I love finding books to read. There are certain times when the book finds me. When I read a category for the Popsugar Reading Challenge 2018, this book somehow popped into my mind. I’m not sure it would have otherwise.
There is a lot of discussion on my social media feeds on what feminism is, and what the world portrays it to be. It’s a marked difference between the two, but more often than not, it is made to feel like the borders are blurred. The author was asked to give a talk at TEDxEuston, and she chose to talk on this topic, and this book came about as a result of that talk.
Adichie doesn’t say anything new that most of us wouldn’t have already heard or read of before. But she makes it easier to understand. She takes examples from her life, and of the lives of people she knows, and makes it easier to follow. Her intent is not to preach but to express, and that shows in the way she speaks (given that the book is the version of a talk, it is apt, besides, the words do have a voice). I haven’t heard the talk, but I could feel the emotions flowing from the words in the book.
Perhaps this quote has been shared many times before, but it is one I remember from the book…
“Some people ask: “Why the word feminist? Why not just say you are a believer in human rights, or something like that?” Because that would be dishonest. Feminism is, of course, part of human rights in general—but to choose to use the vague expression human rights is to deny the specific and particular problem of gender. It would be a way of pretending that it was not women who have, for centuries, been excluded. It would be a way of denying that the problem of gender targets women.”
Another quote I loved was…
“Culture does not make people. People make culture. If it is true that the full humanity of women is not our culture, then we can and must make it our culture.”
I doubt a book can make the word “feminist” any simpler to understand. It’s a short book, and one that I feel everyone should read. It is quite beautiful.
A Score Of 9 Out Of 10
| Title: We Should All Be Feminists | |
| Author(s): Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie |
Genre: Short Non-fiction |
| ISBN/ASIN: 9780008115272 | Publisher: Fourth Estate |
No payment was taken for this review. The views expressed here are mine, and they remain uninfluenced and unbiased.
(© Vinay Leo R. @ A Bookworm’s Musing
16th January 2018)
