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Cissy He
Dr. Kendra Parker
ENGL 113-03
September 10, 2016
Critical Summary #1
In Bad Feminist: Take One, Roxane Gay discussed a common misconception, that
there is one and only one proper way to practice feminism, which she refers to the problem of
essential feminism. Specifically, Gay argues that by disqualifying people who believe in
gender equality but hold different feminist beliefs from being feminists, and ignoring
problems unique to women of color, essential feminists are making feminism only for white
women who are economically independent and meet all the essential feminism standards. As
Gay herself puts it, it doesnt allow for the complexities of human experience or
individuality. Although some people believe we need to meet certain standards to be a
feminism, Gay insists that such belief could lead to misunderstanding of feminism and hinder
potential feminists from participating in the feminist movement. Moreover, it harms the
movement by making the right way to be a feminist appears to be ever changing and
unachievable. In sum, then, Gays view is that instead of believing the essential feminism
myth, we should allow whoever willing to participate in the movement to do it.
I agree with Gay. In my view, the problem of essential feminism she points out
deserves our attention, and I can see this problem existing in real life. For instance, I used to
buy into one of these essential feminism myth, believing that all feminists should be
courageous, steadfast in their belief, and always be ready to defend it. Hence being a shy
person who is not good with words, I often feel Gays tension of falling short as a feminist.
However, this reading makes me realize this problem and understand why it needs to be
solved. Characters, as well as races and economic status, should not be taken into account
while deciding if one is a real feminist. The only thing that matters is the belief in gender
equality. Besides this belief, feminists could be so different in other aspects as individuals. If
we disqualify people who does not fit into the ideal feminist mold from being feminist, it
would be a great loss to the movement and a great harm to those who are in need of
feminism.
Thinking of women with traditional feminine traits, people often view
them as obstacles to the feminism movement, therefore not qualified to
involve in feminist talks. But it is so unfair. Feminism should not be a
bound that prevents people from being who they want to be. If a woman
becomes a housewife because she wants to, there would be no reason to
blame her. In my opinion, gender equality means the same opportunity for
both genders, but not men and women doing the same thing. People too
often confuse these two concepts, because most feminist are those who
focus on the shortcomings of gender stereotypes, and those who want to
do things people think only suitable for another gender. It is true that we
could easily ignore our blind spots while we are in the mainstream, but it
is dangerous. We need to understand those who hold different opinions,
and try to think from their point of view. We should avoid thinking our own
opinions as universally applicable and imposing them on others. While there are far more
urgent problems for us to solve, it would be a waste time and effort to label and discriminate
within our own group.
Works Cited
Gay, Roxane. Bad Feminist: Take One. Bad Feminist. HarperCollins Publishers, 2014. 303-

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313. Print.