TOW #16: "Bad Feminist" (IRB)

Roxane Gay continues to unearth a lot of the stereotypes and generalizations that we continue to see in the media without even realizing it. These go beyond just affecting women - although almost every single one can be applied to women - as Gay shows how racial prejudice can affect the way a character is described in a book or the way they are portrayed in movies. Gay uses films, books, and TV shows, recent and not so recent, to explore the way women are depicted in the media and how it affects each one of us.

Her use of evidence connecting directly to books or films is a double-edged sword: it helps make connections clear for readers who are already familiar with the piece, but if a reader has not heard of, read, or seen the item at hand, the connections made are a stretch and can be difficult to understand. Gay tries to circumvent this by explaining each piece of media she talks about in her essays, but at times it can be hard to keep up with new topic after new topic.

In describing reality TV, Gay describes some of the more popular shows - Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, Sister Wives, and Bad Girls Club - and uses their tactics of skewing reality to show how women are manipulated to be perceived in a certain way on these shows, often to their detriment. These connections are powerful, because although it is generally accepted that reality TV is not at all reality, not many people take time to point out the exact flaws that make this form of television so deceitful. Gay also turns this around, showing how this form of 'reality' may actually be realer than we think. She writes, "What may be most terrifying is just how real reality televisaion is, after all...perhaps we watch these shows because...we see, more than anything, the plainest reflections of ourselves, garishly exposed but unfettered" (81). This powerful ending line concludes the essay, but also leaves readers with something to think about long after the essay has been read.

Gay's use of powerful ending lines is something I admire and want to try to continue using in my own writing. She extends the argument, instead of simply repeating what she has said over and over many times throughout each of her essays. I thoroughly enjoyed reading the essays within Bad Feminist and hope to use some of the rhetorical techniques Gay uses in my own writing. I also hope that I can continue being a bad feminist, learning along the way from my mistakes.