If anyone has the skills to make a speech about feminism
go viral, it’s Chimamanda Ngozi
Adichie, the Lagos-based writer whose ideas are as
complex as her language is straightforward. Previously best known for her
fiction, Adichie delivered a TEDx Talk in 2013 so nuanced and rousing, Beyoncé
sampled it in her empowerment anthem “Flawless.” Titled “We Should All Be Feminists,”
Adichie’s oration weaved together human stories from her youth in Nigeria with
a complicated discourse about gender roles in the modern world and a literal
textbook definition of “feminism,” which she read aloud about halfway through.
Today, the speech comes out in eBook form, which you can purchase here.
Reached by phone in Lagos, Adichie spoke to Vogue.com about the overwhelming
success of her speech and what it means to talk politics with the whole world.
What was it like to have your ideas about feminism go so
viral?
It felt strange and surprising. I had done one TED Talk
and I felt that I had already said what I could, in fact, say, and I didn’t
think I had anything else worth talking about. But then I also realized the one
thing I cared about is gender, feminism. So I said, "Okay, I’ll do
it." But I thought, This is not going to be popular, because it’s obvious
that feminism for many people is a bad word, even if you believe in it,
the word is off-putting. I thought seven people would care. I was surprised,
but pleasantly so.
Is it always the goal of a writer to reach as many
people as possible?
I don’t think in those terms. For this speech, it was an
audience of mostly Africans, an audience I wanted to reach. I remember when I
started off, just having a sense of push back, I knew that it was a subject
that wasn’t popular, so when people stood up and clapped, that was success. My
expectations had been low, so I was just surprised.
