Quote

Readers need to stop assuming characters are white if race isn't explicitly defined.

Roxane Gay

Change background

T
T
T

Change font

TAGS & TOPICS

Roxane Gay
Age: 50
Born: 1974
Born: October 15
Essayist
Journalist
Novelist
Scrabble Player
Writer
Omaha
Nebraska
Stop
Race
White
Explicitly
Character
Readers
Need
Assuming
Needs
Defined
Characters
Reader

More quotes by Roxane Gay

Image
Books are often far more than just books.
Roxane Gay
Image
Twitter is my happy place. I am not there to overthink 140 characters.
Roxane Gay
Image
When feminism falls short of our expectations, we decide the problem is with feminism rather than with the flawed people who act in the name of the movement.
Roxane Gay
Image
The actual act of writing brings me such pleasure - to tell stories, to engage in cultural criticism, to reflect, to question, all of it is invigorating.
Roxane Gay
Image
Most of my favorite tweets go completely ignored but most of my favorite tweets are probably really lame or inside jokes between me and my [redacted]. See what I did there?
Roxane Gay
Image
Violence is not the answer but neither is peace.
Roxane Gay
Image
I'm fat positive, in that I don't see fat as a bad thing. But what I do see as a bad thing is how I'm treated. I can have the most positive outlook in the world, but that is not going to change how hecklers and people walking down the street are yelling at me.
Roxane Gay
Image
I read constantly because there is so much to learn from the writing in the world.
Roxane Gay
Image
I am new to superhero comics, though growing up I read Archie comics, religiously. I've been doing a lot of catching up, reading what's out there and it's been wonderful to see what's going on in contemporary comics.
Roxane Gay
Image
I live in the middle of nowhere and I'm an insomniac. I just make the time and I read and write really fast so that makes a lot possible for me. I wish I had an explanation for it. I'm grateful for it.
Roxane Gay
Image
Some women being empowered does not prove the patriarchy is dead. It proves that some of us are lucky.
Roxane Gay
Image
With my writing, I generally just pretend that no one's reading it. I allow myself that delusion so that I can write the things that I write.
Roxane Gay
Image
There's certainly a portion of my brain that is always tuned to making wry observations about the world, but that portion of my brain was alive and well before Twitter.
Roxane Gay
Image
If I cannot rest and relax, all the work I do is for naught.
Roxane Gay
Image
I love writing fiction because I can totally lose myself and I get to make up the rules of the world that I'm writing.
Roxane Gay
Image
Good fiction challenges us as much as it entertains and these days, we could do with both of these things.
Roxane Gay
Image
So often feminism is built up as this thing where you have to be perfect. You have to be consistent and you can't ever deviate. That's just not realistic.
Roxane Gay
Image
I approach most things in life with a dangerous level of confidence to balance my generally low self-esteem.
Roxane Gay
Image
You don't necessarily have to do anything once you acknowledge your privilege. You don't have to apologize for it. You need to understand the extent of your privilege, the consequences of your privilege, and remain aware that people who are different from you move through and experience the world in ways you might never know anything about.
Roxane Gay
Image
I love Twitter. It doesn't keep me from writing and I think it's a really convenient scapegoat when the truth is that the real issue is self-control. I am totally fine admitting i have none. I'm not going to blame Twitter for affecting my writing. And also, Twitter doesn't affect my writing.
Roxane Gay