Author Roxane Gay on being a 'Bad Feminist'

'Bad Feminist' by Roxane Gay
'Bad Feminist' by Roxane Gay
Book cover courtesy of publisher

Author Roxane Gay is out with a new collection of essays looking at the current state of feminism and how our culture becomes who we are.

Titled "Bad Feminist," Gay explores how her own pop culture choices don't always reflect her stances.

"When I drive to work, I listen to thuggish rap at a very loud volume, even though the lyrics are degrading to women and offend me to my core," she writes. "I am mortified by my music choices."

More from Mother Jones:

'Bad Feminist' reads like an autobiography, segueing from elements of Gay's life--her Nebraska upbringing, her Haitian-American family, her cooking--into smart critiques of everything from reproductive rights to the 'Sweet Valley High' and 'Twilight' books. It's a mix of the somber and the hilarious; Gay aptly quotes both Judith Butler and the Ying Yang Twins. "I am flawed and human," Gay writes. "I am messy." And capital-F feminism could do with a little more messiness.

Gay joins The Daily Circuit to discuss her essays.

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