Award
winning author and renowned feminist thinker Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
gave a speech at the 2015 Girls Write Now awards ceremony about the
pitfalls of pursuing likability.
Women are taught from a young age to be inoffensive, Adichie explains,
which can ultimately stunt our growth as human beings, preventing us
from leading fully self-actualized lives.
She said:
I think that what our society teaches young girls, and I think it’s also
something that’s quite difficult for even older women and
self-professed feminists to shrug off, is that idea that likability is
an essential part of you, of the space you occupy in the world, that
you’re supposed to twist yourself into shapes to make yourself likable,
that you’re supposed to hold back sometimes, pull back, don’t quite say,
don’t be too pushy, because you have to be likable.
And I say that’s bullshit.
So what I want to say to young girls is forget about likability. If you
start thinking about being likable you are not going to tell your story
honestly, because you are going to be so concerned with not offending,
and that’s going to ruin your story.
Title : Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie: Forget about being 'Likable'
Description : Award winning author and renowned feminist thinker Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie gave a speech at the 2015 Girls Write Now awards ceremony ...
