This letter to a friend acts as an update to “We Should All Be Feminists.” In some ways, it covers a lot of the same examples, ideas, and subjects, but it also adds in some oblique references to the 2016 presidential election in the US and also provides some various kinds of intersectionality (specifically toward race and class). One of the things that I think this tract does really well is heavily emphasize the process aspect of Feminism. For a lot popular discussions of Feminism, […]
Powerful Novel of War and Hope
Half of a Yellow Sun is a story of independence, war, betrayal and loss both for a nation and for a particular group of people swept up in it all. Set in the 1960s, it examines life in Nigeria on the eve of war and then during the chaos and violence of the Biafran war. While providing concise historical background on Nigeria and Biafra, Adichie, through her characters, shows how class division, race, culture, and gender fed into and were in turn influenced by conflict. […]
A master class in feminism for everyone.
If you’ve never read We Should All Be Feminists, stop reading this review, pick up that book, and come back when you’re ready. This is your master class in feminism, and the first book will build the steps that will help you really enact livable feminism in your life. Back? Awesome! Now you’re ready to carry on the work and take it another step further. Adichie, who’s become a voice of contemporary feminism, was asked to write suggestions on how to raise a feminist daughter. […]
“‘Because you are a girl’ is never a reason for anything. Ever.”
I’m not a parent and not planning on being a parent any time soon, or really, ever. That means I’m probably not the ideal audience for this book, but I enjoyed it nonetheless. I read Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie a few years ago and my favorites parts were the essays woven throughout the narrative. For this reason, I’ve been meaning to pick up some of Adichie’s nonfiction as I figured it would resonate with me. Dear Ijeawele was originally a letter written from Adichie […]
Happy African Feminist
I have been meaning to read We Should All Be Feminists for some time and then finally, today, on International Women’s Day of all days, my sister lent me her copy. And, because it’s only 52 pages including the Introduction and the About the Author section, I read it with my morning granola. And it is brilliant. I will say that one of the personal reasons it appealed to me is that my fiancé is African. Not from Nigeria, but from a small, West African […]
We Should All be Feminists.
My friend M has started a resistance Goodreads group for those of us who want to be better activists and more informed feminists. I’m also realizing that I’m in too many Book Clubs now. We’re trying to read a variety of books about activism and intersectionality, so that we can help inform others in our respective circles of influence. Because this group started in February, M suggested that we start with Adichie’s We Should All Be Feminists, which was fine by me, since I haven’t […]