TOW #14: "Bad Feminist" (IRB)

Through reading Bad Feminist, I've learned a lot about several topics: what constitutes 'feminism', how media representation of women affects real-life stereotypes, and even how to master the art of the Scrabble tournament. I've also learned a lot about writing, through the ways author Roxane Gay is able to . Throughout the collection in various essays, Gay provides humorous anecdotes to help familiarize her audience with the subjects she writes about.

Feminism can be a big and scary topic for newcomers, and even those who consider themselves well-versed on the subject. With so many intersections in race, sexuality, class, and identity, it is hard to know where to begin. Gay acknowledges this with her statements in the introduction, alluding to the book's title as she says "I embrace the label of bad feminist because I am human. I am messy. I'm not trying to be an example. I am not trying to be perfect...I am just trying to support what I believe in." This outright statement showing not only Gay's vulnerability but also her drive to keep trying helps let readers know that being a bad feminist isn't really that bad after all.

After this short introduction, Gay jumps right into an anecdotal retelling of her life growing up: from seeing impoverished families in Haiti at seven to her experiences in relationships from nineteen on. From these stories, Gay is able to show just how many different things can intersect to create a unique person: molded from unique privileges and disadvantages, all based on one's life experience. Gay also calls readers out directly, saying, "If you are reading this essay, you have some kind of privilege. It may be hard to hear that, I know, but if you cannot recognize your privilege, you have a lot of work to do." This truth, spoken directly to her audience, lets readers know that feminism is, at times, about recognizing your own privilege based on the many identities you hold.

Bad Feminist is a book about making mistakes and owning up to them, and Gay shows this not only in the title but also in the essays within. She shows her personal failures, and times in her life where she wished she'd spoken up or done a better job of finding her own voice. However, it's not all sob stories. Gay includes stories like these to inspire both herself and readers to do better as a feminist and simply a human being. She shows us that it's okay to make mistakes, and that we, too, can be bad feminists.