I have started reading a book that was just published that I think may be of interest to some other people on Daily Kos. Is is Bad Feminist: Essays by Roxane Gay. This is what she looks like.
She's black. She's fat. She's bisexual. She is bright, talented and determined to march to the beat of her own drum. I just found out about her from a longish piece on The Guardian that is timed to promote her new book of essays. She has previously published three works of fiction.
Roxane Gay: meet the bad feminist She likes pink, will dance to Blurred Lines, occasionally fakes an orgasm… and worries that the sisterhood would not approve. America's brightest new essayist talks about the dark side of her fierce, funny writing
Gay is 39 now, and over the last 18 years she has published countless pieces of fiction and non-fiction, only to find herself described in recent months as an overnight sensation. This tickles her; she thinks of herself as a shy person, and when you praise her work, a self-conscious hand rises to cover her eyes and smile. She is publishing two books this year – a collection of essays, Bad Feminist, and her first novel, An Untamed State, which the Washington Post described as smart and searing; the Miami Herald praised her "flawless pacing". "Let this be the year of Roxane Gay," Time magazine declared, and so far it is, which appears to be both an exhilarating and exhausting experience.
This article is a combination of an interview with Gay and the story of her rather complex background.
In the introduction to the essays, she writes that she openly embraces the label bad feminist, and does so "because I am flawed and human". For years she felt that as a black woman – particularly one who has, at times, identified as queer – feminism wasn't for her, because the movement "has, historically, been far more invested in improving the lives of heterosexual white women to the detriment of all others". She also worried that feminism didn't allow for natural human messiness. But she supports feminism's aims, wants equal opportunities for men and women, reproductive freedom and affordable healthcare for all, so she came up with the label Bad Feminist, which punctures the need for perfection. Her Bad Feminist essay is a clarion call to bad feminists everywhere – for pluralism, collective effort and mutual respect – and the most persuasive feminist recruitment drive in recent memory.
From the Amazon linked posted above you can use the book preview to read the introduction. I found that her writing style just jumped off the page and grabbed me. She seems to have a highly inclusive view of gender equality that ties together the issues of women and us LGBT folk. There is also a link to her other books which I expect to explore.
I've spent a lot of time exploring things like feminist theory and queer theory. This is one of the most interesting voices that I have heard that speaks to the various people who fall into the cracks of intersextionality. I expect that I will take my time reading the book as I am sure it will give me lots to think about. It is a collection of essays rather then an academic text. I have read enough of it so far to be sure that it is well worth sharing with my friends on Daily Kos.