Roxane Gay Says Australia Is Much More Sexist Than America

“... so sexist.”

Nakkiah Lui and Miranda Tapsell are fascinated by how race and gender informs their everyday experiences. They talk about race ALL THE TIME, and even when they aren’t, they are – because their Aboriginality is part of who they are and how they are perceived by others.

Ben King / Anna Mendoza / BuzzFeed. / Via BuzzFeed

In the latest episode of their podcast Pretty for An Aboriginal, writer, actor and director Nakkiah Lui, and Miranda Tapsell, one of Australia's most in demand screen actors, talk to the brilliant Roxane Gay.

Roxane Gay has been described as “America’s brightest new essayist”, but her work resonates deeply in Australia. As Miranda elaborates, Roxane’s writing “reflects my experience as an Aboriginal woman”. Oh, and she’s also the writer who made Miranda “feel things for women”. So that’s a bonus!

instagram.com / Via @Roxanegay

Gay writes about all the things that rarely get airtime or space: the lives of women, sex, desire, domestic habits and rituals, and things that happen in a relationship that few want to acknowledge. And each piece is subtly, quietly political.

In this wide-ranging interview Nakkiah, Roxane and Miranda talk about their mutual love of ice skating; compare experiences with weight loss and surgery; and consider why fat women aren’t allowed to be sexual in popular culture, yet are festishised and sexualised without question. And they tackle sexism in Australia.

“I said this last time I was here too, the commercials, the morning news programs, like the women are expected to be feminine and deferent and almost dumb,” says Gay.

“And you know these are just intelligent women who are just playing the game.

"I’m just like, things are bad in the United States with regards to gender but it’s a paradise compared to what I’ve seen here. And the men are so … sexist.”

Listen now:

1. Pretty For An Aboriginal is available in Apple Podcasts.

2. Be sure to subscribe, so you never miss a new episode! Subscribe via Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Stitcher, iHeartRadio, Spotify, or wherever you find your podcasts.

Questions? Comments? Email [e-mail]

Credits:

Producer & Editor: Cinnamon Nippard (Audiocraft)

Audio Mix: Adam Connolly (Audiocraft)

BuzzFeed Designers: Ben King / Dennis Huynh

BuzzFeed Photographer & Video Producers: Nick Wray & Anna Mendoza

BuzzFeed Director of Audio: Eleanor Kagan

Thanks to Hachette for support on Episode 3.