neo feminism

I stumbled upon Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's in an online Marie Clare article written by Corinne Redfern. Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie the author of Americanah (currently being made into a film starring Lupita Nyong'o) has given a speech to the graduating class of Wellesley College- a women's liberal arts college in Massachusetts. I had first heard of the author after King Bee had featured her poem "we shall all be feminist" as part of the intro to the song flawless.

Flawless is a neo feminist anthem that says I will not fit into the mould of who you think I should be, I will not let you dictate to me who I’m as a woman because your ideologies do not apply to my life and I don’t want them to. It is an in your face you cannot ignore me anthem. For the girl who understands she is meant for greatness on her own terms. It is about women and the right to express our sexuality and claim our roles not only as wives and mothers but also as "boss". Flawless is about the woman who knows she is not a man and doesn’t want to be, it’s about the woman who is assertive on her own terms. It is about knowing you can be smart, and sexy and beautiful without needing to compromise.

In the past feminist movements have campaigned and continue to campaign for women's rights, including the right to vote, to hold public office, to work, to fair wages or equal pay, to own property, to education, to enter contracts, to have equal rights within marriage, and to have maternity leave. Feminists have also worked to promote bodily autonomy and integrity, and to protect women and girls from rape, sexual harassment, and domestic violence.

For the most part, we have made strides in the fight for the equality of the sexes. These struggles and challenges still face women today however we have moved into a space where our ability to carve a space that is uniquely designed to fit our desired lives is possible. This for me is HUGE. It is however sad that the poem we shall all be feminist by Adichie still rains true.

“We should all be feminists”

We teach girls to shrink themselves To make themselves smaller We say to girls “You can have ambition But not too much You should aim to be successful But not too successful Otherwise you will threaten the man” Because I am female I am expected to aspire to marriage I am expected to make my life choices Always keeping in mind that Marriage is the most important Now marriage can be a source of Joy and love and mutual support But why do we teach to aspire to marriage And we don’t teach boys the same? We raise girls to each other as competitors Not for jobs or for accomplishments Which I think can be a good thing But for the attention of men We teach girls that they cannot be sexual beings In the way that boys are Feminist: the person who believes in the social Political, and economic equality of the sexes