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“We Should All be Feminists” by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie:
https://www.ted.com/talks/chimamanda_ngozi_adichie_we_should_all_be_feminists?language= en
“Culture does not make people. People make culture.”
For as long as I can remember, my being has been predetermined by my “culture.” The assumptions and predispositions that the world has placed upon me continue to change the way in which strangers and acquaintances alike perceive my character and personality. Words such as “sassy” and “spunky” have been used to describe me, when in actuality, I am simply just willing to speak what comes across my mind if I have something I want to say.
In We Should All be Feminists, award-winning author and storyteller Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie speaks about the microaggressions that she has experienced as a woman who grew up in Nigeria. In a culture that refused to accept or view women as equal to men, Adichie recounts several instances in her life that devalued her as an individual because of her gender. At one point, she rehashes the specific moment that a close male friend of hers realized the daily struggle of being a female in their environment, writing, “I saw realization dawn on Louis’s face. The man believed that whatever money I had ultimately came from [him]. Because Louis is a man.”
There are so many instances today in which women experience moments exactly like the one described above. There are so many instances in which women are not believed, gaslit, and passively ignored and denied validation of their truths. There are so many instances in which society believes that a culture cannot be changed because “it is the way it is,” when in fact it is us who made it that way in the first place.
Moments like the story above are pivotal in trailblazing change for women and men alike. The lack of “realization” is part of the problem, “That many men do not actively think about gender or notice gender.” Until those participating in the stigmatization and rejection of feminism and gender inequality realize that people make the culture, it will be extremely difficult to cultivate any lasting change. How we move forward, Adichie believes, is by agreeing that “‘yes, there’s a problem with gender as it is today and we must fix it, we must do better.’ All of us, women and men, must do better.”
And this framework doesn’t stop at feminism. “Realization” is vital for the understanding of race, religion, political ideology, and so forth. If you resonated with Adiche in this story, it is likely because you understand what marginalization can feel like. If not, think about how and why your positionality within the world allows you to walk through life that way.
Sydney Finley is a McConnell Scholar in the class of 2023. She is studying biology and political science at the University of Louisville.