Book Review: We Should All Be Feminist
A few days before Christmas I was listening to the BookRiot podcast and they were talking about there favorite books of the year. A book came up called We Should All Be Feminist by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. I had never heard of it but knew within a few seconds it's a book that Jenn had to have. I had it overnighted via Amazon and was fortunate enough to get two copies (shipping error) so we both ended up reading it. What transpired was fifty pages of pure brilliance. I've known two feminist in my life. Jenn and her Mom. This book perfectly describes hundreds of conversations we've had over the years in the most eloquent way I could imagine.
Chimamanda does an incredible job of weaving together a narrative that's both compelling and insightful. It's not preachy. It's not in your face. It lays out the facts. One of my favorite anecdotes was when she counter-argues someone who makes the argument that with apes the female bows to the male. And she so eloquently follows that up with that we aren't apes. That we should in my words (not hers) we should be better then apes. And I think that's that gnawing feeling in my gut I've always had. We should be better then those that come before us.
It starts with the youth. Not just teach girls to cook but teaching everyone to cook. Teaching everyone to be kind, to be themselves. I know in Sweden they are giving this book to every 16-year old student (male or female) and I hope that's the first of many countries to do that. This should be required reading for everyone. It's fifty or so pages that could change the world.
“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.”
