Bad Feminist

The first thing I remember reading by Roxane Gay was “What We Hunger For” on The Rumpus. What I so admire about that essay, and so much else that Gay writes, is the way she complicates a love and devotion for something like The Hunger Games and connects it to something very real and deeply personal. That essay exploded my idea of what a pop culture essay could do, and the rest of the essays in Bad Feminist follow suit. Another highlight in Bad Feminist for me included the essay on women's reproductive rights and access to abortion and contraception. I found myself throughout the essay thinking, “YES!” and then staring angrily into space, mentally ranting in agreement with whatever she was saying. Throughout this book, she says so many things I've thought but never thought to say out loud. She doesn't shy away from sorting through and acknowledging complexity that is so often glossed over and simplified for a lot of folks. I could go on and on about all the things I admire about this book, but I'll stop and just say: please read it all the way through. And then read it again. I know I will.

Unrelated note: I'm glad Goodreads is reminding me that it's taken me over a year to finish this book.