Affirm

In reading Gay’s take on modern feminism she claim’s there to be much confusion, misunderstanding and disagreement on what exactly feminism is and supposed to be. I very much agree with he sentiment. In today’s world feminism has evolved into a confusing structure of ideas and beliefs about what woman SHOULD and SHOULD NOT DO.

On her second page Gay discusess feminism being used as an insult. I have witnessed this and believe this to happen. Many people, most of whom may be men look poorly upon women who self identify as being feminist.

 

Miller and Jurecic discuss the power of the use “and” in their book. I think they’re evaluation of the words usage is correct and can be scene at point in Gay’s argument. On page one Gay discusses what “essential feminism should look like and in doing so goes on to list many attributes such “humorless, white, heterosexual, hate men”. In describing these characteristics she links them with what “essential feminism is expected to look like. Her use of the word “and” is powerful in it’s ability to link and combine the complexities of exactly what is expected of “essential feminism”.

 

 

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In addition to writing on the use of “and”, Miller and Jurecic also discuss “or”. However, they do so with a slightly less optimistic idea on its capabilities. They believe “or” is an element that has limited abilities. Rather that “or” suggests one “or” the other.

I tend to agree with this idea of Miller and Jurecic. That two ideas, claims, realities, cannot exist in harmony and its a fork in the road at which two things may not be chosen. Quite frankly I read “or” as an evidence of an ultimatum.

In Roxane Gay’s very last sentence of “Bad Feminism” she says; “I would rather be a bad feminist than no feminist at all.”

This opinion and claim of her suggests she has two options, to be a bad feminist, or to be no feminist at all. A clear circumstance in which it’s one choice “or” the other. There is an obvious middle ground of feminism that Gay has yet to have settle on or discover. But for now, Gay is stuck in “or” and therefore limited.