We Should All Be Feminists

This essay was first delivered as a speech, and it has an anecdotal, conversational tone. Throughout the essay, Adichie weaves personal stories in with broader observations about gender and culture. In addition, she frequently uses humor to make her point. Her tone is informal, blunt, and direct. Early in the essay, for example, she declares herself to be “a Happy African Feminist Who Does Not Hate Men and Who Likes to Wear Lip Gloss and High Heels for Herself and Not For Men” (10). Rhetorically, this self-definition performs a few different functions. Its unwieldiness points to the amount of baggage that the word “feminist” often carries, even among feminists themselves, and it points to the elaborate, apologetic postures that women often assume to compensate for being assertive. It’s also funny because it’s capitalized—and therefore contradicts the stereotype that feminists have no sense of humor.

Adichie shows the degree to which such stereotypes are rooted in sexism. Feminists are often assumed to be angry, she observes, and anger is traditionally suspect in women; women are expected to be compliant and accommodating, while men are expected to be assertive and dominant. While the essay seems chatty and conversational, it’s also tightly argued. Adichie moves from discussing feminism to discussing sexism, and from there to analyzing the roots of this sexism. She posits that traditional gender roles are stifling and harmful to both men and women, and she suggests that children should be taught to focus on their abilities and inclinations rather than on their gender. She then presents the arguments against feminism that she has encountered (for example, that feminists are too narrow in their focus and should understand themselves as “humanists” instead)—and refutes them.

At the essay’s end, Adichie returns full circle to the beginning. She remembers when her childhood friend Okoloma called her a “feminist,” clearly intending this as an insult. She then provides a dictionary definition of the word “feminist”: one who believes in equality between the sexes. In contrast to all the negative connotations of the word, this definition seems simple and self-evident. It seems to denote a goal with which no one could reasonably argue, and yet—as Adichie has demonstrated—many people do argue with it. In addition to reclaiming the word “feminist,” therefore, Adichie reclaims the word “anger.” She frames it as a just response to an unjust situation and makes the case that it can be a means of effecting positive change.