"The problem with gender is that it prescribes how we should be rather than recognizing how we are. Imagine how much happier we would be, how much freer to be our true individual selves, if we didn't have the weight of gender expectations." "We teach girls shame...and we teach boys to be afraid of fear."
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's We Should All be Feminists is a personal essay drawn from her TEDx talk with the same name. Glad that I finally came around to reading it after how many years? I got this copy because of study (I'll be doing feminist criticism soon) and I love that I did! 😊
The loveliest thing about this tiny compact book is that Chimamanda opens the book by pointing out that feminism as a word and ideology is "limited by stereotypes." The idea is strongly restricted by people because according to them, it is 'unafrican', 'angry, 'full of hate'. You cannot say I am feminist without getting stares or being put on the spot for an argument.
In essence, the word is so heavy with negative baggage. For this reason, people fear the tag. I know I was scared for a very long time of saying, I'm feminist. Makes me think of how Buchi Emecheta in her autobiography, Head Above Water mentioned that feared being called a feminist although her works had strong feminists and portrayed life for Nigerian and African women as it is.
If you want an eloquent and short opinion piece on why men and women should make progress towards a fairer world. We should all be feminists and we should all read this book. ❤️
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