Because of writers like Chinua Achebe and Camara Laye β¦ I realized that people like me, girls with skin the color of chocolate, whose kinky hair could not form ponytails, could also exist in literature.
Chimamanda Ngozi AdichieRead
We teach girls shame; close your legs, cover yourself, we make them feel as though by being born female they're already guilty of something.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote highlights societal pressures on girls to feel shame about their bodies and identities.
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's quote addresses the damaging messages society imparts to girls regarding their bodies and femininity. It criticizes how societal norms make girls feel guilty for simply being themselves, instilling a sense of shame around their natural identity. This perpetuates a narrative that undermines their self-worth and fosters harmful attitudes towards their bodies.
Themes
ShameFemininityBody PositivitySocietyGender Roles
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech against body shaming, a speaker might quote Adichie to emphasize the impact of societal views on girls.
More from Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
All quotes βThe real tragedy of our postcolonial world is not that the majority of people had no say in whether or not they wanted this new world; rather, it is that the majority have not been given the tools to negotiate this new world.
Chimamanda Ngozi AdichieRead
If I had not grown up in Nigeria- and if all I knew of Africa were of popular images- I too would think that africa was a place of beautiful landscapes, beautiful animals and incomprehensible people fighting sensless wars, dying of poverty and aids- unable to speak for themselves and waiting to be saved by a kind white foreigner.
Chimamanda Ngozi AdichieRead
Stories can break the dignity of a people, but stories can also repair that broken dignity.
Chimamanda Ngozi AdichieRead
You can't write a script in your mind and then force yourself to follow it. You have to let yourself be.
Chimamanda Ngozi AdichieRead
Non-fiction, and in particular the literary memoir, the stylised recollection of personal experience, is often as much about character and story and emotion as fiction is.
Chimamanda Ngozi AdichieRead
Similar quotes
For throughout history, you can read the stories of women who - against all the odds - got being a woman right, but ended up being compromised, unhappy, hobbled or ruined, because all around them, society was still wrong. Show a girl a pioneering hero - Sylvia Plath, Dorothy Parker, Frida Kahlo, Cleopatra, Boudicca, Joan of Arc - and you also, more often than not, show a girl a woman who was eventually crushed.
Caitlin MoranRead
Men are trained to like this version of womanhood, and when someone comes along smashing the table and messing up the party, it's a bit like, 'Get out; why are you disturbing the peace?'
Michaela CoelRead
Strong women- precious jewels all- their humanness is evident in their accessibility. We are able to enter into the spirit of these women and rejoice in their warmth and courage.
Maya AngelouRead
My appearance has changed a lot over the years, but it has far more to do with how I feel about being a woman.
Emma ThompsonRead
The more I think on the present condition of woman, the more am I oppressed with the reality of their degradation.
Elizabeth Cady StantonRead
Here's my feeling: For everyone, men and women, it's important to be a feminist. It's important to have female characters. It's wonderful for women to mentor other women, but it's just as important for women to mentor men and vice-versa. In my line of work, having Greg Daniels be such a great mentor to me is fantastic. Finding a writer's assistant, be it a man or a woman, and encouraging them to think with a feminist perspective, is key.
Mindy KalingRead