Today I want to share this inspirational talk by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie about her journey toward identifying as a feminist, her Nigerian perspective on growing up as a female human being and her ideas about men’s role in bringing about positive change toward equality.
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie is a writer, and as you will discover in this video, a great narrator. According to her, gender matters and men play an important role in bringing about positive change. Part of the problem with gender, she argues, is that many men do not actively think about it, or notice gender, and that many men do nothing to change the situation of inequality.
What is the solution? On the one hand, becoming aware of gender as a parameter of systematic oppression (like race or class, among others) and paying attention to the problem. So put on those gender spectacles, everyone : )
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hg3umXU_qWc
On the other hand, the problem with gender is that is prescribes how we SHOULD be, rather than recognising how we ARE. Thus, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie argues that part of the solution must be about raising our children focusing on ability and interest, instead of gender. We raise children to fear female success and it makes women keep themselves small. Enjoying each other’s success and leaving behind the fear associated with competition is what we should focus on.
All the best,
Chiara Gerlich
@cegerlich