Tina Fey’s Bossypants reflects commonly held views of various oppressed groups. In an age where generalized homophobia runs rampant, it is no surprise that these themes can be seen in Tina Fey’s novel. Far more prevalent than direct opposition is conditional acceptance, and Fey enforces these ideas by sharing a revelation she had as a child when she states, “I really didn’t have a crush on Sean. I had reacted that way because I viscerally felt that what they were about to do was icky. The stomachache I felt had nothing to do with a crush. I had to face the fact that I had been using my gay friends as props.” (Fey 39-40). Tina Fey tells the reader that she is viscerally repulsed by the thought of her gay friends having sex. This leads into…show more content… In Fey’s list on page twenty-three she specifically targets people of Asian descent. To enforce this, Tina Fey makes another racially-charged stereotype later in the book when she says, “The stylist’s assistant will be a chic twenty-year old Asian girl named Esther or Agnes or Lot’s Wife.” (Fey 133). The author’s decision to repeatedly play on common stereotypes that center on people of Asian descent enforces an internalized prejudice against Asian people being masked by humor. Tina Fey also makes a joke specifically about Koreans when she says, “For starters, you may forget that you yourself speak English. You enter, smile, and nod at the manager. “Manicure-pedicure?” “Pick color,” she chirps back in her korean accent. You pick out a couple of the three hundred shades of off-white. “This for manicure. This feet. Magazine okay?’” (Fey 102). The author imitates and makes fun of Korean speech patterns and in doing so makes another reference to the stereotype of Asian women working in the cosmetic or cosmetologic fields. Tina Fey also jokes that “After a series of failed experiments with Caucasian men, I discovered that what I am really into is Caucasian men.” (Fey 52). The implications of this quote are that she was attracted to these people specifically because of their skin color. This is racism, because her elevation of white people on the basis of affection indicates a bias and a…show more content… The person at fault usually believes that because they are aware of the conflict, they can not be drawn into it. An example of this behavior in Bossypants is when Fey says, “As I watched her nervously trundle up the steps to her interview, I knew it was no contest.,” which is followed in the next paragraph by, “Donna would have thrown herself into that office job with deep commitment for the rest of her life. I stayed less than a year and bailed when I got a job with The Second City Touring Company.” (Fey 73). The audience follows as Tina Fey engages in an act of sabotage to take a higher position in her company from a coworker who not only needed it more, but wanted it more. This behavior is in stark contrast to when Fey says, “Obviously, as an adult I realize this girl-on-girl sabotage is the third worst kind of female behavior, right behind saying “like” all the time and leaving your baby in a dumpster.” (Fey 37-38). This quote follows a story of Tina Fey’s first act of girl-on-girl sabotage, and shows that she is aware of it. This story takes place chronologically before she would take her coworker’s job, and before her second act of sabotage. The second time is notable because she says, “Sabotage and saying ‘like.” I was in a really bad place.” (Fey 39). Her the audience is reaffirmed that she is aware of what she is doing, and that she knows it is wrong. This is
