Gay’s first book, Ayiti, was published in 2011. This year, she published An Untamed State, a novel about a young woman who is kidnapped and tortured in Haiti. The New York Times raved, “Gay avoids the pat outcome of a Disney tale and, in an emotional and unforeseen twist, does the Grimms one better.” Now, Bad Feminist (out August 5 from Harper Perennial) collects several of Gay’s essays on literature, film, and of course, feminism.
Feminism has, for some, become a fraught concept. But, Bad Feminist breaks new ground in redefining that other f-word. Gay’s writing is thoughtful and funny, compassionate and bold, and she’s just as likely to discuss Sweet Valley High as Django Unchained or Judith Butler.
We got the chance to talk to Gay about female friendship, Woody Allen, and the writers worth reading. In our opinion, she happens to be one of them.
You write with such compassion for everyone, from Scrabble players to queer public figures to Lena Dunham. Do you think that writing both fiction and nonfiction has helped you to be a more empathetic critic?
"Definitely. Writing, at least for me, is about trying to understand what life is like from other perspectives. Empathy is not always easy. I definitely have my struggles. But still, empathy is something I am reaching and writing toward, always. Everyone has burdens, and we shouldn't lose sight of that."
Speaking of empathy, your excellent essay “How to Be Friends with Another Woman” gives the middle finger to the myth that female friendships must be bitchy, toxic, or competitive. Where do you think this myth comes from?
"I am not sure where that myth comes from, but something in our culture is really fond of the idea that women are competing for resources of all kinds. Like, it's some kind of Darwinistic apocalypse for women in all realms."
Yeah, it's just really sad because friendship is not a pie.
"Now, certainly, some friendships between women are bitchy and toxic and competitive, but what galls me is that this is not unique to women. It is unique to human beings. Men absolutely have these qualities in some of their friendships. Why do we assign this only to women? It is definitely sad."
You've called out men for not reading more broadly. And, we see this issue everywhere, from the VIDA to James Franco’s all-male summer-reading list on Vice. Is there anything women can do to rectify the credibility gap between male and female authors? And, is it our responsibility to fix this problem?
"It is not our responsibility to fix this problem. Women are not the problem, and we don't have to nor can we fix it. Men, statistics tell us, aren't reading as much in general, so part of what needs to happen is that more men need to start reading. To encourage that, I would love to see prominent men who are making recommendation lists do more than offer up the same old lists of male writers and maybe Flannery O'Connor. They can and should lead the way in helping men broaden their reading horizons. As women writers, we can only do what we're doing, which is to write the best and truest we can."
On a related note, which authors would you like to see more people reading (and more male list-makers taking note of)?
"Ayelet Waldman, Michelle Dean, Taiye Selasi, No Violet Bulawayo, Randa Jarrar, Meg Wolitzer, Chelsea Cain, xTx, Anne Helen Petersen, Ashley Ford, Emily Nussbaum, Danielle Evans, Sonia Faleiro, Mary Biddinger, Cathy Chung. Heh...I could do this all day."
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