Not That Bad by Roxane Gay

Not That Bad

by Roxane Gay

Edited and with an introduction by Roxane Gay, the New York Times bestselling and deeply beloved author of Bad Feminist and Hunger, this anthology of first-person essays tackles rape, assault, and harassment head-on.

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In this valuable and timely anthology, cultural critic and bestselling author Roxane Gay collects original and previously published pieces that address what it means to live in a world where women have to measure the harassment, violence and aggression they face, and where sexual-abuse survivors are 'routinely second-guessed, blown off, discredited, denigrated, besmirched, belittled, patronized, mocked, shamed, gaslit, insulted, bullied' for speaking out.

Highlighting the stories of well-known actors, writers and experts, as well as new voices being published for the first time, Not That Bad covers a wide range of topics and experiences, from an exploration of the rape epidemic embedded in the refugee crisis to first-person accounts of child molestation and street harrassment.

Often deeply personal and always unflinchingly honest, this provocative collection both reflects the world we live in and offers a call to arms insisting that 'not that bad' must no longer be good enough.

Reviewed by clementine on

4 of 5 stars

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Anthologies basically always suffer from one or two essays that are just not as resonant or well-constructed as the others, but taken as a whole this is an important and well-realized book. The sheer volume of stories is powerful enough; the clarity with which rape culture is articulated throughout the book gives it gravity. When I first heard of this book I thought the title was a reference to dismissals of sexual assault; now I see that it's also about the way sexual assault survivors try to downplay the events to ourselves.

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Reading updates

  • Started reading
  • 7 December, 2018: Finished reading
  • 7 December, 2018: Reviewed