Read: Bad Feminist by Roxane Gay

Image from Literally Darling

If you're still looking for a Christmas gift for the woman in your life, this could be it. No, this should be it. For ladies who play Scrabble, girls who have watched 'Girls', young women who love the Hunger Games, females who have danced to 'Blurred Lines' or sexist rap tunes, watched Django, had an abortion, been raped, experienced racism. But especially those women who don't think of themselves as Feminists, because this book of essays by writer and professor Roxane Gay breaks down just why we shouldn't give up on the feminist movement and why its okay to be a 'Bad Feminist'; it's better than being no feminist at all.

The book is written in short, easily digestible essays that examine such up to the minute and relatable moments in contemporary culture, from reality TV shows like Love and Hip Hop to the R'n'B singer and ex of Rihanna, Chris Brown, all through the prism of feminism and the impact that they have on women and society as a whole today.

The feminist movement is often criticised for being un-inclusive and repeatedly being told from the perspective of heterosexual, middle class white females and this can be alienating for some women, leading to (sometimes necessary) divides and separate spaces for black feminists or gay feminists for example. Bad Feminist at least attempts some interscectionality, as Gay is a black woman of Haitian descent, and this informs her own experiences and ways of relating. The book is divided into sections: [ME]. [Gender & Sexuality], [Race & Entertainment], [Politics, Gender & Race] and [Back To Me], and for me personally it was refreshing and validating to see essays regarding black issues such as representation and even the creative output of media by and for the black community such as Tyler Perry films and 'Fruitvale Station' being analysed and discussed with the same gravitas and importance as the rest of the book.

Gay's writing is deeply personal and funny which makes it easier to consume as there are a lot facts, figures and theory which can often be difficult in non-fiction writing, but her voice is so strong it feels as though you are just reading the thoughts of a much more articulate older friend. Gay is very vocal on Twitter (@rgay) and I don't know if that influences her ability to write in such an easy style - being succinct in 140 characters is a skill after all. There is even an essay called 'When Twitter does what journalism cannot'. I didn't personally agree with everything she wrote but I could never undermine her passion and commitment.

" It's hard not to feel humorless, as a woman and a feminist, to recognize misogyny in so many forms, some great and some small, and know you're not imagining things. It's hard to be told to lighten up because if you lighten up any more, you're going to float the fuck away. The problem is not that one of these things is happening; it's that they are all happening, concurrently and constantly"

And that's why we need more young women to identify as feminists, to not be worried about being called a man hating lesbian who doesn't shave her legs or get caught up on worrying about being the right kind of feminist. Gay's book lets you breathe a sigh of relief to know you can want to wear pink stripper heels and have a man at home to have kinky sex with and still identify as a feminist. If that's what you want.

Ooooh! Bey said the F Word!

Unless you literally live under a rock you know about Beyonce's self-titled visual album dropping on iTunes on the 13th of this month overnight and causing a shit storm all over the internet. Breaking crazy records (it has sold more than a million copies in a week, was at number 1 on iTunes in over 100 countries on the day of release and has topped the Billboard chart) the major talking point at the time was the fact that there was no promotion for the album; no release date, no interviews, no lead up singles, no videos. Arguably, everything Bey does (singing at the SuperBowl, her film/documentary 'Life Is But A Dream') is all promotion, but the fact is nobody knew WHEN the album would drop and so they went NUTS when they woke up and saw it sitting on iTunes homepage. All you could see on Instagram and Twitter for 24 hours was Queen Bey.
I haven't bought a Beyonce album in years and I prefer physical copies of music, but the media hype thoroughly sucked me in, as well as the idea that it was a visual album featuring 17 videos and I purchased the album.

Black is beautiful! One of my fave videos has Joan Smalls, Chanel Iman and Jourdan Dunn all up in it. This got reloaded several times. The image of 4 successful beautiful black women is not to be overlooked please.

So fans and the Beyhive alike were all enjoying the album and then there were a few rumblings of discontent from people with internet connection and fingers..namely that Beyonce is not a Feminist and that she should put some more clothes on. My friends and I got into a heated debate over our Xmas dinner and this was a topic of some discussion.

Presenter Jameela Jamil wrote a lengthy blog about her shock and dismay at Bey's choice to make such a saucy album and vids. And to be honest they are. But Beyonce is not barely out of her teens riding a wrecking ball she is a Grown Woman (lolz), a wife and a hugely talented superstar. The new album has clearly taken a more sexual turn, but not on every track and not random twerk anywhere business, more 'I'm celebrating the hot sex that me and my husband Jay-Z have'.

It really pisses me off the way women who celebrate their bodies or do anything remotely sexual are made to feel ashamed and looked down on. It is often by other females who don't realise their judgement is shaped by our patriarchal society and supports an ideology that wants to repress female sexuality. Black women, have been traditionally sexualised in their portrayal which has led to a huge responsibility to NOT adhere to the stereotypes; personally I feel this is just as restrictive and detrimental. Yes sex sells and there are stars who go too far, but Bey has a tonne of material and videos where she is not half naked, and now as an adult woman and mother with a banging body has decided to experiment with more overt sexual tones. The furore is deafening.

Talking about Rihanna, Miley Cyrus, Nicki Minaj and Iggy Azaelea, Jamil says "These are just talented women who have talked themselves into the idea, SET BY MEN, that a woman's sexuality sells above all else. They have deluded themselves into thinking it's 'feminism' if you get your fanny out on 'your terms'". Very presumptuous if you ask me. I mean, she is saying that these women are so much dumber than she is, they can't see they've been had! I mean they couldn't possible want to be sexual all by themselves?! KMT.

Which leads me on to the other big debate the Beyonce album has brought up. Feminsim. I love sex and short skirts and I'm a proud Feminist. I don't understand why any person, especially a woman wouldn't be, although I do understand the crappy idea of a bra burning, man hating woman with hairy armpits is a scary (and outdated) one. Many women in the media, previously Bey herself, when asked in interviews for their stance on Feminism, have skirted around the issue, reluctant to say the F word in reference to themselves; this shit drives me nuts. Clearly, Beyonce is not the be all and end all of Feminism or Black Feminism but she has got people talking about it. Don't get me wrong, the argument over whether Beyonce herself is feminist enough is absolutely pathetic, what does that even mean? Feminism isn't prescriptive or one size fits all. Feminism 100% depends on your own personal beliefs and circumstances, so yes feminism is different for Black women and women of colour, just as it is for gay women or for a girl in Afghanistan who is denied an education.

If you want to see some of the crazy discussions people are having head over to the comment section on Jezebel.com's article about the album but some of the more concise comments on intersectionailty have been selected and elaborated on over on thegloss.com, for example they printed commenter amybobamy's comment which talks about 'Single Ladies' and the significance of putting a ring on it for many Black women; "You do not seem to be taking in account how different marriage is in the black community"
"Ya'll really do seem to forget that for a lot of black women, many of the women that I know, marriage is a source of power. It is not the only source of power, it is not the end all be all, but it can be empowering. It breaks the stereotype of baby-mamas or mammys raising someone's kids."

I am not the biggest Beyonce fan but I don't deny her huge talent, business acumen and incredible thighs. Many call her contradictory, one minute singing about Independent Women then Cater to You (I mean it's music, I didn't know you could only sing about one viewpoint always and forever, but what do I know?)
I don't know her particular stance on Feminism but I respect her choice to be married and call her tour 'The Mrs. Carter tour', to sing about her husband ripping her blouse and praising cunnilingus (thankyouthankyouthankyou for Blow) and still call herself a Feminist. On Flawless she samples Nigerian writer Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's TED talk 'We Should All Be Feminists', which talks about how women are taught to 'shrink themselves' and compete against each other for the attention of men. Mrs Carter's global reach is massive and the fact that she is pushing such a strong Feminist message to many young women of all colours is to be applauded. She is hugely influential and introducing girls to the idea that they should fight for equal rights under their own terms. I aint mad at that.

* All images sourced on Google
** I can't get the accent to appear on Beyonce's name and it's making me want to smash my computer