We Should All Be Feminists
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER - The highly acclaimed, provocative essay on feminism and sexual politics--from the award-winning author of Americanah "A call to action, for all people in the world, to undo the gender hierarchy." --Medium
In this personal, eloquently-argued essay--adapted from the much-admired TEDx talk of the same name--Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie offers readers a unique definition of feminism for the twenty-first century. Drawing extensively on her own experiences and her deep understanding of the often masked realities of sexual politics, here is one remarkable author's exploration of what it means to be a woman now--and an of-the-moment rallying cry for why we should all be feminists.
In this personal, eloquently-argued essay--adapted from the much-admired TEDx talk of the same name--Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie offers readers a unique definition of feminism for the twenty-first century. Drawing extensively on her own experiences and her deep understanding of the often masked realities of sexual politics, here is one remarkable author's exploration of what it means to be a woman now--and an of-the-moment rallying cry for why we should all be feminists.
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Community Reviews
A modified version of a TED talk, this essay provides a few instances of beautiful insight while clearly and concisely articulating a truth that many of us feminists have known for a long time: We should all be feminists.
I'm not new to feminism, so many of these ideas were ideas which I merely had to nod my head at and say "Amen, sister," in that agreeing way, the way Americans say "I know" when really what they mean is "I understand how you feel". That doesn't mean this book isn't worth reading or it didn't provide points of interest and introspection.
A few points that struck me:
"I often wear clothes that men don't like or don't 'understand'. I wear them because I like them and I feel good in them. The 'male gaze,' as a shaper of my life's choice, is largely incidental."
Yes, yes, YES. I had a run-in with an older, male colleague last year over the choice of my clothes. In a clothing swap, I had snapped up a pair of delicately pale pink pants, with a subtle silver stripe to them. I loved them. They felt classy and feminine all at the same time. My male colleague, every time I wore them, would tease me or mention the fact that because they were so pale it looked like I wasn't wearing pants at all. Did he need to mention this? No. Did it upset me? Yes! I love those damn pants! I don't care what you think, I like those pants! I have to also stop myself from policing the clothes of others. I worry. As a teacher, it's the girls whose clothes I police in my head. That skirt is too short, that Harley Quinn t-shirt isn't promoting a healthy relationship ideal, you know, the usual. And I try really hard to not let those thoughts come out, because what the hell do I actually care? I'm not their boss. I might be their teacher but I'm not their parent. Are they actually exposing things that are sexualized (boobs, butts, genetalia)? No. But I still police in my head.
"Some people ask, 'Why the word feminist? Why not just say you are a believer in human rights, or something like that?' Because that would be dishonest. Feminism is, of course, part of human rights in general -- but to choose to use the vague expression human rights is to deny the specific and particular problem of gender."
-We need to change the way we raise our sons.
-Many men don't see gender and that's part of the problem. They don't see the problem.
THIS IS WHY IDENTITY POLITICS IS IMPORTANT. BECAUSE TO PURPOSELY GENERALIZE THE PROBLEM IS TO ERASE THE PROBLEM.
Ugh.
I am so, so tired of people railing against identity politics. IT'S WHO I GODDAMN AM. I will not repress who I am because talking about the problem I face as a result of who I am make you uncomfortable. No, I cannot reduce the experience of my male coworker telling me, when I had a bad day, "that I was in rare form and I should keep it rare" to a problem of the human species because it was not. It was an experience informed by the fact that I am a woman and he is a man and whether he is aware of it or not it is his prerogative to remind me that my duty as a woman is to be perky and joyful and happy ALL THE DAMN TIME. No, it's not, bucko. My job is to be a complex, multi-faceted human being who has flaws and is beautiful, just like yours is. But my experience compared to yours is influenced and informed by my gender, and ignoring my gender is to belittle the problems I face as a result of it.
The same way "color-blindness" hasn't worked, y'all. "Color-blindness" just erases a crucial component of a person that STILL HAS AN EFFECT ON THEIR LIVES, Y'ALL. You think that just because you "don't see color" that suddenly fewer than 1 in 3 black men goes to prison? You think that you "not seeing color" is going to impact how television portrays black men? Because it's not. If we refuse to recognize that there's a problem, how can we hope to fix it? And a lot of people accuse us of reopening old wounds. Old for whom? Just because you've blithely forgotten about slavery or that time when women couldn't vote doesn't mean the rest of us does. It literally GALLS ME that women have had the right to vote for less than 100 years and THAT'S JUST WHITE WOMEN. I can't even begin to express the unspeakable rage that wells up within me when women of color are ALWAYS, ALWAYS given the short end of the stick. Oftentimes from white women purportedly touting feminism. FEMINISM HAS TO BE INTERSECTIONAL or it's not feminism. We as white women can't ignore the fact that our sisters of color get treated way, way worse. Immorally, inhumanely worse. Brown lives matter. Black lives matter. And it matter that they're black and brown because their blackness and their brownness informs how they are treated by systemically unjust systems (as well as asshole individuals and unconscious [or conscious] racists).
Now I'm all riled.
Good.
I'm tired of playing nice and I'm tired of speaking softly and I'm tired of keeping my knees together and my ankles crossed. It's fucking hard to keep your ankles crossed all the time. It takes a strength of the inner thighs that I just do not currently possess. And I'd rather build up my quads and gluts than my inner thighs. I'd rather build other women up than tear other women down. I'd rather comfort a little boy who's crying than tell him he should stop crying. I'd rather try my best to let other human beings be complete human beings.
In other news, you should read this book. It literally took me no time. DO IT.
I'm not new to feminism, so many of these ideas were ideas which I merely had to nod my head at and say "Amen, sister," in that agreeing way, the way Americans say "I know" when really what they mean is "I understand how you feel". That doesn't mean this book isn't worth reading or it didn't provide points of interest and introspection.
A few points that struck me:
"I often wear clothes that men don't like or don't 'understand'. I wear them because I like them and I feel good in them. The 'male gaze,' as a shaper of my life's choice, is largely incidental."
Yes, yes, YES. I had a run-in with an older, male colleague last year over the choice of my clothes. In a clothing swap, I had snapped up a pair of delicately pale pink pants, with a subtle silver stripe to them. I loved them. They felt classy and feminine all at the same time. My male colleague, every time I wore them, would tease me or mention the fact that because they were so pale it looked like I wasn't wearing pants at all. Did he need to mention this? No. Did it upset me? Yes! I love those damn pants! I don't care what you think, I like those pants! I have to also stop myself from policing the clothes of others. I worry. As a teacher, it's the girls whose clothes I police in my head. That skirt is too short, that Harley Quinn t-shirt isn't promoting a healthy relationship ideal, you know, the usual. And I try really hard to not let those thoughts come out, because what the hell do I actually care? I'm not their boss. I might be their teacher but I'm not their parent. Are they actually exposing things that are sexualized (boobs, butts, genetalia)? No. But I still police in my head.
"Some people ask, 'Why the word feminist? Why not just say you are a believer in human rights, or something like that?' Because that would be dishonest. Feminism is, of course, part of human rights in general -- but to choose to use the vague expression human rights is to deny the specific and particular problem of gender."
-We need to change the way we raise our sons.
-Many men don't see gender and that's part of the problem. They don't see the problem.
THIS IS WHY IDENTITY POLITICS IS IMPORTANT. BECAUSE TO PURPOSELY GENERALIZE THE PROBLEM IS TO ERASE THE PROBLEM.
Ugh.
I am so, so tired of people railing against identity politics. IT'S WHO I GODDAMN AM. I will not repress who I am because talking about the problem I face as a result of who I am make you uncomfortable. No, I cannot reduce the experience of my male coworker telling me, when I had a bad day, "that I was in rare form and I should keep it rare" to a problem of the human species because it was not. It was an experience informed by the fact that I am a woman and he is a man and whether he is aware of it or not it is his prerogative to remind me that my duty as a woman is to be perky and joyful and happy ALL THE DAMN TIME. No, it's not, bucko. My job is to be a complex, multi-faceted human being who has flaws and is beautiful, just like yours is. But my experience compared to yours is influenced and informed by my gender, and ignoring my gender is to belittle the problems I face as a result of it.
The same way "color-blindness" hasn't worked, y'all. "Color-blindness" just erases a crucial component of a person that STILL HAS AN EFFECT ON THEIR LIVES, Y'ALL. You think that just because you "don't see color" that suddenly fewer than 1 in 3 black men goes to prison? You think that you "not seeing color" is going to impact how television portrays black men? Because it's not. If we refuse to recognize that there's a problem, how can we hope to fix it? And a lot of people accuse us of reopening old wounds. Old for whom? Just because you've blithely forgotten about slavery or that time when women couldn't vote doesn't mean the rest of us does. It literally GALLS ME that women have had the right to vote for less than 100 years and THAT'S JUST WHITE WOMEN. I can't even begin to express the unspeakable rage that wells up within me when women of color are ALWAYS, ALWAYS given the short end of the stick. Oftentimes from white women purportedly touting feminism. FEMINISM HAS TO BE INTERSECTIONAL or it's not feminism. We as white women can't ignore the fact that our sisters of color get treated way, way worse. Immorally, inhumanely worse. Brown lives matter. Black lives matter. And it matter that they're black and brown because their blackness and their brownness informs how they are treated by systemically unjust systems (as well as asshole individuals and unconscious [or conscious] racists).
Now I'm all riled.
Good.
I'm tired of playing nice and I'm tired of speaking softly and I'm tired of keeping my knees together and my ankles crossed. It's fucking hard to keep your ankles crossed all the time. It takes a strength of the inner thighs that I just do not currently possess. And I'd rather build up my quads and gluts than my inner thighs. I'd rather build other women up than tear other women down. I'd rather comfort a little boy who's crying than tell him he should stop crying. I'd rather try my best to let other human beings be complete human beings.
In other news, you should read this book. It literally took me no time. DO IT.
You know how you can usually tell when a movie began life as a play? Turns out the same thing applies when a book began life as a TED Talk. This was interesting enough, but after all the hype, I had hoped for a lot more compelling or novel insight. (Which is precisely the reaction I have to most TED Talks.) These are important ideas, but ones that I had thought more deeply about in relation to other books, etc. So it might have a place as an introduction to modern feminism, I guess? But if you've read or thought about gender equality very much, this isn't likely to challenge you to see anything in a new or more illuminating way.
love
this writing gave me a good foundation on which i’d like to build my own definition of my feminism. it’s so beautiful.
this writing gave me a good foundation on which i’d like to build my own definition of my feminism. it’s so beautiful.
прочитав после книги белой феминистки из кремниевой долины книгу черной феминистки из нигерии, держусь своего предыдущего высказывания: каждому нужен свой герой. мне сложно полностью сопереживать проблемам нигерийских женщин - ну то есть, ужасно, что с ними не здороваются в присутственных местях, а в некоторые и вовсе не пускают, но какой бы дремучей ни была матушка россия, мы немного опережаем нигерию в области базовых прав. я хочу читать про жизнь, которая больше похожа на мою.
в книге всё очень правильно, но вместе с тем - очень базово. ничего из того, что вы не читали ранее, если вы хоть что-то читали
в книге всё очень правильно, но вместе с тем - очень базово. ничего из того, что вы не читали ранее, если вы хоть что-то читали
Holy moly.
This is the best persuasive essay I’ve ever read.
By the end of it, I’m not only convinced that everyone should be a feminist, but am a bit confused why that wasn’t something I already thought before reading the book.
The author reveals her secret before she even starts the magic trick: she admits, in what seems a non-sequester, that she often forgets that things that seem obvious to her are not obvious to others. Then she subtly brings us from wherever we are into her field of vision: lets us see her lose the role of class monitor because of her gender, ponders with us why a wife thanks her husband for the act of childcare, thinks aloud about how hard it must be for men to live with the concept of masculinity.
She speaks to you like an old friend. She uses simple sentences, relates familiar experiences in familiar terms. She may have an end game in mind, but just as with a sprawling conversation, it isn’t immediately evident how her anecdotes and observations fit together. If there is a tight syllogism somewhere, it’s safely hidden from view.
A quarter of the way in, perhaps the word feminist has many connotations. Perhaps very few of those connotations are implied by the word.
Half way in, perhaps it is odd that men occupy so many positions of power and perhaps when people see things repeatedly they begin to view them as normal. Perhaps many people view this as normal.
Three quarters, perhaps she’s right when she says thousands of years ago the world was divided into two groups and the one has spent the intervening time oppressing the other. Perhaps we should embrace a word – feminism – that at least acknowledges that reality.
And by the end, through a series of perhaps a thousand simple, relatable, common-sense sentences, perhaps you are right to angry. Perhaps we should all be angry. Perhaps anger really does have a long history of making positive change.
This is another book where you just have to listen to the audiobook. I’m sure it’s great to read, but I can’t imagine it compares to listening to the author recount her experiences, thoughts, and subtle arguments in her own words.
Five stars!
This is the best persuasive essay I’ve ever read.
By the end of it, I’m not only convinced that everyone should be a feminist, but am a bit confused why that wasn’t something I already thought before reading the book.
The author reveals her secret before she even starts the magic trick: she admits, in what seems a non-sequester, that she often forgets that things that seem obvious to her are not obvious to others. Then she subtly brings us from wherever we are into her field of vision: lets us see her lose the role of class monitor because of her gender, ponders with us why a wife thanks her husband for the act of childcare, thinks aloud about how hard it must be for men to live with the concept of masculinity.
She speaks to you like an old friend. She uses simple sentences, relates familiar experiences in familiar terms. She may have an end game in mind, but just as with a sprawling conversation, it isn’t immediately evident how her anecdotes and observations fit together. If there is a tight syllogism somewhere, it’s safely hidden from view.
A quarter of the way in, perhaps the word feminist has many connotations. Perhaps very few of those connotations are implied by the word.
Half way in, perhaps it is odd that men occupy so many positions of power and perhaps when people see things repeatedly they begin to view them as normal. Perhaps many people view this as normal.
Three quarters, perhaps she’s right when she says thousands of years ago the world was divided into two groups and the one has spent the intervening time oppressing the other. Perhaps we should embrace a word – feminism – that at least acknowledges that reality.
And by the end, through a series of perhaps a thousand simple, relatable, common-sense sentences, perhaps you are right to angry. Perhaps we should all be angry. Perhaps anger really does have a long history of making positive change.
This is another book where you just have to listen to the audiobook. I’m sure it’s great to read, but I can’t imagine it compares to listening to the author recount her experiences, thoughts, and subtle arguments in her own words.
Five stars!
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