I write for myself, first and foremost and I also write for people, mostly women, who just want to be seen and heard and all too often aren't.

It is deeply unfair to task writers of color with unique responsibilities that we don't assign to all writers.

Feminism has neglected the needs of woman of color and people of color in general. But I don't think it means that we should overlook feminism as having nothing valuable to contribute.

The designation is useful and necessary and sometimes limiting but it is only limiting to people who think, for example, that African-American literature couldn't possibly be something they could be interested in or relate to. They have limited imaginations, which is sad.

Somewhere along the line we started misinterpreting the First Amendment and this idea of the freedom of speech the amendment grants us. We are free to speak as we choose without fear of prosecution or persecution, but we are not free to speak as we choose without consequence.

I am a bad feminist and a good woman. I am trying to become better in how I think and say and do - without abandoning what makes me human.

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.