12 books to help you fight the system

Roxane Gay speaks at TEDWomen2015 – Momentum, Session 2, May 28, 2015, Monterey Conference Center, Monterey, California, USA. Photo: Marla Aufmuth/TED

7. Bad Feminist

Like many of the books on this list, Bad Feminist is a collection of essays. I personally love the format, which allows readers to experience the issues discussed without the sometimes monolithic intimidation of a full-on book. However, when taken together, essay collections can still present a powerful whole, an expression of the author’s views and hopes.

Bad Feminist is one such book. On the surface, it can seem disparate, like a collection of pieces cobbled from elsewhere and thrown together. One essay might explore author Roxane Gay’s personal experiences, while another outlines her particular conception of feminism. Others discuss topics such as the Sweet Valley High series, Django Unchained, The Help, and Tyler Perry.

Once you’ve made it at least halfway through the book, though, it becomes clear that Bad Feminist has a lot to say in unison. It manages to encompass much of modern day feminism, which has proven itself to be a complicated and diverse subject. Gay herself has struggled with what it means to be a feminist when you still love things that are decidedly un-feminist, or questionably so. She even has one essay, “What We Hunger For”, that focuses entirely on the feminist subtext of The Hunger Games.