#ROXANE GAY PASS BROADWAY DEATH BELOVED FOR FREE#
Education– school comes easily to me and unlike many people in the world, I get educated for free and am required to do so many years of school (more than most places). I’m only 17 and when I look at my life I know I am provided a lot of things that most people aren’t. It’s embarrassing to acknowledge my privileges.“My life has been far from perfect, but it’s somewhat embarrassing for me to accept just how much privilege I have.” (22) Talks about childhood experiences and the how she was raised, also about experiences as a college student, was a sort of peer leader to other african american students, always expected a lot. “I have a PhD I damn well earned, and I worry I am not good enough. “No matter what I did, I heard that girl, that girl who had accomplished a fraction of a fraction of what I had, telling a group of our peers I was the one who did not deserve to be in our program.” (19) I say I’m a workaholic and maybe I am, but maybe I’m just trying, like my students, to show how I’m different.” (19) The pressure is constant and suffocating. “People often misunderstand me, misunderstand my motivations. Bringing home a grade less than an A was not an option so I didn’t.” (16) I enjoyed the sense of control I felt by being good at school when there were other parts of my life that were desperately out of control. “I enjoyed being the best and making my parents proud. “The notion that I should be fine with the status quo even if I am not wholly affected by the status quo is repulsive.” (16) I’m raising my voice to show all the ways we have room to want more, to do better.” (10) “I am just one woman trying to make sense of this world we live in. “…let us (try to) become the feminists we would like to see moving through the world.” (9) I am ashamed of my fear because mostly the disavowal was grounded in the fear that I would be ostracized, that I would be seen as a troublemaker, that I would never be accepted by the mainstream.” (8) Anytime I remember how I once disavowed feminism, I am ashamed of my ignorance. “I was called feminist, and what I heard was, “You are an angry, sex-hating, man-hating victim lady person.” This caricature is how feminists have been warped by the people who fear feminism most, the same people who have the most to lose when feminism succeeds. “I disavowed feminism because when I was called a feminist, the label felt like an insult.” (7) I am just trying- trying to support what I believe in, trying to do some good in this world, trying to make some noise with my writing while also being myself…” (7) I am not trying to say I have all the answers. “I embrace the label of bad feminist because I am human. Feminism has helped me believe my voice matters, even in this world where there are so many voices demanding to be heard.” (6) “Feminism has certainly helped me find my voice.