Lets all be feminists

Based on Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s TED Talk, her book is about her life from a feminist perspective and straight away stated that feminism is limited by stereotypes.

It is a lyrical book that could easily be a discussion over an evening meal or a glass of wine.

We Should All Be Feminists gives Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie a context that helped me to understand her books better. Like many people who straddle two cultures are influenced by many ideas and this sometimes causes internal conflict.  She writes about her early life in Africa and it comes into conflict with Western attitudes that she was exposed to while studying in America. She cites being called ‘Un-African” and a “Man Hater” because of her Western ideas that she incorporated into her worldview.

These are examples of how feminism is constructed by external factors. As Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie writes, what it shows is how that word feminism is so heavy with baggage: you hate men, you hate bras, you don’t care about your appearance, etc. None of these labels are flattering or positive. But one of these labels is true, Feminists are angry because genre inequality is a grave injustice.  But as she states, the good news is that anger has a history of bringing about positive change.

Apart from being a great novelist, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie is a strong woman with great ideas and who’s opinion is vital in the public sphere.