Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie Quote
We teach girls to shrink themselves, to make themselves smaller. We say to girls, you can have ambition, but not too much. You should aim to be successful, but not too successful. Otherwise, you would threaten the man. Because I am female, I am expected to aspire to marriage. I am expected to make my life choices always keeping in mind that marriage is the most important. Now marriage can be a source of joy and love and mutual support but why do we teach girls to aspire to marriage and we don’t teach boys the same? We raise girls to see each other as competitors not for jobs or accomplishments, which I think can be a good thing, but for the attention of men. We teach girls that they cannot be sexual beings in the way that boys are.
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
We teach girls to shrink themselves, to make themselves smaller. We say to girls, you can have ambition, but not too much. You should aim to be successful, but not too successful. Otherwise, you would threaten the man. Because I am female, I am expected to aspire to marriage. I am expected to make my life choices always keeping in mind that marriage is the most important. Now marriage can be a source of joy and love and mutual support but why do we teach girls to aspire to marriage and we don’t teach boys the same? We raise girls to see each other as competitors not for jobs or accomplishments, which I think can be a good thing, but for the attention of men. We teach girls that they cannot be sexual beings in the way that boys are.
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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, and was the setting for her first novel and the subject of her second. She was educated at the University of Nigeria, and moved to the United States at nineteen to complete her education at Drexel University. By 2008 she would study in three universities; Eastern Connecticut State University, Johns Hopkins University, and Yale University. She first published the poetry collection Decisions in 1997, which was followed by a play, For Love of Biafra, in 1998, and would later publish three further novels, and four books. Adichie has cited African writers Chinua Achebe and Buchi Emecheta as inspirations.
Adichie grew up bilingual, and writes in English and Igbo language, describing it as a means to reach a broad audience, and retain both as her own. She has also supported LGBT rights in Africa, and in response to the 2021 controversial accusation about her sexuality, Adichie penned "It Is Obscene: A True Reflection in Three Parts". Published on her website in June of same year, it criticised the use of social media to air out grievances. Adichie is a Catholic and is married to Ivara Esege since 2009. She shares her time in the United States and Nigeria, where he teaches creative writing workshop.
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, 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. Her works has been extensively praised, and studied in many scholarly works. In addition to her books, which includes numerous short stories, poetry, essays and children books, Adichie's speeches has also received attention. A titled Igbo chief, her style juxtaposes Western and African influences, particularly focusing on her own native Igbo language and culture. Most of her works explore the themes of religion, Americanization, immigration, racism, gender, marriage, feminism and femininity, motherhood and womanhood. Both her written works and public speaking encourage recognition of the diversity of humanity and the need for equality.