We put a lot of responsibility on popular culture, particularly when some pop artifact somehow distinguishes itself as not terrible.
Roxane Gay Bad Feminist
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In her book "Bad Feminist," Roxane Gay discusses the significant weight we often place on popular culture to perform well and represent societal values. When a piece of pop culture emerges that is deemed not entirely bad, it can be seen as a beacon of hope. This expectation can be overwhelming, as it suggests that entertainment must continuously measure up to high standards of ethics and representation.

Gay highlights how this pressure can lead to disappointment and frustration among audiences, especially within marginalized communities. She points out that while we seek validation in popular culture, the reality is that it cannot always meet our expectations. Instead of placing excessive responsibility on these cultural artifacts, we should recognize their limitations and enjoy them for what they are, while still striving for better representation and inclusivity.

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Bad Feminist
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Roxane Gay
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February 19, 2025
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Other quotes in Bad Feminist

I will keep writing about these intersections as a writer and a teacher, as a black woman, as a bad feminist, until I no longer feel like what I want is impossible. I no longer want to believe that these problems are too complex for us to make sense of them.
Roxane Gay Bad Feminist
I will keep writing about these intersections as a writer and a teacher, as a black woman, as a bad feminist, until I no longer feel like what I want is impossible. I no longer want to believe that these problems are too complex for us to make sense of them.
It's okay if most of your friends are guys, but if you champion this as a commentary on the nature of female friendships, soul search a little.
Roxane Gay Bad Feminist
It's okay if most of your friends are guys, but if you champion this as a commentary on the nature of female friendships, soul search a little.
Rather than solve the real problems the United States is facing, some politicians, mostly conservative, have decided to try to solve the "female problem" by creating a smoke screen, reintroducing abortion and, more inexplicably, birth control into a national debate. Women have been forced underground for contraception and pregnancy termination before, and we will go underground again if we have to. We will risk our lives if these politicians, who so flagrantly demean women, force us to do so.
Roxane Gay Bad Feminist
Rather than solve the real problems the United States is facing, some politicians, mostly conservative, have decided to try to solve the "female problem" by creating a smoke screen, reintroducing abortion and, more inexplicably, birth control into a national debate. Women have been forced underground for contraception and pregnancy termination before, and we will go underground again if we have to. We will risk our lives if these politicians, who so flagrantly demean women, force us to do so.
My amusement with the Fifty Shades series only goes so far. The books are, essentially, a detailed primer for how to successfully engage in a controlling, abusive relationship. The trilogy represents the darkest kind of fairy tale, one where controlling, obsessive, and borderline abusive tendencies are made to seem intensely desirable by offering the reader big heaping spoonfuls of sweet, sweet sex sugar to make the medicine go down.
Roxane Gay Bad Feminist
My amusement with the Fifty Shades series only goes so far. The books are, essentially, a detailed primer for how to successfully engage in a controlling, abusive relationship. The trilogy represents the darkest kind of fairy tale, one where controlling, obsessive, and borderline abusive tendencies are made to seem intensely desirable by offering the reader big heaping spoonfuls of sweet, sweet sex sugar to make the medicine go down.
It is untenable to go through life as an exposed wound.
Roxane Gay Bad Feminist
It is untenable to go through life as an exposed wound.
We live in a strange and terrible time for women. There are days when I think it has always been a strange and terrible time to be a woman. Womanhood feels more strange and terrible now because progress has not served women as well as it has served men. We are still stymied by the issues our forbears railed against. It is nothing less than horrifying to realize we live in a culture where the "paper of record" can write an article that comes off as sympathetic to eighteen rapists while encouraging victim blaming.
Roxane Gay Bad Feminist
We live in a strange and terrible time for women. There are days when I think it has always been a strange and terrible time to be a woman. Womanhood feels more strange and terrible now because progress has not served women as well as it has served men. We are still stymied by the issues our forbears railed against. It is nothing less than horrifying to realize we live in a culture where the "paper of record" can write an article that comes off as sympathetic to eighteen rapists while encouraging victim blaming.
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Other quotes in popular culture

We put a lot of responsibility on popular culture, particularly when some pop artifact somehow distinguishes itself as not terrible.
Roxane Gay Bad Feminist
We put a lot of responsibility on popular culture, particularly when some pop artifact somehow distinguishes itself as not terrible.
More »

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