Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie Quote
I learned a lot about systems of oppression and how they can be blind to one another by talking to black men. I was once talking about gender and a man said to me, Why does it have to be you as a woman? Why not you as a human being? This type of question is a way of silencing a person's specific experiences. Of course I am a human being, but there are particular things that happen to me in the world because I am a woman. This same man, by the way, would often talk about his experience as a black man. (To which I should probably have responded, Why not your experiences as a man or as a human being? Why a black man?)
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
I learned a lot about systems of oppression and how they can be blind to one another by talking to black men. I was once talking about gender and a man said to me, Why does it have to be you as a woman? Why not you as a human being? This type of question is a way of silencing a person's specific experiences. Of course I am a human being, but there are particular things that happen to me in the world because I am a woman. This same man, by the way, would often talk about his experience as a black man. (To which I should probably have responded, Why not your experiences as a man or as a human being? Why a black man?)
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blind, experiences, gender, human being, oppression, question, silencing, systems, talking, woman
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About Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Born in Enugu, Enugu State, Nigeria, Adichie's childhood was influenced by the aftermath of the colonial rule, and the Nigerian Civil War which took the lives of both of her grandfathers. The war was the setting for her first novel and the subject of her second. Most of her works explore the themes of religion, Americanization, immigration, racism, gender, marriage, motherhood and womanhood. She was educated at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka and moved to the United States at nineteen to complete her education. She first published the poetry collection Decisions in 1997, which was followed by a play, For Love of Biafra, in 1998. In less than ten years, she published eight books: novels, poems, book essays and collections, memoirs, children's books, reviews and short stories. Adichie has cited Chinua Achebe, Buchi Emecheta, Enid Blyton and other authors as inspirations. Her style juxtaposes Western and African influences, particularly focusing on her own native Igbo language and culture.
Adichie's 2009 TED Talk "The Danger of a Single Story" is one of the most viewed TED Talks of all time. Her 2012 talk "We Should All Be Feminists", was sampled by Beyoncé and featured on a tee-shirt by the French fashion house Dior in 2016. Adichie advocates using fashion as a medium to break down stereotypes and was recognised for her "Wear Nigerian Campaign" with a Shorty Award in 2018. Both her written works and public speaking encourage recognition of the diversity of humanity and the need for equality. She has received numerous academic awards, fellowships, and honourary degrees, among them a MacArthur Fellowship in 2008 and an induction into the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2017.