Bad Feminist - by Roxane Gay (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

Now available in hardcover for the first time, Roxane Gay's New York Times bestselling debut collection of essays spanning politics, criticism, and feminism--a modern classic from one of the most prominent voices of her generation

"Pink is my favorite color. I used to say my favorite color was black to be cool, but it is pink--all shades of pink. If I have an accessory, it is probably pink. I read Vogue, and I'm not doing it ironically, though it might seem that way. I once live-tweeted the September issue."

In these funny and insightful essays, Roxane Gay takes us through the journey of her evolution as a woman (Sweet Valley High) of color (The Help) while also taking readers on a ride through culture of the last few years (Girls, Django in Chains) and commenting on the state of feminism today (abortion, Chris Brown). The portrait that emerges is not only one of an incredibly insightful woman continually growing to understand herself and our society, but also one of our culture.

Bad Feminist is a sharp, funny, and spot-on look at the ways in which the culture we consume becomes who we are, and an inspiring call-to-arms of all the ways we still need to do better.

"Roxane Gay is the brilliant girl-next-door: your best friend and your sharpest critic. . . . She is by turns provocative, chilling, hilarious; she is also required reading."--People

Review Quotes

"A strikingly fresh cultural critic." - Ron Charles, Washington Post
"Gay writes with probing intelligence about pop-culture topics from the morality of Tyler Perry to how much the Sweet Valley High books mattered to her." - Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
"Roxane Gay is the brilliant girl-next-door: your best friend and your sharpest critic. . . . She is by turns provocative, chilling, hilarious; she is also required reading." - Time Magazine
"Roxane Gay is so great at weaving the intimate and personal with what is most bewildering and upsetting at this moment in culture. She is always looking, always thinking, always passionate, always careful, always right there." - Sheila Heti, author of How Should a Person Be?
"With prodigious bravery and eviscerating humor, Roxane Gay takes on culture and politics in Bad Feminist--and gets it right, time and time again. We should all be lucky enough to be such a bad feminist." - Ayelet Waldman, author of Love and Treasure and Bad Mother
"Roxane Gay's Bad Feminist hardly needs more praise, but no other book speaks more eloquently, or more directly, about today's most crucial issues. . . . Gay's essays are intimate and accessible, but broad in scope and deep in insight." - Celeste Ng, "Writers' favorite books of 2014," San Francisco Gate
"If you're in the mood to read wonderful, thought-provoking essays that feel like they're written by your best friend, check out Bad Feminist. . . . Gay puts you at ease as she shakes the foundations of what you believe." - Buzzfeed, Sami Main, "28 Best Books by Women in 2014"
"Gay, who has become one of our most provocative essayists, leaves nothing off the table in her debut collection . . . Taken in whole, Bad Feminist is a brave affirmation of selfhood: I am a woman, this is my story, and there is power in its telling." - Gawker, "The Best Books to Give This Holiday Season: A Bookseller's Guide"
"[Gay is] hilarious. But she also confronts more difficult issues of race, sexual assault, body image, and the immigrant experience. She makes herself vulnerable and it's refreshing." - Tanvi Misra, Atlantic, "The Best Book I Read This Year"
"Roxane Gay's ability to write so clearly about complex issues is truly impressive. Her essays about feminism, race, and class are hilarious, moving, and yes, educational, but never in a way that feels tired or boring." - Cosmopolitan, "28 Life-Changing Books Every Woman Should Read"
"The book is powerful, and its winsomeness is due entirely to Gay's fearless, inclusive and accessible prose." - Shelf Awareness, Best Books of the Year
"Roxane Gay offers an unique (and often biting) perspective on pop culture." - Miami Herald
"Gay offers a complex and multifarious feminism to answer the movement's ongoing PR issues, its flaws and its failures. . . . Bad Feminist surveys culture and politics from the perspective of one of the most astute critics writing today." - Boston Review
"Rip-roaringly funny and insightful essays." - PureWow.com
"Incisive, self-aware, risky, and often funny, the author's writing is reminiscent of Nora Ephron's 1975 collection of feminist essays, Crazy Salad. . . . Gay possesses a distinct perspective and singular voice." - Library Journal
"[A] touching and crucial essay collection. . . . If you're interested in critical thinking about culture, this book is a must." - Newsweek
"Trailblazing." - Salon