Roxane Gay on Pop Culture Writing: 7 Pop Culture Writing Tips

Roxane Gay is an award-winning author, editor, professor, and cultural critic. The New York Times best-selling author has written five critically acclaimed books—a memoir, Hunger: A Memoir of (My) Body; her essay collection Bad Feminist; two short story collections, Ayiti and Difficult Women; and a debut novel, An Untamed State. She also co-authored a graphic novel, The Sacrifice of Darkness. Regardless of the genre or form, Roxane’s work centers on women and sometimes explores various shapes and forms of trauma. She has been a contributing opinion writer for the New York Times, Salon, the Rumpus, and the Guardian. Her short fiction has appeared in Harper’s Bazaar, McSweeney’s, Tin House, the Nation, the Los Angeles Times, Best American Mystery Stories 2014, and Oxford American.

In addition to her writing, Roxane has edited multiple anthologies, including Best American Short Stories 2018 and the best-selling Not That Bad: Dispatches from Rape Culture (2018). She also co-edits the literary magazine PANK. Roxane is both the first Guggenheim Fellow and the first Black woman to write a Marvel comic book (Black Panther: World of Wakanda). In 2019, she co-founded the black feminist podcast “Hear to Slay” with Dr. Tressie McMillan Cottom. In 2021, she launched The Audacity, a newsletter that includes a book club, features Roxane’s writing, and showcases emerging writers. She’s held professorships at Eastern Illinois University, Purdue University, and Yale University.

If you’re interested in pursuing pop culture writing, check out the following tips, which feature some helpful advice from award-winning cultural critic Roxane Gay:

1. 1. Permit yourself to write for pleasure. Some people may avoid analyzing pop culture because it may seem too mainstream or not academic enough—but Roxane doesn’t believe in that dichotomy. “If it gives me pleasure, I don’t need to feel guilt,” she explains. Permit yourself to write about what interests you—if that’s pop culture, then a great question to ask yourself while brainstorming ideas for an essay might be why do I (and so many other people) enjoy this thing I’m criticizing? Moreover, what does that say about society at large? We can learn so much about our culture—what we value—through the media we consume.
2. 2. Read the greats. Reading a lot of pop culture criticism can help you uncover a deeper understanding of the writing form. Check out expert pundits like Zadie Smith, Susan Sontag, David Sedaris, Morgan Jerkins, Hilton Als, and Esmé Weijun Wang.
3. 3. Learn how to approach criticism. Pop culture writing, also known as criticism, isn’t necessarily negative. Sometimes it’s just a means of analyzing a piece of media, writing, culture, or a political event. You do this by weighing the information at hand and taking an inventory of the pros and cons. This process involves working out your thoughts about a subject, then dissecting it based on your opinion and the evidence you’ve gathered. Criticism should add commentary and context—it isn’t about recapping or summarization. Once you’ve picked your thoughts, you may find that you like the subject even more than when you started.
4. 4. Embrace your point of view. Everyone has a different point of view, and every perspective can lead to a different argument, which is why having a multitude of voices critiquing pop culture is essential. But balancing that with self-awareness is key; you don’t have to write about everything that crosses your path. Maybe you’re an expert on a reality show or fantasy football and can offer a distinct, incisive comment that’s missing from the existing narrative. “You don’t have to be a Swiss Army knife,” Roxane says. “Sometimes, you just want to be a razor blade.”
5. 5. Gather additional sources. While developing a new critical analysis, pull in examples that support or dissuade your argument—you need evidence to make a convincing case. When Roxane wrote her essay “Not Here to Make Friends,” about the importance of unlikable female protagonists, she looked at reality television (as the titular phrase might suggest), but also Gillian Flynn’s novel Gone Girl (2012) and the movie Young Adult (2011). For example, if you’re writing about RuPaul’s Drag Race, check magazines and other outlets to see what’s been published about the topic. Reading commentary from other critics and journalists is the only way to ensure that your argument is new and specific. Ultimately, ask yourself: What is nobody else talking about? What do I have to say about this that hasn’t already been said?
6. 6. Think about the bigger picture. As you consume a piece of media, Roxane suggests that you consider what larger connections you can make. Ask yourself before getting started: What does this piece of culture say about the political, socioeconomic, or cultural climate? What are its themes? What’s working (or not) about it? Who is the intended audience for the piece of culture? Answering these ahead of time can help you decide on an angle, or a direction, for your essay.
7. 7. Find an entry point. Determining where to begin your essay can be challenging because every story has multiple points of entry. When writing about pop culture, Roxane moves outward, from narrow (her own experience) to broad (applying her experience to larger experiences). For instance, when writing her essay about the importance of unlikable female protagonists, she started with a personal story about her own life. Roxane refers to this technique as “I know what I’m speaking of because I’m a customer, too.”

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