We Should All Be Feminists (2014) (Fourth Estate)Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Grade: A+
Genre: non-fiction
Source: own
Fiction RBC 2014: A book of non-fiction
Watch the TEDx talk here.
Adapted from her phenomenal TEDx
talk of the same name, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie draws upon her experiences
growing up in Nigeria and uses her gift for storytelling to put forward a
persuasive argument for why we should all be feminists and what every man,
woman, boy, girl and parent can do to contribute towards the equality of the
sexes.
I watched this TEDx talk earlier
this year and was blown away by her wit, speaking style and really
down-to-earth demeanour. Beyoncé’s
song ‘Flawless’ uses a line from this speech which really put this talk in the
spotlight. It’s a lengthy piece (30 minutes) but it’s worth every minute and
will guarantee countless laughs. Her anecdotes reveal the stunning ‘everyday
sexism’ that she’s been subjected to, yet these instances have become
normalised into culture such that it has simply become the way that we treat
men and women. Although the book does, in essence, repeat verbatim the contents
of her speech, it’s still worthwhile to read it and watch the talk – though not
at the same time. It was such a long time ago that while I remember key parts
of her speech, what hadn’t stuck in my head was the way that she’d managed to
link seemingly unrelated events to weave an organic piece of storytelling that
hits home, hard. I read in the Evening
Standard this week that the word ‘feminist’ had been voted the top word to
get rid of from our vocabulary. If this talk can’t change those peoples’ minds,
then I don’t know what can. Read it or watch it, or do both if you’re so
inclined – you won’t regret it.
Image courtesy of Book Depository.
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