Rapid Review: Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

We Should All Be Feminists

Dear Ijeawele

(Finished reading: 8/9/18)

5/5 stars

Essential, thoughtful, insightful.

“social norms are created by human beings, and there is no social norm that cannot be changed.”

I recently finished a couple essays by Adichie and felt it necessary to talk about them because of how important and revealing they are about our world as we know it, in particular, how our world treats women. As a feminist myself, I thoroughly loved and supported Adichie’s writing. But as enjoyable as it is to read from a feminist perspective, I am more inclined to believe these essays are for those who do not necessarily consider themselves a feminist. Adichie beautifully illustrates her views and arguments with personal anecdote and everyday oppressive behaviour which I think will be relatable to many women but also necessary for men and women who do not relate to be able to attempt to understand. Both essays primarily focus on feminism from Adichie’s perspective as a Nigerian woman and the influences of Nigerian culture on gender. However, I have to say, the majority of the issues she presents in these essays are just as relevant to other cultures and therefore it is vital they are talked about all over the world.

‘We Should All Be Feminists’ is a personal essay adapted from Adichie’s popular TED talk of the same name. In this essay Adichie presents us with her own personal experiences with feminism as a Nigerian woman living in the 21^st century. Throughout the essay she attempts to build a contemporary definition of feminism by drawing examples of sexual politics in everyday life. She also discusses the negative stigma surrounding the word ‘Feminist’ and what it has become to mean to a lot of people. At the end of the essay she finally presents us with her definition of a feminist as a man or woman who says: “Yes, there’s a problem with gender as it is today and we must fix it, we must do better.” To which I whole-heartedly agree. There certainly is a problem with gender today and this is a problem easily observable should one be willing to see it. These problems have and still are very much masked and rarely discussed as an issue that needs to be dealt with. However, these issues are so deeply ingrained in us as children that it’s hard to reject our views of gender roles that we’ve always accepted. These problems are prevalent in schools, the workplace but also in our social relationships with one another. I really liked how Adichie discusses these issues and ties them all together. Her writing is very clear and easy to read and is definitely accessible to everyone and because of this I’d like to think more people picked up this essay as it really does have the power to change how we view gender in the 21^st century.

‘Dear Ijeawele’ is a feminist manifesto in fifteen suggestions. In this essay Adichie writes a letter to her friend in response to her question ‘how do I raise my daughter a feminist?’, or rather, advice on how to raise your daughter be a strong, independent and empowered woman. Besides being an essay about feminism, I think this is also great parenting advice for any parents expecting either a daughter or a son. Adichie’s suggestions progress roughly based on the age of the child, for example, the earlier suggestions deal with issues in gender we face as young children or younger parents and then gradually build up to problems that may be faced as the child grows up. This forces us to reflect on how early we begin to enforce gender values on children by telling them what toys they should be playing with or the way they ought to behave. And then towards the end of the essay Adichie discusses more adult issues relevant to teenagers such as sexual values, beauty ideals and marriage. But of course, the earlier discussion on motherhood is just as relevant to the daughter as she approaches motherhood and the gender issues surrounding parenting. Although I’m not personally a parent nor approaching parenthood, I’m really grateful to have read this essay. And despite not being a fresh-out-the-womb, impressionable baby, I feel like this manifesto is still relevant to me as a woman in the early stages of adulthood as I have certainly taken something from this. I particularly enjoyed the discussion surrounding marital traditions as I really liked the idea that instead of women being expected to change their names to their husband’s surname, couples pick a completely new surname and both adopt this name and pass it down to their children. To me, this is something I’d like to see become a more contemporary tradition that catches on and promotes equality. But overall, I really enjoyed this book because it encourages parents to promote feminist values and equality in children from birth right through to adulthood. This, I personally believe, is the best way to achieve a more equal society.

I thought both essays were very thought-provoking and forced me to consider ideas I hadn’t necessarily considered before. I hope others will read this essays and reflect on our current perception of gender in everyday life and hopefully by raising our children to recognise this from an early age we can bring about the change we all desire.