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A review by santreads
We Should All Be Feminists by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
5.0
This short, beautiful, witty, eloquent book should be read by ALL!
Only about 49 pages, but never have I gotten so much out of a tiny book.
With almost every paragraph, I nodded and smiled wistfully because I knew of these instances that she spoke of. These were daily if not 'once or twice in a life time' occurrences that I or someone I know went through.
Her logic is infallible - and I felt happy that I agreed and have in the past have voiced the same opinions. Maybe I'm on to something?
Favourite quotes/take backs/Situations I have been in or things that I feel very strongly about:
'...that word 'Feminist' is so heavy with baggage, negative baggage'
'If we see the same thing happen over and over again, it becomes normal. If only boys are made class monitor, then at some point we will all think, even if unconsciously, that the class monitor has to be a boy. If we keep seeing only men as heads of corporations, it starts to seem 'natural' that only men should be heads of corporations.'
'The higher you go, the fewer women there are.' - Kenyan Nobel peace laureate Wangari Maathai
'Each time I walk into a (Nigerian) restaurant with a man, the waiter greets the man and ignores me.'
The instances of the 'tough go-getter' woman boss, or the woman ad exec whose boss ignored her comments but praised something similar when it came from a man. She wanted to challenge her boss, but didn't want to come across as 'aggressive'.
'emasculation'
'We teach girls shame. We make them feel as though by being born female, they are already guilty of something.'
'Cooking, by the way, is a useful and practical life skill for a boy to have. I've never thought it made much sense to leave such a crucial thing - the ability to nourish oneself - in the hands of others.'
'Culture is about the preservation and continuity of people. Culture does not make people. People make culture.'
Only about 49 pages, but never have I gotten so much out of a tiny book.
With almost every paragraph, I nodded and smiled wistfully because I knew of these instances that she spoke of. These were daily if not 'once or twice in a life time' occurrences that I or someone I know went through.
Her logic is infallible - and I felt happy that I agreed and have in the past have voiced the same opinions. Maybe I'm on to something?
Favourite quotes/take backs/Situations I have been in or things that I feel very strongly about:
'...that word 'Feminist' is so heavy with baggage, negative baggage'
'If we see the same thing happen over and over again, it becomes normal. If only boys are made class monitor, then at some point we will all think, even if unconsciously, that the class monitor has to be a boy. If we keep seeing only men as heads of corporations, it starts to seem 'natural' that only men should be heads of corporations.'
'The higher you go, the fewer women there are.' - Kenyan Nobel peace laureate Wangari Maathai
'Each time I walk into a (Nigerian) restaurant with a man, the waiter greets the man and ignores me.'
The instances of the 'tough go-getter' woman boss, or the woman ad exec whose boss ignored her comments but praised something similar when it came from a man. She wanted to challenge her boss, but didn't want to come across as 'aggressive'.
'emasculation'
'We teach girls shame. We make them feel as though by being born female, they are already guilty of something.'
'Cooking, by the way, is a useful and practical life skill for a boy to have. I've never thought it made much sense to leave such a crucial thing - the ability to nourish oneself - in the hands of others.'
'Culture is about the preservation and continuity of people. Culture does not make people. People make culture.'