Critically acclaimed New York Times best-selling author of, and self-proclaimed, “Bad Feminist” Roxane Gay opened the Oxy Live! season in Thorne Hall Sept. 30.
“I’ve taught at Occidental College and hope I will again in the future, so it was very easy to make the time to return to campus,” Gay said via email.
According to Caroline Heldman, professor and department chair of Gender, Women, & Sexuality Studies, Gay is an influential writer.
“Dr. Gay is one of the most important voices of a generation on feminism, body politics, race and class,” Heldman said via email.
Nationally recognized for her debut novel, “An Untamed State” (2014), and feminist essay-collection, “Bad Feminist” (2014), Gay’s work focuses on the immigrant experience, race, privilege, sexual violence, weight and body image, women’s rights, family and friendship.
She has edited the work of Audre Lorde, partnered with Marvel to create a six-issue comic book spin-off entitled “Black Panther: World of Wakanda,” publishes a newsletter and serves as a contributing Opinion writer for The New York Times. Her recent essay discusses the need to scrap a fantasy of civility in order to pursue societal repair.
Gay embraces her identity as a queer, fat, first-generation Haitian-American, and Heldman said Gay’s unfettered and unabashed naming of hypocrisy and social inequality makes Occidental lucky to host her.
After completing her PhD, Gay began teaching at Eastern Illinois University. Later, she taught at Purdue, Yale and Rutgers universities. Through Occidental’s inaugural Presidential Professorship in Spring 2022, Gay taught “Writing Trauma,” a popular Critical Theory and Social Justice course.
Gay said intentionally reserving time to engage with the work of undergraduate students appeals to her more than individual accolades.
“I’m more proud of my work ethic and the way I try to bolster other writers than any individual work of mine,” Gay said via email.
According to Gay, the written word provided an outlet to pen her reality when vocalization proved faulty and formidable.
“I’ve written for almost all of my life. It has been a lifelong love affair and it deepens as time goes on,” Gay said via email. “When I’ve felt that I’ve lost my voice, writing has still been there.”
Gay said she is inspired by an ever-expanding lineup of authors, like Edith Wharton Angela Flournoy, Zadie Smith, S.A. Cosby and Min Jin Lee.
LA- and Berlin-based visual artist Alexandra Grant hosted Gay, and will host other Oxy Live! speakers this season. Gay said Grant’s innovative artistry, as well as their 30-year friendship, promised a meaningful conversation.
“I’ve also known Alexandra Grant for more than thirty years,” Gay said via email. “She is a brilliant artist and activist for creativity, so being in conversation with her was an appealing prospect.”
Heldman said Gay’s persona is unflinchingly honest, and that she found this honesty in Gay’s 2017 memoir, “Hunger: A Memoir of (My) Body.”
“She tells the truth about living in a fat body in a culture that despises fatness, and she connects that to larger conversations about race, class and gender without oversimplifying anything,” Heldman said via email.
According to Heldman, Gay’s honest and digestible writing concretizes complex cultural issues, making her work especially important for young adults engaging with intersectional ideas for the first time.
“She doesn’t hide behind academic language,” Heldman said via email. “She has this rare ability to cut through the noise and get to what really matters, whether she’s talking about reproductive rights, fat justice, racial justice or the ongoing attacks on marginalized communities.”
Director of Oxy Arts, Meldia Yesayan, said Oxy Live! encourages connective, critical thinking that transcends classroom walls through open dialogue at the intersection of art and society.
According to Yesayan, Gay and Grant’s intellect and passion exemplify what follows in the 2025-26 Oxy Live! lineup — diverse voices that blend storytelling with meaning-making.
“We’re excited for a season that feels both intimate and expansive, with perspectives that can challenge and inspire in different ways,” Yesayan said via email.
Yesayan said she is excited to continue bringing collaborative events to Occidental and the larger Eagle Rock community.
“These events are more than lectures, they’re conversations that model curiosity, empathy and creativity,” Yesayan said via email. “It’s an opportunity for students to engage directly with cultural figures who are shaping the world.”
This fall semester, performance artist Taylor Mac will have an event at Oxy Live!, followed by former LA poet laureate Robin Coste Lewis in the spring semester. Yesayan said more upcoming guest speakers will be announced soon.
According to Yesayan, students can directly get involved with Oxy Live! by sharing their suggestions for future programming.
“Staying curious and engaged is the best way to be part of Oxy Live!,” Yesayan said via email.
Contact Zoë Beauchamp at beauchamp@oxy.edu
