Introduction: We Should All Be Feminists by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

We Should All Be Feminists

We Should All Be Feminists by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie was first presented as a TED Talk given in the United Kingdom at TEDxEuston, in 2012. It is a very short book that you can read it in under 30 minutes. The book deals with the author’s experience as a woman living in Nigeria. I could relate to some of her experiences while growing up in Jamaica, but there are some experiences that any woman can relate to – even in North America.

There are certain roles defined by gender. The woman is responsible for housework – cooking and cleaning, and the man is the breadwinner. Both men and women may have paid work, but when they get home, the man relaxes and the woman continues with the non-paid work. I hope the millennial generation changes this for us. My mother was a strong woman, and I must admit that she did not force me to do these things, but I observed that some of the men expected it.

Content: We Should All Be Feminists by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

I chuckled when she talked about paying someone, and instead of thanking her, he thanked Louis, the man she was with. He assumed that the money originally came from her partner.

“As in most big cities, finding parking in the evenings can be difficult, so these young men make a business out of finding spots, and- even when there are spots available – of guiding you into yours with much gesticulating, and promising to “look after” your car until you get back. I was impressed with the particular theatrics of the man who found us a parking spot that evening. And so as we were leaving, I decided to give him a tip. I opened my bag, put my hand inside my bag to get my money, and I gave it to the man. And he, this man who was happy and grateful, took the money from me, and then looked across at Louis and said, Thank you, sah!”

I could totally relate to her experience. I was having dinner with someone I was dating a few years ago, and the waiter presented him with the bill. I made a lot more money than he did, so I usually paid for the meals when we went out. To not make my partner feel bad, I discretely passed the money under the table to him, so he could pay the bill.

In We Should All Be Feminists by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, she emphasizes that women shouldn’t have to do things like this. She talks about hating the word, emasculate, and so do I. For women to not be seen as second class citizens, men have to speak up when they observe inequities. Society has to stop “genderizing” roles and responsibilities.

Conclusion: We Should All Be Feminists by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

We Should All Be Feminists by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie is worth the read and I recommend that both men and women read it. We are a part of both the problem and the solution.

Books by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

 We Should All Be Feminists Americanah Half of a Yellow Sun The Thing Around Your Neck Purple Hibiscus: A Novel

We Should All Be Feminists
Americanah
Half of a Yellow Sun
The Thing Around Your Neck
Purple Hibiscus

We Should All Be Feminists by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie TEDxEuston, in 2012

First Appeared on Birds on the Blog