Reviews with content warning for Transphobia - Todos deberíamos ser feministas

“I have chosen to no longer be apologetic for my femaleness and my femininity. And I want to be respected in all of my femaleness because I deserve to be.”

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 on the more insidious, institutional behaviours that marginalize 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 her native Nigeria, and abroad—offering an artfully nuanced explanation of why the gender divide is harmful to women and men, alike.

I think this was a good overall look at feminism. The author did a great job of explaining the issue in a real but witty way that makes it understandable to everyone. I didn't learn anything new really but I did feel validated on my views and morals which is also important. It was short and straight to the point and I would advise everyone to pick it up, if only to be reminded why we need to be the change.

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abigailwall's review against another edition

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reflective fast-paced

3.0

Good as a feminist text on a basic level but DEEPLY lacking in knowledge about trans issues and people.

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anomiques's review against another edition

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hopeful informative inspiring reflective fast-paced

3.0

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tmchopra's review against another edition

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Author asserts that women can give birth and men can’t. One quick Google search revealed that author is a TERF with a history of defending J.K. Rowling’s open transphobia. Immediately stopped reading. Feminism isn’t feminism if it’s just for the equality of cisgender people.

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apocalipstick's review against another edition

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marraskuu's review against another edition

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1.5

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ichthusangel's review against another edition

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informative fast-paced

1.75

‘We Should All Be Feminists’ by Chimamanda Adichie is quite well written and a good book for someone who equates feminism to misandry and those who believe that women enjoy equal freedom in the present. The essay talks about the negative baggage with the word ‘feminist,’ anger in young women because of how they’re constantly put down, how they school themselves because it’s been ingrained in them that they should be ‘likable.’ The essay talks of the lack of respect, even in modern workplaces, if a women is unmarried, men— who are brought up in extremely restrictive boundaries as well and how it contributes to their fragile ego, and how women are taught to cater to those fragile egos, what people of either gender sacrifice because of their spouses and family. It addresses how women are brought up to see other women as their competitors, not for accomplishments, but for men’s attention. ‘Who turn pretence into art,’ that’s true for many, many women. The essay tackles a lot of questions most people, non-feminists, would ask.

Now, coming onto why I dislike this book— I prefer not reading reviews for I feel like it messes with my independent thinking, so I did not know that the author is a TERF who has been transphobic on many instances. I think cishets might not even notice it, but as a queer person reading a feminist piece that’s way too binary, that reinforces division as simply black & white, an essay that essentially says that anyone who isn’t a straight allosexual is a virgin. The essay writes about ‘bottom power,’ completely ignoring the existence of an entire, broad spectrum of asexuality, also women who don’t just want to have sex with their partners. It propagates homophobic and transphobic views of the world— and that triggered me. Reading her works after knowing this is not something I’ll be able to do. It costs nothing to be kind, to be understanding, to give space and voice to queer folks. And to say, I’m not new to the concept of a feminist book lacking inclusivity. However those books don’t outright reject queer experiences, it just isn’t there. And that’s fine. But WSABF diminishes & rejects queer experiences.
The author herself has weird notions of feminine and masculine actions, because of which she highlights, in not only this book but her autobiographical book as well, that she’s ‘political,’ and that it that makes her ‘masculine.’

The author has clarified at times that she isn’t transphobic (and also a LGBTQ activist) while at times arrogantly responded to it. This book tells you she’s a TERF and definitely not an LGBTQ activist. It is annoying to see such huge parts of society & oppression being erased.

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leanneymu's review against another edition

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hopeful informative reflective fast-paced

3.0

An interesting personal perspective on the intersections of race, gender, and ethnicity, from the viewpoint of a cis, straight, Nigerian woman. As such, the essay neglects to talk about the experiences of queer folk, trans folk, and non-binary people. Given it was published in 2014, maybe this wasn't part of the discourse at that point, but as a reader, it's worth being aware of, as the essay talks about feminism and gender in a very binary way. Still worth a read though, and has some excellent, quotable lines.

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