Roxane Gay

thumb|Roxanne Gay in 2014 Roxane Gay (born October 15, 1974) is an American writer, professor, editor, and commentator. Quotes It started as a process of writing what I know to be true and it became a process of revelation. I was able to make some realisations about myself that previously I hadn’t made and it really forced me to confront my relationship not only with my body, but with food. I mostly saw how unkind I had been to myself when my body has actually gotten me through quite a lot in life. And recognising that, in many ways, I was holding on to the weight for the wrong reasons and the only one that was really hurting was myself. On writing and personal revelations in “Roxane Gay: ‘No one is guaranteed love or affection’” in The Guardian (2018 Jun 2) In fact, it’s the opposite…As a black woman, as a black queer woman, specificity is incredibly important, because diverse experiences are rarely seen in literature. On how Gay’s use of a fairy-tale format in her fictional works does not constitute an appeal to universality in “Roxane Gay: ‘Public discourse rarely allows for nuance. And see where that’s gotten us’” in The Guardian (2018 Dec 27) The moment I step outside the safety of my home, I hate how visible I am, how people treat me, how they stare and comment both loudly and under their breath … I do not know how to carry myself with confidence when I go out into the world. Any sense of self I have is often shattered within minutes, and then I am all insecurities and fears, wishing myself into a more socially acceptable form. An excerpt from one of her essays as quoted in “Roxane Gay: ‘Public discourse rarely allows for nuance. And see where that’s gotten us’” in The Guardian (2018 Dec 27) There is a before and an after…In the after I was broken, shattered, and silent. An excerpt from Hunger in which Gay describes herself after being gang-raped during her teenage years as quoted in “Roxane Gay: ‘Public discourse rarely allows for nuance. And see where that’s gotten us’” in The Guardian (2018 Dec 27) I grew up in this world where fat phobia is pervasive…And I just thought, 'Well, boys don't like fat girls, so if I'm fat, they won't want me and they won't hurt me again.' But more than that, I really wanted to just be bigger so that I could fight harder. On how she viewed her body after her sexual assault in “Be Bigger, Fight Harder: Roxane Gay On A Lifetime Of 'Hunger'” in NPR (2017 June 19) I would definitely like to tear down this wall I've built around myself, because I don't need it anymore. And I know that intellectually, and on good days, I know that emotionally. I don't want to be thin, I want to be smaller, because I just do. I think it makes so many things easier just on a day-to-day basis, and also I have no small amount of vanity, so I just want to be able to find cuter clothes. Sometimes it's really basic things that I would like for myself. On the need to become “smaller” in “Be Bigger, Fight Harder: Roxane Gay On A Lifetime Of 'Hunger'” in NPR (2017 June 19) It’s used like a weapon. What it means is, ‘I don’t want to think about your concerns. I don’t want to have to extend my empathy.’…We have to think with nuance, and unfortunately public discourse rarely allows for nuance. And see where that has gotten us. On why she rejects identity politics in “Roxane Gay: ‘Public discourse rarely allows for nuance. And see where that’s gotten us’” in The Guardian (2018 Dec 27) Because oftentimes I’m the first or the only – so I cannot be the last. On why she wants to make opportunities for others in “Roxane Gay: ‘Public discourse rarely allows for nuance. And see where that’s gotten us’” in The Guardian (2018 Dec 27) They start by understanding that feminism is just an idea. It’s a philosophy. It’s about the equality of women in all realms. It’s not about man-hating. It’s not about being humorless. We have to let go of these misconceptions that have plagued feminism for 40, 50 years. It’s ridiculous that we’re still having this conversation. “But I love men!” Who cares! It’s not about men at all. On how women might understand and embrace feminism in “Roxane Gay's Bad Feminist Is a ‘Manual on How to Be a Human’" in Time Magazine (2014 Aug 5) External links Category:Novelists from the United States Category:Short story writers from the United States Category:Literary critics Category:Educators from the United States Category:LGBT people Category:Bloggers from the United States Category:Publishers from the United States Category:Memoirists from the United States Category:African Americans Category:Essayists from the United States Category:Feminists Category:Editors from the United States Category:1974 births Category:Living people