Book Review: We Should All Be Feminists

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie gave a TEDxEuston, which is a talk focused on Africa. After speaking at different TED events, Ms. Adichie was asked to return and she gave a serious talk on feminism. The talk was then turned into an e-book that did so well that it was printed and sold around the world under the title “We Should All Be Feminists.” And after reading the little 52-page book, I’m not surprised by its popularity and acclimatization by advocates and scholars alike.

For both those well-versed in feminism and those wanting to learn more about the subject, this book is a staple on anyone’s bookshelf. From beginning to end, I kept reading instances and words that I didn’t expect. And it also opened up the topic so that it was not only interesting but revealing.

The book begins by retelling the death of her dear friend in a plane crash. This person was also the first to call her a “feminist,” and she admitted that she had to go home and look up in a dictionary exactly what the definition of those words was. She then began to accept this aspect of the different way of thinking about her compared to the culture in which she lived and she accepted herself.

Each turn of the page would give you an idea of ​​how systemic anti-feminism is in African culture, but surprisingly it showed that some of the same issues persist in American society today. Of instances in a school where she was taken away from a privilege that she earned because it was believed that a woman could not do it. Trying to walk into a hotel and automatically being questioned as if she were a prostitute, the officer only realized that she was a paying guest.

She delves into the topic of how women are expected to be “nice” or “shy” in the corporate world, while men are supposed to be powerful and demanding. And when those same actions are emulated by a woman, people complain about the difficulty of working with her. It wasn’t that she was in some kind of power play, but that she was just imitating the example of her male counterpart.

Even instances where she started teaching a writing class and decided on the outfit she should wear in order to be taken seriously. As well as how she was responded to for being a woman in a powerful teaching position and what respect or disrespect she experienced for herself.

From front to back, the book I’ve read more than 5 times in the week I’ve had it. There are many cases where you will re-read a section simply seeing that even though you are talking about African culture, it is a topic that transcends many cultures, including American. Anyone who has always wondered about Feminism or found so many options that they go too deep and feel overwhelmed, this is a book that is not only a great introduction, it is exciting and beautiful for those who know Feminism well.