first nonfiction essays I had read beyond school work, and it was seemingly a revelation that I could twist and formulate my arguments that could play with multiple dimensions. 

Reading Bad Feminist (the essay collection), I wasn’t aware that there was a “good feminist” and “bad feminist” or the nuances of feminism in general. I didn’t even fully understand what feminism was in general and I readily accepted that feminism was something to be embraced. But over the years, as I’ve learned more about the atrocities of police brutality and gun violence, the stigma against advocating for women’s rights, and the underlying but rebuffed nuances behind these social issues, I understood why it was so important and brave for Gay to voice her opinions. Even though Gay’s essays had shaped my underlying views on my perspective, it was hard not to admire the way Gay pulled the reader in with her opinions.

Now, as I reread “Bad Feminist” the essay again and am currently reading Opinions by Gay, I feel that I am looking at both a reflection of myself and Roxane’s Gay’s life. I see her views shift over the decade that she was writing (in her relationships or politics) and I see myself shifting in years that I’ve known her work. There are many parts I understand more clearly, catching on with female writers Egan and Zadie Smith or understanding the importance of discussion and awareness on abortion. With these small details, I reflect that I’ve grown in my own ways, especially with my clear disillusionment of American politics over several years. 

It’s weirdly surprising to see myself change in the words of others, but it is why I truly hope to emulate Gay’s down-to-earth style to better formulate my opinions in a more nuanced way. Now I see Gay’s writing as a hopeful guide for my future writing and development for my own thoughts.