Nigerian author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, in an interview with VULTURE in New York, gave a detailed perspective into a lot of issues going on in today’s world. The author opened up on rape, raising children, Melania Trump, empathy and a lot of other topics.
Read excerpts below.
On wanting to tell the truth: I want to tell the truth. That’s where my storytelling comes from. My feminism comes from somewhere else: acute dissatisfaction. I don’t remember a time when I didn’t want to tell stories. Sadly, I also don’t remember a time when I wasn’t telling people what I think about the world.
On thoughts about raising a boy: If I had a boy, one of the things I would do is not just say it’s okay to be vulnerable, but also to expect him to respect vulnerability. Actually, shaming him into vulnerability is a good idea, because there’s so much about the way that masculinity is constructed that’s about shame.
What if we switch that shame around? Instead of shaming boys for being vulnerable, why don’t we shame them for not being vulnerable? I kind of feel — I was going to say I feel sorry for men, but I don’t want to say that.
On #MeToo changing gender and power dynamics in meaningful ways: I hope it does, but it hasn’t. What I like about #MeToo is the idea that now women’s stories have the possibility of being believed, which is almost revolutionary. Now a woman can tell her story and she might still get castigated, but there’s the possibility that she gets public support and that there are consequences for whoever harassed or assaulted her.
That’s not happened before. But the shape of the narratives around #MeToo can still be troubling. It’s the idea that a woman doesn’t deserve sympathy unless she’s “good.” I’m sorry to get into race, but it’s similar to what happens with black men, where in this country it seems that they are not deserving of sympathy unless they are pure. If a young boy is murdered because he was going off to buy Skittles but we learn that he smoked marijuana, then that somehow makes him not deserving of sympathy.
He shouldn’t have to be perfect to deserve sympathy and that applies to women as well. And, also, the way women are cast as innocent or blameless or helpless undercuts the idea of female agency. Often we’ll say things like, “She was coerced into going to the guy’s apartment.”
On raising her daughter: I wrote that [Dear Ijeawele] when I wasn’t a mother and it’s easier to write about a hypothetical child than to write about a real one. The child that book was addressed to is sort of an idea of a child. But having my own — you don’t realize how difficult it is day-to-day to combat negative ideas. Sometimes when you’re raising a child it’s like the universe is in a conspiracy against you.
You go to the toy store looking for something not necessarily “girly” and you’re overwhelmed by the pink and the dolls. Even the prayers my daughter got from family members: They’re like, “We hope she finds a good husband.” I’m optimistic that those kinds of things will change but I think about how women are socialized — even the most resistant women still get things under our skin.
On male and female literary differences: There are many things that a famous male writer can do without worrying about the risk of not being taken seriously — if you’re interested in fashion, for example. Very often women writers have to tread much more carefully because their grip on being considered as serious — which has nothing to do with how the world is — is more tenuous.
When a woman says something controversial, she’s much more likely to be criticized about her personality and even about how she looks. Not that men don’t get that, but women get it more quickly and more often. And to be specific to writing, a man can write about a subject like marriage and immediately it can be seen as an insightful take on society. But a woman writes about marriage and it’s seen as this smaller, more intimate thing.
We’ve gone past the point where women are directly criticized for their subject matter, but the language used about their writing hasn’t really changed. When men and women write about similar things, what the women write is often cast in less lofty terms.
On her short story about Melania Trump: There’s a sense in which her characterization in the story still holds true for me. There’s something I feel about her and it lives in the same emotional space as compassion and pity — and that feeling has increased. Actually, when I wrote that story I thought it was about Trump’s daughter [Ivanka]. I saw the story as making a case for how he [President Trump] is unstable but is surrounded by people who are stable and reasonable, such as his daughter and his wife.
There was also a very feminist take to the story’s premise, which was that the women around him know what they’re dealing with. There’s a kind of knowingness in dealing with somebody they care about but understand is crazy. I’ve since changed my mind about his daughter.
On Melania Trump: I look at pictures of her and I see great sadness. I don’t want anyone to be sad, but the idea that she might be sad about her situation is almost comforting because it reminds you that there’s still some sort of humane presence in the private space of the White House.
On being seen as a “feminist icon”: When I started, all I wanted was to write books that somebody would read. I didn’t plan to become this “feminist icon, which is something I feel uncomfortable with. People say, “This is what you’re known for.” But that’s not what I know myself for.
On motherhood and her art: I used to think I wouldn’t be a good mother because I was so dedicated to my art. I said to myself, I have nephews and nieces who I adore, and I helped raise them, so those will be my children. That’s what I thought for a long time, because I felt that I couldn’t be true to both my art and my child. Getting older [changed that]. I like to joke and say that you’re ready [to have a child] when your body isn’t ready, and when your body is ready, you’re not mentally ready.
Indeed So Young and yet so successful! Congratulations to Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie for being the first ever Black Woman to deliver the Harvard's Class Day keynote address since 1968.
The speech has been delivered over the years by the likes of former US Vice President under President Obama, Joe Biden; former President Bill Clinton; Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg; Nobel Peace Prize laureate Mother Teresa; legendary music producer Quincy Jones; Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke; CNN Chief International Correspondent Christiane Amanpour; and Coretta Scott King, and the wife of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
You represent us well!
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie is on Instagram! This is great news for all her fans – especially for those who love her unique style.
According to the author, she has been tasked by her nieces to open an official Instagram page and with it, she plans on kicking off a project to ‘Wear Nigerian’.
Quite exciting!
She says:
The Nigerian government’s disastrous economic policies have led to a reduction in the value of the naira and therefore in disposable income, a change in values, a disorientation of the middle class, and most of all, to a debilitating sense of uncertainty.
If we are to grasp for a silver lining, then the ‘Buy Nigerian to Grow The Naira’ rhetoric is one.
In that spirit, I recently decided to wear mostly Nigerian brands for my public appearances. (Before, by the way, President Buhari declared ‘Made in Nigeria dress’ days.)
In the past few weeks, I’ve bought more Nigerian brands than I ever have in the past. I’ve discovered new names. I’ve been filled with admiration for the women and men running their businesses despite the many challenges they face. I’m particularly interested in ‘inward-looking’ brands, those for whom dressing Nigerian women is as important as other goals.
I’ve changed quite a few dodgy zippers, been disappointed by some poor quality fabrics, and been impressed by some detail-oriented finishing. Overall, I love the clothes, their cut, their whimsy, their color, their flair, their ability to make me feel like myself. Their makers, from designer to tailor to button-fixer to okada-delivery-person, deserve to be supported.
At the suggestion of my very au fait nieces Chisom and Amaka – who think Aunty is a hilarious luddite dinosaur (and they have a point, sadly) – I am now on Instagram at chimamanda_adichie documenting my ‘Wear Nigerian’ project.
~CNA
See some of her fab style below.
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie | Outfit – @The_LadyMaker
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie | Outfit – @Nuraniyastudios
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie | Outfit – @MsBeefab
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie | Outfit – @LolaBaej
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie | Outfit – @Greyprojects
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie | Outfit – @KareemAmak
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie | Outfit – @GozelGreen
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie | Outfit – @Fashpa
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie | Outfit – @EricandAnna.ng
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie | Outfit – @Dzynbabe
Nigerian novelist, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie has been elected into the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, along with 228 new members, the Academy announced on Wednesday.
In March, Chimamanda was also elected into the American Academy of Arts and Letters, the second Nigerian to be so honoured, after Professor Wole Soyinka. She will be inducted in May.
In the announcement by the Academy of Arts and Science, Chimamanda was listed among 40 Foreign Honorary Members from 19 countries elected by the Academy.
Three other Nigerians were also elected into the revered Academy. They include: Akin Mabogunje from the University of Ibadan. He was elected into the History section in the Academy. Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede President of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) was elected into the Business, Corporate and Philanthropic leadership section of the Academy.
Former Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Chairman Attahiru M. Jega was elected into the Public Affairs and Public Policy section of the Academy.
Other foreigners honoured come from Australia, China, India, Japan, and Uganda.
The new class will be inducted at a ceremony on October 7, 2017, in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Among the people elected are some of the world’s most accomplished scholars, scientists, writers, artists, as well as civic, business, and philanthropic leaders. They will all form the 237th class of the academy.
Founded in 1780, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences is one of the country’s oldest learned societies and independent policy research centres, convening leaders from the academic, business, and government sectors to respond to the challenges facing—and opportunities available to—the nation and the world.
Members contribute to Academy publications and studies in science, engineering, and technology policy; global security and international affairs; the humanities, arts, and education; and American institutions and the public good.
Members of the 2017 class include winners of the Pulitzer Prize and the Wolf Prize; MacArthur Fellows; Fields Medalists; Presidential Medal of Freedom and National Medal of Arts recipients; and Academy Award, Grammy Award, Emmy Award, and Tony Award winners.
“It is an honor to welcome this new class of exceptional women and men as part of our distinguished membership,” said Don Randel, Chair of the Academy’s Board of Directors.
“Their talents and expertise will enrich the life of the Academy and strengthen our capacity to spread knowledge and understanding in service to the nation.”
“In a tradition reaching back to the earliest days of our nation, the honor of election to the American Academy is also a call to service,” said Academy President Jonathan F. Fanton.
“Through our projects, publications, and events, the Academy provides members with opportunities to make common cause and produce the useful knowledge for which the Academy’s 1780 charter calls.”
See the full list from source HERE:
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