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Roxanne Gay's Essay: Bad Feminist

1262 Words6 Pages

Thomas Martinez
English 1C
Professor Hemmerling
April 10, 2023

Roxanne Gay Essay Roxanne Gay is a prominent feminist writer who has helped shape contemporary gender debates. She urges readers to think critically about how gender is constructed and how it overlaps with other identities in her works. This article will investigate Gay's gender perspectives, beginning with an introduction to her point of view. It will then dig into her idea that gender is a social construct and how it has been utilized to oppress vulnerable communities. Roxanne Gay is a well-known feminist writer and educator who has long been an active participant in the gender debate. Gay argues in her book "Bad Feminist" that feminism is not a one-size-fits-all concept and …show more content…

Gender, as Judith Lorber and Susan A. Farrell explain in their essay "The Social Construction of Gender," is a set of expectations and behaviors that are allocated to individuals based on their sex. These gendered expectations and behaviors, which are reinforced by social institutions like family, education, and religion, establish a gender binary system that limits individuals' expression and maintains patriarchal power structures. Men, for example, are expected to be dominant and aggressive, whilst women are meant to be quiet and …show more content…

Expectations include "women should be thin but not too thin" and "men should be muscular and strong." These assumptions are strongly embedded in society and are frequently reinforced by media and popular culture. "Media images are powerful in shaping our perceptions of gender," write JT Wood and N Fixmer-Oraiz in their book "Gendered Lives: Communication, Gender, and Culture." (Wood and Fixmer-Oraiz 128). This is seen in the way women are frequently portrayed in the media as sexual objects, while males are portrayed as dominant and aggressive. Individuals who do not conform to these gendered norms may experience feelings of inadequacy and low self-esteem as a result. Gay's list serves as a reminder that in order to establish a more inclusive and equal society, these societal conventions and expectations must be challenged and dismantled. Students' expectations can be overpowering and often damaging to their academic progress. A list created by Rajuan, Beijaard, and Verloop, on the other hand, invites us to question and confront these assumptions. According to the authors, students should be encouraged to think critically about the expectations that are placed on them and to challenge them when appropriate. (Rajuan et al. 2010). Students can have a better grasp of their own strengths and shortcomings, as well as a greater

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