Structure

Bad Feminist is a collection of essays which could each stand alone as an independent piece of non-fiction. In fact, many of these essays were previously published in magazines and online before being included in Bad Feminist. Because of the stand-alone nature of these essays, readers can read Bad Feminist in any order and can feel free to jump from essay to essay without risk of losing the narrative thread.

Instead of being connected by plot or narrative, the essays are united by Gay's unique authorial voice and by shared themes. Each essay touches in some way on either cultural criticism, gender, feminism, race, or politics. Even Gay's most personal essays where she writes primarily about her own experience are written through the lens of one of these themes.

To give the book structure, the essays are organized into categories and the book is divided into sections...