Out100: Roxane Gay

Photography by Ryan Pfluger. Photographed in Beverly Hills on August 19, 2015.

Roxane Gay's 2014 was marked by the release of a novel, An Untamed State, and a collection of essays, Bad Feminist. A year later, public and critical interest in her work hasn't abated -- if anything, demand for her is on the rise. From Sydney to New York, she has empowered women through her insistence that there is no shame in being a "bad feminist," a middle-of-the-line feminist, or any kind of feminist. For Gay, feminism belongs to all women, and it should embrace all types. "It's OK to believe in your voice," she says. "And to use it."

SLIDESHOW | Out100 2015