The book explores the complexities of social matters in the modern age that are still defining their philosophies while tackling the issues at hand. Gay offers a different take on feminism unlike most literature on the subject by presenting her interpretation and observations. Whilst certain factions or individuals adopt the term liberal feminism or radical feminism, Gay coins bad feminism satirically. Though she is satirical in style, she offers her point of view and arguments to validate her claim regarding the intersectionality of feminism. For a movement that is meant to represent the modern woman, Gay asserts traditional feminism is non-inclusive and biased.
On the topic of intersectionality, Gay highlights that while there are multiple schools of thought on feminism all in all they are not fully represented on a larger scale. In other words, different factions differ on how the modern woman should be exemplified and what her major struggles are. Therefore, Gay asserts mainstream feminism essentially represents the struggles of middle-class white women more than any other group. As a black woman, Gay observes the problem in the movement in not tackling the issues of lower-class women from black communities. Furthermore stressing that other groups are marginalized by ethnicity, social background, and culture thus feel alienated by the movement.
In contributing to the gap that she observes, Gay offers her own interpretation of feminism that does not necessarily mirror the philosophies of the mainstream one. Essentially, she demonstrates that the term "feminist" should not have to alienate any woman, as one should have their own version. Equality of the sexes is the major agenda of the movement hence as long as one harbor that sentiment other factors are a personal choice. Consequently, Gay shares her interests and her understanding of popular culture and media that others would disagree with. Moreover, she criticizes the negative perception of race, gender, and sexual abuse that is found in popular media and culture.
