We Should All Be Feminists in Around the World in 80 Books

Dec 25, 2018 Colleen Chi-Girl rated it liked it

Shelves: bios-memoirs, feminism, education-teaching, anti-racist, 2018

The book is small in size and writing. It’s just bigger than a deck of cards and the writing is from the author’s Ted Talk. Valuable info and insights for this who want to know another culture briefly and hear from a woman minority about feminism and equality. I was fortunate to get my BA and teaching credential from a college that focused on all of these issues back In the 1980’s and 1990’s. If you haven’t, this is a good baby step forward.

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Mar 01, 2022 Ann rated it really liked it

We are continents apart but it felt like her stories [narrated by Chimamanda herself] were stories around me too, unfortunately. I agree with so many points made - that there are societal changes that need to be made, that the term "feminist" has baggage, that we should all be feminists. ...more

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Mar 17, 2018 Wendy rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: non-fiction, favourites, 2018

I watched the Ted Talk on this and found this book to be a version of the same talk. I loved it so much and it really spoke to me.

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May 24, 2017 Sarah rated it really liked it

Shelves: kindle, short-stories-and-essays, bipoc

...that word feminist is so heavy with baggage, negative baggage: You hate men, you hate bras, you hate African culture, you think women should always be in charge, you don’t wear makeup, you don’t shave, you’re always angry, you don’t have a sense of humor, you don’t use deodorant.

Growing up in a conservative, Christian household, I learned to think of "feminist" as the "other f-word." I was afraid to identify with feminism because I believed feminists to be militant, man-hating, overly sensit ...that word feminist is so heavy with baggage, negative baggage: You hate men, you hate bras, you hate African culture, you think women should always be in charge, you don’t wear makeup, you don’t shave, you’re always angry, you don’t have a sense of humor, you don’t use deodorant.

Growing up in a conservative, Christian household, I learned to think of "feminist" as the "other f-word." I was afraid to identify with feminism because I believed feminists to be militant, man-hating, overly sensitive, and combative. But as I have gotten older, I have learned that feminist isn't a dirty word, and that viewing it as such is inherently misogynist.

I have a friend, an American woman, who took over a managerial position from a man. Her predecessor had been considered a “tough go-getter”; he was blunt and hard-charging and was particularly strict about the signing of time sheets. She took on her new job, and imagined herself equally tough, but perhaps a little kinder than him—he didn’t always realize that people had families, she said, and she did. Only weeks into her new job, she disciplined an employee about a forgery on a time sheet, the same thing her predecessor would have done. The employee then complained to top management about her style. She was aggressive and difficult to work with, the employee said. Other employees agreed. One said they had expected she would bring a “woman’s touch” to her job but that she hadn’t. It didn’t occur to any of them that she was doing the same thing for which a man had been praised.

I am a woman in the corporate world. I am assertive and not always tactful. All my life I have been referred to as bossy, and at work I am often told I need to "soften [my] approach." Are men told they are bossy or need to soften their approach? Are they told, "It's not what you say; it's how you say it" or that their tone is "too strong"? "Too strong" is a direct quote from my most recent performance review. And this review was written by another woman.

We need feminism because people still talk about their little girls dating one day in terms of needing a shotgun to protect her against boys (instead of raising girls who are able to make good choices when it comes to dating). We need feminism because a man recently told me that he liked the Netflix show Anne With an E, which he watched with his wife, but would never read Anne of Green Gables because he'd lose his "man card." We need feminism because men still say they have to "babysit" their own children (when it is your child, YOU ARE NOT BABYSITTING. YOU ARE PARENTING). We need feminism because my next door neighbor's husband would let their child sit for two hours in a dirty diaper until his wife got home because he refused to change them. We need feminism because my boyfriend and his ex share 50/50 custody of their children and he still has to pay her child support. We need feminism because boys are taught that showing emotion and affection makes them weak. We need feminism because when a woman is raped articles are published about how to dress and behave to avoid getting raped, and not about how men SHOULD NOT RAPE PEOPLE. We need feminism because of all these things and more.

Say it loud. Say it proud. I AM A FEMINIST. And we should all be feminists. ...more

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Dec 29, 2015 Jillian rated it it was amazing

Short and smart. A great book for people who have unnecessary negative associations with the word. Need to read more by this author immediately. Would love it if everyone read this.

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