100 Books in 2018

32/ we should all be feminists by chimamanda ngozi adichie

read: 26.04.18 - 27.04.18

book: We Should All Be Feminists

author: Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

blurb: With humour and levity, here Adichie offers readers a unique definition of feminism for the twenty-first century—one rooted in inclusion and awareness. She shines a light not only on blatant discrimination, but also the more insidious, institutional behaviours that marginalise women around the world, in order to help readers of all walks of life better understand the often masked realities of sexual politics. Throughout, she draws extensively on her own experiences—in the U.S., in Nigeria, and abroad—offering an artfully nuanced explanation of why the gender divide is harmful for women and men, alike.

review: This was one of those essays which I had always heard very good things about and yet had never read which always aggravated me because I had had so many opportunities to buy it and read it. I gave up trying to re-read The Waves by Virginia Woolf and so decided that it was finally time to settle down and read this.

In this essay you can hear Adichie's voice very clearly, and if you watch her TED talks you'll be able to recognise her dry humour instantly. While I wasn't necessarily learning about any new concepts, it was still really interesting to learn about her own experiences and the experience of others in the context of Nigeria as a majority of the stories of sexism I hear are from my own country or America. This provided a new spin on what she was saying, and it made for a really interesting read which I think should be accessible for anyone. I think that the debates about what feminism really is would be sorted pretty sharpish if more people read this essay because I think it makes it crystal clear what feminism is actually all about. It was very powerful to read at points, and I came out of it with a smile on my face. I just wish it had been longer!

rating: 10/10