Reviews tagging 'Violence'

Bad Feminist by Roxane Gay

12 reviews

luce98's review against another edition

informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexism and Racism

Moderate: Abortion, Violence, Slavery, Misogyny, Sexual violence, and Rape

ginimeh's review against another edition

challenging funny informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

2.5

I read Bad Feminist in 2023 after years and years of having it on my reading list. I think this is why I was so disappointed by the book. I only ever knew the title and after coming to terms with the fact that Gay is not writing about being a bad feminist but mainly popculture and the time the book was written I was ready and set to read it in historical context. 
There were a lot of points where I thought "if I read this as a teen back when it was published I'd be able to take so much from it" and some thoughts and sentences are a welcomed gift for the next arguments I'll have with sexists or racists but further than that it didn't give me much. The only thing I really take away from it is that 2014 was still a year when "being feminist" meant to be a woman, to only talk about two genders, to mix up liking a specific color and shaving your legs is the same as supporting being a bad feminist. Honestly the last chapter accomplished to ruin the book for me. 2014 is almost a decade ago but if you write a book about feminism (no matter if it's about your perspective or the lense of media and society) I think one should look at the big scope of privilege and not only brush them while talking about two main points or axes of intersectionality. But maybe I'm putting to much responsibility on the author and thereby proof her point that we expect a lot from feminism. 

Also I read it in German and the translation were horribly stiff sometimes. 

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Hate crime, Murder, Police brutality, Slavery, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Mass/school shootings, Physical abuse, Drug use, Misogyny, Racism, Sexual harassment, Violence, Cultural appropriation, Rape, and Sexual assault

schnanko's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative reflective medium-paced

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Police brutality, Racial slurs, Sexism, Fatphobia, Gun violence, Racism, Abortion, Death, Slavery, Violence, Rape, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, and Sexual harassment

maggieparedesauthor's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

3.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Slavery, Bullying, Domestic abuse, Hate crime, Child death, Racism, Addiction, Injury/Injury detail, Police brutality, Gun violence, Sexual content, Abortion, Alcoholism, Cultural appropriation, Violence, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, and Sexual violence

kianga_black's review

challenging emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Sexism, Sexual harassment, Gun violence, Hate crime, Mass/school shootings, Misogyny, Racism, Violence, Slavery, and Xenophobia

emwgrace's review against another edition

funny hopeful informative fast-paced

3.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Sexual violence, Sexism, Racism, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Hate crime, Misogyny, Slavery, Homophobia, Police brutality, and Violence

Minor: Racial slurs

taviarz's review against another edition

slow-paced

4.0

Good for an intro to media analysis and how it intersects with gender, race, and politics.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Violence, Police brutality, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, Sexism, Gun violence, Racism, Murder, Misogyny, and Death

ericadawson's review

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring relaxing tense

4.25

Roxanne Gay is more forgiving than I am, but these were some eye-opening essays.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism and Rape

Moderate: Violence

Minor: Cursing

laurenleigh's review

dark emotional funny informative fast-paced

4.5

I enjoyed the breadth and complexity of this essay collection. Gay discusses such a wide variety of topics, touching on reality television, pop culture, literary criticism, modern journalism, body autonomy, Black artistry, slave narratives, personal memoir, and what it means to be a woman in today’s world. One common theme throughout these topics was Gay’s ability to uphold opposing views simultaneously. She is able to make a strong, cohesive argument, but she never does so without acknowleding or considering the other side. For example, she can explain how Django Unchained is in many ways a racist movie, but still commend the acting and editing. She can celebrate a feminist text while pointing out its flaws. She can enjoy a catchy song and also condemn its sexism. It’s easy to pick a side and decide that’s the only way. Dualistic thinking comes naturally to us. But to make a strong argument while also exploring the nuances of the issue is much more interesting to me. The book overall made me want to write more! It reminded me of what I used to strive for in my own essay writing back in college. My only struggle with this text was that it started to feel very heavy. These are topics that require discussion for sure, but I should have taken breaks in between the essays. I wonder what it would read like if the lighter essays were more interspersed to break up the heavier ones.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Violence, Sexism, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Racial slurs, Slavery, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Homophobia, and Abortion

emmagreenwood's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted reflective sad tense medium-paced

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Ableism, Biphobia, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Cultural appropriation, Death, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gaslighting, Grief, Hate crime, Gun violence, Homophobia, Lesbophobia, Mass/school shootings, Mental illness, Misogyny, Murder, Pedophilia, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Violence, and Xenophobia