Chidinma Ngozi Adichie's 'We Should All Be Feminists'

“Gender matters. Men and women experience the world differently. Gender colors the way we experience the world. But we can change that” (Adichie). Prominent novelist, Chidinma Ngozi Adichie, in her speech, “We should all be Feminists,” describes the effects of gender expectations and the equalities of the sexes in the West African culture. Adichie’s purpose is to evaluate, and compare how males and females are raised and treated differently based off traditional beliefs. Using a humorous and captivating tone, Adichie effectively informs the viewers of how her life experiences has affected her understanding of gender equality. During the speech, Adichie starts first by introducing herself as a “happy, humble feminist who believes in the social,

Although Adichie recounts some life experiences with a humorous tone, it is obvious to the viewers that some African women actually understand the issue on a deeper, emotional level. This is because they grew up in similar environments or think about gender equality on a daily basis. For example, she gives advice using “we” in order to encourage unity and verify that society should accept the changes. “We teach girls shame. ‘Close your legs. Cover yourself.’ We make them feel as though being born female they’re already guilty of something” (Adichie). Although Adichie’s speech was purposeful for the defense of women in western Africa, she uses “we” not only to relate to her audience, but also to show that men and women are equally guilty. Society and culture teaches men that they are more important than women are, which is not true. For instance, she narrates a time when she went out with a male friend, and the waiter greeted her friend, whilst ignoring her. “Each time they ignore me, I feel invisible. I feel upset. I want to tell them that I am just as human as the man that I am just worthy of acknowledgement” (Adichie). Her emotional appeal from her tone captivates the attention of the audience around the room. However, to get her point across, She reassures the audience that she is a strong woman who is comfortable and true to herself. “I have chosen to no longer

With tone, style, and diction, she was able to captivate her audience into becoming feminists whether male or females. Although, she stood for the upliftment of both males and females, her life experiences aided more toward female gender issues. Adichie points out that the full humanity of women is not part of the culture; therefore, it must be incorporated into the West African culture. “Feminist: a man or a woman who says, “Yes, there’s a problem with gender as it is today, and we must fix it, we must do better”