What is Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's view on gender in We Should All Be Feminists?

Adichie has a wealth of knowledge and valid opinions regarding gender, as outlined in her book We Should All Be Feminists. In her view, gender has traditionally been used to limit people’s true selves. Gender roles, expectations, and stereotypes have been used by society to discriminate, enslave, and limit people, and to compel them to conform to what is deemed “right” or “acceptable” at the expense of being their true selves.

These aspects of gender are more destructive to women, who face most of the unfair gender expectations. For instance, Adichie argues,

The problem with gender is that it prescribes how we should be rather than recognizing how we are. Imagine how much happier we would be, how much freer to be our true individual selves, if we didn’t have the weight of gender expectations.

Gender expectations, according to Adichie, are more unfairly skewed against women. Since childhood, girls are taught to limit themselves to be more subservient to men in society, and particularly to their future husbands. Adichie opines,

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.

These expectations, especially regarding marriage, are not imposed on the boys as they are on the girls, which begs the question: Why the double standards?

According to Adichie, gender has been used to exclude women in various socioeconomic and political agendas for centuries. Therefore, the call to feminism is not only a call for affirmative action against gender discrimination but also a human rights action advocating for gender equality. Adichie argues,

Feminism is, of course, part of human rights in general—but to choose to use the vague expression human rights is to deny the specific and particular problem of gender. It would be a way of pretending that it was not women who have, for centuries, been excluded. It would be a way of denying that the problem of gender targets women.

This sentiment complicates the gender issue, noting that gender is indeed problematic in society, especially as far as the pervasive expectations, stereotypes, and roles are unfairly aimed at limiting women’s potential. Overall, Adichie says gender is only as good as it offers everyone the freedom to be who they really are, without undue limitations or expectations from society.

What is Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's view on gender in We Should All Be Feminists?

Gender is a major theme of Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s We Should All Be Feminists. Adichie says that “gender as it functions today is a grave injustice.” She tells the story of one of her female American friends who had recently taken over a management position from a man. Though her predecessor was considered tough and talented, the employees working under Adichie’s friend quickly complained about her aggressive and difficult management style, saying that they were upset that she hadn’t brought a “woman’s touch” to the job. Another one of Adichie’s American friends called her after a meeting in which her boss ignored her ideas but praised her male coworkers when they said something similar. The woman wanted to take it up with her boss but was worried about coming across as too aggressive. Adichie discusses how important it is for women to appear “likeable,” and argues that we do not teach boys to worry about being “liked” in the same way. These gender expectations are internalized, resulting in a double standard where men are praised for being tough and aggressive while women who act the same way are criticized for being “unlikeable.” Adichie also points out that gender stereotypes hurt men as well. From a young age, boys are taught that they must fit into a very narrow definition of masculinity that does not allow them to express their emotions freely. Adichie argues that when we expect boys and girls to adhere to strict and confining gender roles, we stifle their interests, their talents, and their humanity; everyone loses.

What does Adichie say about "feminism" in We Should All Be Feminists?

Adichie begins We Should All Be Feminists with a story about how, when she was fourteen, her good friend Okoloma called her a feminist. Adichie didn’t know what the word meant, but she could tell by his tone that it wasn’t meant as a compliment. When she looked it up later in the dictionary, the definition she saw was “feminist: a person who believes in the social, political, and economic equality of the sexes.” Several years later, Adichie published a novel and frequently received “advice” from strangers that she shouldn’t call herself a feminist because feminists are unhappy, unmarried, un-African, and man haters. Adichie tells these stories to demonstrate how much baggage the word feminist carries. Adichie’s point is that there are a lot of misconceptions about what it means to be a feminist. Many people wrongly associate feminism with man hating, which is especially unfortunate because it would benefit people of all sexes to believe in the ideals of equality that feminism promotes. When people ask Adichie why she doesn’t simply call herself something less controversial, such as a humanist or a supporter of human rights, Adichie responds that it would be dishonest. While feminism certainly falls under the broader umbrella of human rights, to replace feminism with vague and general terms like humanism or human rights is to deny the existence of the gender-related issues that women face. As Adichie says, “For centuries, the world divided human beings into two groups and then proceeded to exclude and oppress one group. It is only fair that the solution to the problem acknowledge that.” Ultimately, Adichie believes that being a feminist means acknowledging the existence of gender-based problems in the world and believing that everyone must work to fix these issues. 

What childhood story does Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie tell in We Should All Be Feminists?

In We Should All Be Feminists, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie discusses growing up in Nigeria. When she was younger, she attended a primary school in Nsukka, a town in southeastern Nigeria. At the beginning of the term, Adichie’s teacher announced that there would be a test for the class. Whoever scored highest on this test would become the class monitor. The class monitor was a coveted position because you were allowed to write down the names of students who were being disruptive and because you were given a cane to hold (though the students were not allowed to actually use it). In short, class monitor was a position of power and it seemed very appealing to young Adichie. After the test, Adichie learned that she had gotten the highest score in the class; however, the coveted class monitor position was given to the second-highest scorer, a boy. When Adichie spoke to the teacher, the teacher explained that the monitor had to be a boy, something she thought was so obvious that she hadn’t bothered to clarify it earlier. Adichie notes that the boy who got the position was nice and mild-mannered and, unlike young Adichie, did not really have any interest in policing his fellow students’ behavior. Even as an adult, the memory of this unfair incident has stuck with Adichie. She uses it to make the point that when we repeat patterns over and over again, we start to think that things have to be this way. As boys were appointed to the class monitor position again and again, Adichie’s teacher began to think that only boys could hold this position.