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 into an Igbo family in Enugu, Nigeria, Adichie was educated at University of Nigeria in Nsukka where she studied medicine for a year and half. Adichie left Nigeria at the age of 19 to study at Drexel University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and would go on to study at a further three universities, all in the U.S.: Eastern Connecticut State University, Johns Hopkins University, and Yale University.
Many of Adichie's novels are set in Nsukka, Nigeria, where she grew up. She started writing during her university education. She first wrote Decisions (1997), a poetry collection, followed by a play, For Love of Biafra (1998). She first achieved successes with her debut novel, Purple Hibiscus (2003). Adichie has written many works including novels, Purple Hibiscus, Half of a Yellow Sun (2006), Americanah (2013), and Dream Count (2025); essay collections, We Should All Be Feminists (2014) and Dear Ijeawele, or A Feminist Manifesto in Fifteen Suggestions (2017); a memoir, Notes on Grief (2021); and a children's book, Mama's Sleeping Scarf (2023). She has cited Chinua Achebe and Buchi Emecheta as inspiration and her writing style juxtaposes Western and African influences, with particular influence from Igbo culture. Most of her works explore the themes of religion, immigration, gender and culture.
Adichie uses fashion as a medium to break down stereotypes, and was recognised with a Shorty Award in 2018 for her "Wear Nigerian Campaign". She has a successful speaking career: her 2009 TED Talk "The Danger of a Single Story" is one of the most viewed TED Talks; her 2012 talk, "We Should All Be Feminists", was sampled by American singer Beyoncé as well as featured on a T-shirt by Dior in 2016. Adichie's awards and honours includes academic and literary awards, fellowships, grants, honourary degrees, and other honours, among them a MacArthur Fellowship in 2008 and induction into the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2017.