Bad Feminist Roxane Gay Analysis

Culture often thrives off of polar opposites—hot and cold, bitter and sweet, male and female. By setting up these opposing constructs, one can easily find a set definition for each. A hot surface could scorch someone or a cold temperature could cause them to shiver. In the same way, a bitter substance would be less enjoyable to eat than a sweet one. These terms are often defined by mentioning their antitheses. Because it’s comfortable to embrace specificity and certainty, topics such as gender and gender expression often get simplified into binary existences—however, they don’t quite operate under the same parameters. In an essay entitled “Bad Feminist”, Dr. Roxane Gay explores and warns against the dangers of binary thinking. Throughout

To admit or to label oneself as a feminist is to accept a whirlwind of judgment from those around you. It is without a doubt that the word “Feminism” or “Feminist” turns heads, and not necessarily for the right reasons. Many have resorted to mocking, disagreeing, and/or hating Feminism without even having a good grasp of what it is. The stigmas that feminists face are that they are radical, extremist, liberal, lesbians who hate men, refuse to shave and enjoy burning bras (Lee).Conversely, feminists are principally advocates for social justice and equality as well as aim for the establishment of equally divided power between the sexes. It is obvious that many are unaware of and uneducated on the misogynistic injustices plaguing our world and the toxic environment we all live in- both women and men. Feminism is a positive concept that works to eliminate injustices between both sexes and to establish the value of women, thus should be treated as such a concept instead of being a forbidden idea.

In the book, The Help by Kathryn Stockett, the main theme throughout the book is racial prejudice. The book is about a privileged 22 year old girl whose name was Skeeter. She dream was to become a writer so she began to write stories of black maids working in white family homes. All her life she has been told what to believe in and what to think about certain things, but while writing these stories she realized she was able to think for herself. Skeeter was different from the other white girls. She kind of became an outcast among her friends and her community because of the rules she was breaking. Skeeter only wanted to become a writer, but she hoped that the book she wrote would make people understand that there is not much of a

Roxane Gay, author of the article entitled “Bad Feminist”, is a very accomplished American feminist writer. Her publication of “Bad Feminist” in 2012 gained national public attention (1). Feminism, as defined in the dictionary, is “the advocacy of women's rights on the basis of the equality of the sexes” (2), but Gay explains throughout her article that being a feminist is not just as simple as agreeing with this need for gender equality. The feminist label is too narrow and because of this the feminist movement is breaking apart. In this piece, Gay addresses how our society currently defines feminism and explains why this definition does not encompass everybody that it should.

The movie's success depends on using dated stereotypes: "angry black woman," "thuggish black man," and "innocent" white women. White men,

Because of this, there is controversy as to where Gay stands and whom she is criticizing. Gay initially distances herself from the feminist movement and even cringes when someone refers to her as a feminist (2). However, she later states that, “If I am, indeed, a feminist, I am a rather bad one” (6). She ultimately reveals that she is a bad feminist and she “would rather be a bad feminist than no feminist at all” (10). Here we can see how Gay’s stance has evolved throughout the article from shying away, to maybe, to definitely yes. This is because of the transformation of the definition of feminist that Gay identifies with.

Kate Nash once said, “Feminism is not a dirty word. It does not mean you hate men. It does not mean you hate

What does it mean to be a Feminist? Does it automatically mean you hate men or does it mean you're an activist for women's rights? Contrary to popular belief, feminism is not about establishing a superior gender. It is about fighting for equality and destroying the social, cultural and historical norms set upon women throughout the world. The Twenty-first century has brought change and growth to female empowerment. Although, in many parts of the world women are given the same rights as men, they are still treated and viewed inferior to men. G.I. Jane perfectly illustrates the struggle women have gone through, even when given “identical” opportunities as men.

The summer of 2015, I went on a deaf camp titled T.I. Deaf Camp. Short for Teen Insitue Deaf Camp. Now because i’m hard of hearing but I stand out as a deaf person, friends came naturally, almost as if you was the hottest thing in Cosmo magazine. In other words myself and others was noticed instantly. Now also I realized that we had some kids who was only partially deaf (not full deaf) and they had hearing aids on and everything but also they didn’t know American Sign Language, it was so different and weird to work with them and during special events such as team basketball, volleyball or even during scavenger hunts etc. Both kids who could sign and couldn’t were very distance from each other. I didn’t know the answer to this conflict, so myself

In the essay, “Bad Feminist,” by english professor and novelist, Roxane Gay, examines the “myth” of “essential feminism,”which means that there are right and wrong ways to being a feminist. Through her own personal experiences as a feminist, she argues the expectations, and labeling due to cultural stereotypes for not living up to feminist ideals. She claims that there is no certain way to being a feminist. Throughout her essay, Roxanne does an astonishing job at appealing to her audience with strong, emotional context by going into detail with her own thoughts are about feminism. Also, her references such as, popular magazines,

For decades, African Americans have experienced and overcame many obstacles. Dana Stevens and Malcolm X demonstrate different obstacles that African Americans have had to face in the past. Malcolm X’s narrative, “Literacy Behind Bars”, and Dana Stevens’s evaluation of The Help titled “A Feel-Good Movie That Feels Kind of Icky” display many different qualities, but also reveal the same objective in their pieces. Dana Stevens’s evaluation assesses how one character from The Help turns the movie from racist to feel-good. The movie

I am not a feminist simply because I was raised in a feminist household. I am not a feminist because I am an independent, educated woman. I am not a feminist because I am a bitter female, nor because I am a “woman scorned.” I am not a feminist because I hate men, nor because I am a lesbian nor because I like to listen to the Indigo Girls. To the contrary I love men and I am not a lesbian. While I agree with hooks that “feminism is a movement to end sexism, sexist exploitation, and oppression” (viii), I believe that her definition of “feminism” states the goals of the movement rather than actually defining the term itself. In my mind, feminism is a synonym for equality. I am a feminist

For decades, African Americans have experienced and overcame many obstacles. Dana Stevens and Malcolm X demonstrate different obstacles that African Americans have had to face in the past. Malcolm X’s narrative, “Literacy Behind Bars”, and Dana Stevens’s evaluation of The Help titled “A Feel-Good Movie That Feels Kind of Icky” display many different qualities, but also reveal the same objective in their pieces. Dana Stevens’s evaluation assess how one character from The Help turns the movie from racist to feel-good. The movie The Help tells the story of African American women who have to overcome many obstacles with the different occupations the endure. Similarly, Malcolm X fosters a positive mood throughout his narrative as Dana Stevens does

Imagine someone, like myself, being shunned by her own peers in school simply by acting a little different. I was labeled as weird, annoying, and a whiner. The way that I approach with others may not be the most appropriate way to gain some friends. The way I act when I am cheerful, down, or irritated may also be different and the fact that I would leave class for speech therapy a few times a week may not be as normal as I thought it was. However, I did show some intelligence in class, especially math while struggling in Language Arts. Over the years, I manage to grew out most of my speech problems but retain my own unique personality and behavior. Eventually, I made some friends in my high school years and even graduated with honors from

The other kids started laughing because I could not read fluently. This experience lead to me having problems talking to large groups of people. The other kids mocked me, and most of them refused to play with me. My math teacher realized that I was afraid when was asked to explain a question to my classmates. She talked with my parents and advised them to take me to a counselor so that I could stop having that problem. The counselor really helped me and after some sessions, I could talk to a group of people with ease. The counselor told me that many kids have the problem of reading and writing when they are young, but the problems end with