Stories written by Roxane Gay

Donald Sterling was more than just a “painful episode”

The Clippers owner has been publicly shamed and banned from the NBA. But that won't fix the root of the problem

Roxane Gay Tuesday, Apr 29, 2014 11:00 PM UTC 0
Politics donald sterling, cliven bundy

“Game of Thrones” glamorizes rape: That was not consent, and rape is not a narrative device

There was no consent in a brutal "Game of Thrones" scene. It's time for rape to stop being cable's narrative device

Roxane Gay Monday, Apr 21, 2014 11:00 PM UTC 0
Entertainment Game of Thrones, Rape

Woody Allen is just the beginning: Why we can’t hide from the truth anymore

It's not the "age of outrage." It's the age of knowing, when we're forced to reckon with artists and their pasts

Roxane Gay Tuesday, Feb 11, 2014 12:00 AM UTC 0
Life Woody Allen, Dylan Farrow

Compartmentalizing Woody Allen: What America chooses not to see

Dylan Farrow has written an eloquent letter accusing Woody Allen of abuse. Will Hollywood listen?

Roxane Gay Sunday, Feb 2, 2014 5:46 PM UTC 0
Life Woody Allen, Dylan Farrow

“Law & Order” creator Dick Wolf’s philosophy of TV: “Serve dessert first”

The crime-show legend talks to Salon about his new novel, and reveals his favorite current "Law & Order" detective

Roxane Gay Tuesday, Jan 28, 2014 12:00 AM UTC 0
Entertainment dick wolf, law & order

Jezebel’s Lena Dunham mistake: Why offering money for her photo is disingenuous

Offering a bounty for unretouched photos of Lena Dunham isn't making a point -- it's just a play for traffic

Roxane Gay Friday, Jan 17, 2014 12:00 AM UTC 0
Entertainment Jezebel

Justine Sacco’s aftermath: The cost of Twitter outrage

Social media offered many opportunities for (quite justified) outrage this year. But did they come at a price?

Roxane Gay Monday, Dec 23, 2013 7:03 PM UTC 0
Media justine sacco, Twitter

The media’s Michelle Obama problem: What a selfie says about our biases

The overanalysis of the first lady's expression speaks volumes about America's expectations of black women

Roxane Gay Tuesday, Dec 10, 2013 11:59 PM UTC 0
Life Obama, obama selfie

The power of communal grief: Mourning Mandela and beyond

Whether it's a great leader or an actor, our grief has meaning. And yet public mourning is so often policed

Roxane Gay Friday, Dec 6, 2013 4:45 PM UTC 0
Life paul walker, Nelson Mandela

Michelle Obama, “feminist nightmare”? How lazy journalism hurts feminism

Politico's narrow-minded critique was just the latest example. When can we stop talking about who's a bad feminist?

Roxane Gay Tuesday, Nov 26, 2013 12:00 AM UTC 0
Life Michelle Obama, Politico

Why America needs Internet outrage

Critics complain about "outrage exhaustion," but talking about racism like Richard Cohen's is actually important

Roxane Gay Tuesday, Nov 19, 2013 7:06 PM UTC 0
Life Richard Cohen, Best Man Holiday

How black girls die in America: The outrage of the Renisha McBride shooting

In the wake of senseless deaths, do we raise a generation of black children to be paranoid? Do we dare not to?

Roxane Gay Friday, Nov 8, 2013 6:40 PM UTC 0
Life Renisha McBride

When no one said anything: How racism goes unquestioned

Some say we should just "get over" racism, but it's not possible when so many condone it with their silence

Roxane Gay Friday, Nov 1, 2013 2:43 PM UTC 0
Life Racism, Race, blackface

The importance of feeling seen: Why interracial families on commercials matter

When advertisers ignore diversity, it's because they think some lives don't count. But ads are getting better

Roxane Gay Friday, Oct 25, 2013 3:32 PM UTC 0
Media interracial relationships

The way we talk about sexual assault is broken

While we're trapped in a cycle of toxic, victim-blaming click bait and inevitable response, rape culture thrives

Roxane Gay Thursday, Oct 17, 2013 10:59 PM UTC 0
Life Steubenville, naval academy

Miley Cyrus doesn’t need your open letters

Miley's crystal clear on what she's doing. Why should we absolve her of responsibility?

Roxane Gay Friday, Oct 4, 2013 11:00 PM UTC 0
Entertainment Miley Cyrus, Sinead O'Connor

41 books sexist prof David Gilmour should read

A list that lets readers ponder what it means to be human -- not just white and male

Roxane Gay Thursday, Sep 26, 2013 7:52 PM UTC 0
Life david gilmour, Sexism, literature

Sorry, the patriarchy isn’t dead

Congress is only 18.3% women -- and that's just one of the many ways sexism is alive and well

Roxane Gay Friday, Sep 13, 2013 3:06 PM UTC 0
All Salon Patriarchy, hanna rosin

Why we read New York Times wealth porn

Their stories of the 1 percent are gruesome real-world fairy tales -- and I can't look away

Roxane Gay Friday, Sep 6, 2013 4:49 PM UTC 0
Media New York Times, power lunch

Katie Roiphe’s wrong — counting women matters

Tallying women's representation is way more than "bean counting," and women need more places they can "lean in" to

Roxane Gay Thursday, Aug 29, 2013 6:30 PM UTC 0
Entertainment Katie Roiphe

The bar for TV diversity is way too low

Why are we still talking about "Orange Is the New Black?" Because there's so little out there that's better

Roxane Gay Thursday, Aug 22, 2013 4:20 PM UTC 0
Entertainment orange is the new black, oitnb

Celebrity apologies are meaningless

Russell Simmons is just the latest to follow the misstep-outcry-apology cycle. We need to demand more

Roxane Gay Friday, Aug 16, 2013 11:00 PM UTC 0
Life Russell Simmons

Women know more than just love and sex

Big media outlets seem to think women's only area of expertise is themselves. It's time to change that

Roxane Gay Thursday, Aug 8, 2013 5:31 PM UTC 0
Life trend pieces, women, Gender

The women in sex scandals are rarely forgiven

While male politicians sail to second acts, women involved in their scandals are painted as evil or crazy

Roxane Gay Wednesday, Jul 24, 2013 4:30 PM UTC 0
Life Anthony Weiner, scandals

Reaction to Benjamin piece: “Anger, frustration, bewilderment”

A salacious response to the president's speech misses the point, and shows the need for greater media diversity

Roxane Gay Saturday, Jul 20, 2013 2:22 PM UTC 0
Life Race, President Obama

How America profiled Trayvon Martin and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev

We think we know what danger looks like. We don't

Roxane Gay Friday, Jul 19, 2013 8:30 PM UTC 0
Life Trayvon Martin

Racism is every American’s problem

It's an easy punchline to blame Florida or the South for this horrible verdict. But the problem goes much deeper

Roxane Gay Sunday, Jul 14, 2013 4:02 PM UTC 0
Life zimmerman trial

George Zimmerman and the problem with American heroism

When everyone wants to be a hero, we lose sight of what greatness -- and justice -- really are

Roxane Gay Friday, Jul 12, 2013 3:11 PM UTC 0
Life George Zimmerman

What men want, America delivers

From Robin Thicke's latest songs to abortion restrictions around the country, America's all about men's desires

Roxane Gay Friday, Jul 5, 2013 12:15 PM UTC 0
Life robin thicke, blurred lines

When Twitter does what journalism can’t

On Wendy Davis' filibuster (and, in a way, on DOMA), social media showed mainstream news what it couldn't ignore

Roxane Gay Wednesday, Jun 26, 2013 11:30 PM UTC 0
Technology Twitter, Wendy Davis

Paula Deen’s racism isn’t shocking at all

For people of color, the question isn't if someone will reveal their racial bias -- it's when

Roxane Gay Thursday, Jun 20, 2013 7:52 PM UTC 0
Life Paula Deen, Race, Racism

New York magazine asks 28 men and five women to assess Philip Roth

Seriously? Twenty-eight to 5? This is why we need to keep talking about gender imbalance in the literary world

Roxane Gay Wednesday, Feb 27, 2013 5:18 PM UTC 0
Entertainment Books, Philip Roth, Women writers

Is Obama failing the black community?

An African-American intellectual wonders if he's getting cut slack because of his race -- and if it's fair to ask

Roxane Gay Tuesday, Oct 30, 2012 8:38 PM UTC 0
Elections Colin Powell, John Sununu, Obama

“Homeland”: The reckoning

With the video in the CIA's possession, how much longer can Brody hide his secret allegiances?

Roxane Gay Monday, Oct 22, 2012 5:59 AM UTC 0
Entertainment Television, TV, Homeland

“Homeland”: State of co-dependence

The CIA needs Carrie. Abu Nazir is leaning hard on Brody. Will the dependency push them over the edge?

Roxane Gay Monday, Oct 15, 2012 6:00 AM UTC 0
Entertainment Homeland, Claire Danes

“Homeland”: In Carrie we (should) trust

Carrie may be in a fragile state, but that doesn't mean she's off her game

Roxane Gay Monday, Oct 8, 2012 6:00 AM UTC 0
Entertainment recaps, damian lewis

“Homeland”: Pledging allegiance

In the season 2 opener, a convalescing Carrie and Congressman Brody must reckon with who they really are

Roxane Gay Monday, Oct 1, 2012 4:01 AM UTC 0
Entertainment TV, Homeland, Claire Danes

Are men underserved in books?

Two writers who've played controversial roles in the debate over gender equity discuss chick lit and Franzen

Roxane Gay Friday, Aug 24, 2012 4:45 PM UTC 0
Entertainment Books, Writers and Writing

Claire Vaye Watkins: Dynamic debut, wild back story

One of 2012's most dazzling new writers, Claire Vaye Watkins, has a genius collection and an amazing biography

Roxane Gay Wednesday, Aug 8, 2012 6:15 PM UTC 0
Entertainment Books, Writers and Writing

Twitter isn’t killing books

A Slate piece argues that online literary culture is too enthusiastic and killing criticism -- and is wrong on both

Roxane Gay Monday, Aug 6, 2012 5:45 PM UTC 0
Entertainment Books, Internet Culture

Roxane Gay

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