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drakken's review against another edition
4.0
This is the second book Iâve read that Roxane has been involved in - the first being the brilliant (and often-agonizing) Not That Bad, which she edited - and Iâm pleased to say I thoroughly enjoyed it. I appreciate the thoughtful way in which Roxane approaches complex issues and the time she has for nuance where it would be easy to be reactionary. I also respect her self-awareness and her honesty; as she acknowledges in a short piece at the end, her actual day to day behavior doesnât always comport with her theoretical positions on things and the notions of who she âshouldâ be as a feminist, and sheâs learned to be ok with that.
As with most collections, there were some essays that felt particularly resonant or essential and others that left less of an impression - and the style did felt a bit âwanderyâ at times, likely owing to the fact most (?) of these were originally blog posts rather than more academic essays - but I was fine with the overall consistency of quality, and it was rare that a large number of pages went by without new lines or sections getting underlined.
Roxane has become a favorite of mine in recent years; looking forward to reading more of her work.
As with most collections, there were some essays that felt particularly resonant or essential and others that left less of an impression - and the style did felt a bit âwanderyâ at times, likely owing to the fact most (?) of these were originally blog posts rather than more academic essays - but I was fine with the overall consistency of quality, and it was rare that a large number of pages went by without new lines or sections getting underlined.
Roxane has become a favorite of mine in recent years; looking forward to reading more of her work.
emeraldgarnet's review against another edition
2.0
A bit of a misleading title that I suspect was chosen to maximise sales as many of the essays have little to nothing to do with feminism.
In reading this book, it became obvious that I am not the target market. Essays on pop culture from decades past (e.g. Sweet Valley High) and someone else's nostalgia have little interest to me and I think that people who grew up around the same time and in a similar place to Gay would get the most out of this book.
The book succeeds as a work of cultural criticism but it is not the gender studies tome that its marketing suggests.
In reading this book, it became obvious that I am not the target market. Essays on pop culture from decades past (e.g. Sweet Valley High) and someone else's nostalgia have little interest to me and I think that people who grew up around the same time and in a similar place to Gay would get the most out of this book.
The book succeeds as a work of cultural criticism but it is not the gender studies tome that its marketing suggests.
bookwormmelissa's review against another edition
4.0
I loved this at points but did not agree with everything. Most of it was excellent.
brisingr's review against another edition
3.0
A lot of the essays sadly went over my head because I was not familiar with the media discussed, but Gay's writing style is really powerful. As with any collections, there were hit and misses, but overall a good read.
I'd rather be a bad feminist than no feminist at all.
I'd rather be a bad feminist than no feminist at all.
frankenkat's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
funny
informative
reflective
medium-paced
4.5
vexyspice's review against another edition
4.0
I enjoyed the short stories. I generally like her snarky/ first person writing. Only thing i didnt like is that for some stories i wanted MORE but she never gave it.
gracefullypunk's review against another edition
4.0
Probably would've been 5 stars if I weren't so pop-culture clueless - I just didn't have references for many subjects in some of the essays. But I like her style and believe Gay's voice an important one. Plus, the idea that we can be feminists but often be bad at it is so necessary to hear.
aswarmofbees's review against another edition
funny
informative
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
4.0