This story originally appeared in the 2021 October issue of Town & Country. Over time that very small part grew, and I came to understand that acquired tastes may be more challenging, but they are also infinitely more valuable. A very small part of me knew she was doing me a favor. I remember that breakup distinctly not because I’m still sad about it but because, as my ex was detailing everything about me she found too difficult to appreciate, a very small part of me knew she was talking about the best, most interesting parts of me. They don’t require any real consideration. Things that are universally appealing are unacquired tastes. The writer whose radical honesty has won fans across the globe talks about writing as a cry for help, using books to fight racism and why. Roxane Gay Books The celebrated author, editor and columnist launches a new publishing imprint through Grove Atlantic, with a brand identity designed by Emily. It has no sharp edges, no flawed surfaces. Universal appeal is a dreary, bland thing. On the Agenda: feminism, race, writing, art, pop culture, food, and, of course, politics. It’s writer Roxane Gay in conversation with guests who have something necessary to say about the issues that matter most to herand hopefully to you as well. I am not interested in much of anything that will appeal to everyone. The Roxane Gay Agenda is the bad feminist podcast of your dreams. Gay is the author of The New York Times best-selling essay collection Bad Feminist (2014), as well as the short story collection Ayiti (2011), the novel An Untamed State (2014), the short story collection Difficult Women (2017), and the memoir Hunger (2017).
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There is a dangerous tendency to conflate representation and inclusion with universality. Roxane Gay (born October 15, 1974) is an American writer, professor, editor, and social commentator. We now have a cultural obsession with universality. The award-winning author and essayist, for whom art collecting is a newish venture, has, in just three years, amassed a formidable collection that inspires. All too often, taste is used as a cudgel to force conformity, to create a social hierarchy where those with the right tastes are culturally valued and those with the wrong tastes are not.