soliddust2020:


Why must you bring tribalism into this, she is getting backlash from white men and women too. That question she asked was inappropriate and deserved the bashing she got.

GodOfAction:
Popular Nigerian author, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie has now reacted to being slammed by Nigerians over a question she asked American politician, Hillary Clinton.

The feminist had during a PEN World Voices Festival told Hillary Clinton that she is upset that her Twitter bio starts with ‘wife’ .

Adichie to Hillary; “In your Twitter account, the first word that describes you is ‘Wife.’ And then I think its ‘Mom,’ and then it’s ‘Grandmother.”

“And when I saw that, I have to confess that I felt just a little bit upset.

And then I went and I looked at your husband’s Twitter account, and the first word was not ‘husband,” Adichie said.

She was curious as to why with all of Clinton’s career accomplishments; did her Twitter bio primarily identify her as a “Wife”.

Bill Clinton’s Twitter bio leads with, ‘Founder, Clinton Foundation and 42nd President of the United States’.

Adichie said she wanted to know if it was Clinton’s choice to first identify in relation to her husband, and if so, why?

“When you put it like that, I’m going to change it,” Clinton said, prompting roars from the crowd.

However, Clinton had pretty good explanation for why ‘Wife’ kicked- off her bio, which is that women should be able to celebrate both their accomplishments and their relationships.

Howbeit this question didn’t go down well with a lot of Nigerians who took to the social media to lampoon the feminist saying she’s being extreme.

Well Chimamanda who’s known to never back down has now responded to her critics via a Facebook post, telling that she is tired of Nigerians who read a headline and, without bothering to get details and context, jump on the outrage bandwagon and form lazy, shallow opinions.

Read below:

“Dear Unnamed Person Who I Am Told Is On Social Media Saying I am Her Family and Telling Me to Shut Up:

Cynicism is ugly. It doesn’t flatter anyone. Yours doesn’t suit you at all.

I remember you vaguely; I think you were in my class in primary school. And now you claim to be my ‘family’ and you are asking me to shut up.

Did you watch the video of the conversation? Did you read a full transcript?

I am tired of Nigerians who read a headline and, without bothering to get details and context, jump on the outrage bandwagon and form lazy, shallow opinions.

I am tired of Nigerians cynically thinking of anybody in public life as a ‘brand.’ No, I am not a brand. I am a person who feels strongly about certain issues. I choose to talk honestly about them. I made the choice to talk about feminism knowing very well the kind of hostility it brings – but I think it’s important and I will continue to speak my truth and hope to bring about some change, no matter how small. Adirom agba egwu ka m data ego.

No, of course you don’t actually deserve a response, but I have some free time today. So I want to make you feel a little important because it sounds like you need it.

And I want to reflect on an absolutely lovely hour spent on stage with Hillary Clinton.

I was happy when I was told that Hillary Clinton had specifically requested to be in conversation with me at the PEN World Voices festival. I am an unapologetic fan of Ms. Clinton’s. I have been for many years.

I felt quite emotional when I met her. Having read and followed her for years, it was moving to see her: the warm, human, observant, present, thoughtful person (and looking wonderful, with her hair and makeup on point!).

She said she had read my books and I restrained myself from doing cartwheels.

“Is there anything you don’t want to talk about?” I asked backstage.

“Ask me anything,” she said.

Towards the end of our conversation, I told her how, having read her writing about her own life, I think she has a great love story with Bill Clinton. A wonderful friendship. I said I feel irritated and protective of her when people dissect her personal life, but I also confessed to having an interest myself, particularly about her public Twitter profile. (I first noticed it when I was researching a piece about her during the presidential campaign). I was upset that the first word used to describe her was ‘wife.’ Was it a choice she had made or was it something done for her campaign and, if it was a choice she had made, did she think my reaction to it was fair?

Her response was very thoughtful.

I was too excited, emotional, slightly nervous, to be on stage with this remarkable woman. Had I kept in mind how easily outrage-mongers would jump on a headline, I would have phrased my question better. I would not have made it about my being upset, because it can come across as navel-gazing.

But the truth is that we were supposed to be having a ‘conversation,’ the context of our conversation was personal and warm, I had made the decision to speak from the heart, and it would be dishonest to pretend that I had not reacted personally to so many issues around Ms. Clinton, whose life has become a kind of crucible of all the questions that affect women.

We all react personally to public figures. And I WAS upset that the Twitter bio of a woman who is the most accomplished person to run for President of the United States, would begin with ‘wife.’ And considering her personal history, it just didn’t seem to fit.

I felt that ‘wife’ was used as an attempt to placate all the men and women who will not vote for a woman unless they are able to see her FIRST in domestic terms.

Yes, it’s just Twitter. But it matters. It’s a public platform. It’s where people go to hear directly from her.

And there is context to consider.

In LIVING HISTORY, Ms.Clinton writes that the two most difficult decisions she has made in her life were staying married to Bill Clinton and running for the senate seat in New York.

Women, especially women in public life, face a lot of societal pressure about how to be, how to live, much more than men do. Women in public life are considered ‘cold’ and ‘un-relatable’ unless they define themselves in domestic terms. Women’s accomplishments are often considered incomplete unless they have also ticked the ‘marriage’ box. These things are not true of men, even though marriage can be a wonderful thing for both men and women.

Feminism is indeed about choice. But it is intellectually lazy to suggest that, since everything is about ‘choice,’ none of these choices can be interrogated. Choices are never made in a vacuum. And sometimes, for women, choices are not always real choices.

After she got married, Ms. Clinton kept her name, but she was so viciously criticized for this that she then took on her husband’s name. Was this a ‘choice?’ Would she have done so if she wasn’t being attacked and if she didn’t want to feel responsible for her husband’s potential losing of votes?

During the last presidential campaign, she was expected to account for the policies of her husband’s administration. She was labeled an enabler of sexual harassment. She was accused of cynically staying married because she wanted to benefit politically.

Much of Ms. Clinton’s public image is a caricature of a person who is untrustworthy, calculated, cold, dishonest. That caricature has its roots in her early public life when she was the First Lady of Arkansas.

Her crime was that she did not conform to the traditional role of First Lady. She had kept her name. She clearly considered herself to be her husband’s equal partner. She did not intend merely to be a Wife. She had her own dreams, her own ambition. She dared to say that she wasn’t planning on ‘staying home and baking cookies,’ which was not about denigrating stay-at-home mothers but simply about saying that that was not what she wanted to do.

A small comment about a small thing, but it was significant and revolutionary because she was consciously resisting the status quo.

But she was attacked for that. Horrendously. And those attacks were repeated so often that they stuck and they contributed to her being reduced to a caricature.

It was therefore upsetting to see her first descriptor as ‘wife.’ The question isn’t about including ‘wife’ in her Twitter bio. The question is about giving ‘wife’ a certain primacy as the first word that describes her, and it speaks to larger questions about the societal expectations placed on women.

Ms. Clinton wrote in her most recent book WHAT HAPPENED, that she ran for president because she thinks she would have been a ‘damned good president.’

She certainly would have been. And so I suggested, half-joking, that ‘Would have been a damned good president’ is a perfect Twitter bio start. And then mother and wife and grandma and Senator and hair icon etc could follow!

I completely stand by my question and by my conviction that it is a subject that matters.

I had a truly enlightening evening on that stage with Ms. Clinton, and was once again awed by her grit, her humanity, her sparkling intelligence.

After the conversation, Ms. Clinton told me, “It was like talking to a friend.” She is now my Aunty For Life.

Oh, as for YOU, Unnamed Person, saying that I am ‘family’ to you, mbakwa biko. The people I consider family don’t ‘do petty.’

Saying “shut up” to a woman who airs an opinion is so unoriginal. Try and be a bit more inventive.

Try reasoning. Try intelligent debate. Try understanding things in context before you reveal your ignorant misogyny to the world. Try reading more than a headline. Try reading a whole book. Or two. And please keep talking. Keep speaking. Don’t ever shut up.

~CNA

Source; http://dailyleakblog.com/2018/04/24/chimamanda-adichie-responds-to-critics-over-hillary-clintons-twitter-bio-comment/

Kumar4india:
It means , she doesn't dance to attract money.

I dont have anything against the lady ohhhhh BUT my concern is why will she start asking someone about her status in public? It like enforcing her opinion on one who is higher than her.

skarlett:

CSTR1003:

Please tell me one thing Michelle Obama has accomplished aside from being the first black first lady. ?

A Nigerian without an American citizenship rose to a position of influence and opinion shaping without ever been in politics.

You think that is not more impressive than whatever Michelle Obama has accomplished?

When was the last Michelle Obama won an award in her field of study which is law?
Her highest achievement is first lady.
Don't ever insult chimamanda by making that comparison again.

Hilary Clinton on other hand is a highly accomplished Titan.

Himmler:

Does Hilary Clinton not also have the right to express herself the way she wants?

5thElement:


Yeah I remember that incident and I remember responding to her in The Punch newspaper.

She's egocentric. Probably trying hard to get the attention of the Nobel Prize Commission.

eezeribe:
Chimamanda can dissect Hillary Clinton as much as she likes;but one thing remains certain,the likes of Hillary Clinton and Michelle Obama will forever remain more highly rated than Ngozi Adichie...
Hillary Clinton is a proud WIFE of former US president and one of the most influential men in the world,Bill Clinton;while Chimamanda remains the wife of a nobody,a man who is so weak that his wife can't even bear his surname.
I have nothing against TRUE FEMINISM,but there is a thin line between COMMON SENSE and NONSENSE.

kernel507:



The both of you started the journey, where are you now?

kingthreat:
Chimamanda and Husband.
I can beat my chest. This guy gets laid ONCE A YEAR

nkemdi89:

Mind you name calling is not an opinion.

AuntLaVIV:



Lies, she never studied at unn. She left for the US immediately she got admission in unn. You didn't know her from anywhere. Stop lying.

Himmler:

Did Hillary Clinton go into any public meeting or social gathering describing herself as wife? Chimamanda went to her personal twitter bio to pick offence at the way she described herself. Hello!!!! It's her personal space, she's free to describe herself the way she wants to Ok. Have you seen Obama's bio? He describes himself as dad and husband first before anything else. Is Obama also a victim of misogyny? Gosh!! What gives you the impression that you have the right to invade people's personal spaces and dictate to them how they should describe themselves and even have the nerve to tell them you are "upset" with them because their description of themselves does not tally with your own convoluted view on things? This is beyond ridiculous, it's outright stupidity!!!

Himmler:
Obama is a Devilish idiot

john650:

Don't say. Wow.

There's certainly something wrong with her. Eventually, she's going to come crashing down to earth when Americans get tired of her putting her nose in everything.

nkemdi89:

I mentioned three things, which were hatred, jealousy and tribalism, and most of the people bashing her fell into those categories, she became popular not only because of her books, but she is vocal too, and left for me as an adult, I have the liberty to accept what I want to, her opinions are not laws , that means its not binding on anyone. And miss Clinton herself never saw it from that direction of the question being rude, its just that our African mentality makes us see it that way. An average black has a significant percentage of pull him down syndrome in him, that's why the condemnation was coming from people who tagged themselves " family " .

Mariinee:
Lol. I'm a hundred percent sure she only came up with this trash because of the backlash. If this was truly the reason why she asked Hillary that question, she would have phrased it in a better way.

That aside, why try to create dispute in someone's marriage? Well, I just can't wrap my head around feminism.

Kumar4india:
It means , she doesn't dance to attract money.

I dont have anything against the lady ohhhhh BUT my concern is why will she start asking someone about her status in public? It like enforcing her opinion on one who is higher than her.

kaorama:


Back then in UNN, the Priest in the campus catholic chapel warned her parents to call her to order after she challenged, in writing, the Priest's teachings on morality. She is Mrs know-it-all.

CSTR1003:

Please tell me one thing Michelle Obama has accomplished aside from being the first black first lady. ?

A Nigerian without an American citizenship rose to a position of influence and opinion shaping without ever been in politics.

You think that is not more impressive than whatever Michelle Obama has accomplished?

When was the last Michelle Obama won an award in her field of study which is law?
Her highest achievement is first lady.
Don't ever insult chimamanda by making that comparison again.

Hilary Clinton on other hand is a highly accomplished Titan.

littlewonders:
Quite another nice Novel. I enjoyed it. Who else did?

Obi4gboy:
Google is your friend

oyb:


but is obama the rule, or the exception?

https://www.nairaland.com/4396520/obamas-sodomite-past#65851791



you see yourself - it is a sodomite idiot you are using as a measuring stick?

eezeribe:
Chimamanda can dissect Hillary Clinton as much as she likes;but one thing remains certain,the likes of Hillary Clinton and Michelle Obama will forever remain more highly rated than Ngozi Adichie...
Hillary Clinton is a proud WIFE of former US president and one of the most influential men in the world,Bill Clinton;while Chimamanda remains the wife of a nobody,a man who is so weak that his wife can't even bear his surname.
I have nothing against TRUE FEMINISM,but there is a thin line between COMMON SENSE and NONSENSE.

Himmler:

Funny you went to my former posts to pick out things. I made that comment in reaction to the thread I made the comment on. If you read the story on that thread, you would know what I was reacting to. What you're doing is called the fallacy of argumentum ad hominem. You don't have any superior argument against my position so you chose to attack my person as if that invalidates the point I made. Maybe I should also go to your former posts and start digging for things to use to attack u also but it's totally unnecessary. There is no rule or exception as to how anyone chooses to describe themselves on their personal SM bio, it's their choice!! and you have to respect that. If I went to chimamanda's personal bio and started criticizing her for descriptions that don't tally with my personal views, how would she appreciate my invasion of her personal space? I gave you an example of Obama's bio because you seemed to be convinced that the only reason Hilary Clinton could have chosen to describe herself as a wife and mother was because of misogyny!! Never mind that Hilary Clinton herself has perhaps done more to advance the cause of women's rights and emancipation than any other person in the US today, she must be pilloried for having the nerve to be proud of her achievement as a good mother to her daughter and good wife to her husband. If Hilary Clinton had elevated her other achievements above her personal relationship with her family, chimamanda would have praised her as a feminist hero right? Because family should only be important to backward, uneducated women right? You have no right to be an accomplished woman and still be a good wife and mother right? Unless you're saying that the real goal of feminism is to downplay and undermine the importance of family then I don't see why a feminist should pick offence at another accomplished woman for acknowledging her roles as a mother and wife

Funny you went to my former posts to pick out things. I made that comment in reaction to the thread I made the comment on. If you read the story on that thread, you would know what I was reacting to. What you're doing is called the fallacy of argumentum ad hominem. You don't have any superior argument against my position so you chose to attack my person as if that invalidates the point I made

prechbills1:
I keep thanking God that Hillary Rodham Clinton didn't win that election...

and to Chimamanda
She's Mrs not Ms...

Come back to Africa and start campaigning against the payment of bride price because I don't see any reason why I should pay money before marrying you and won't see you as a "lesser" human. I'd surely take you for a commodity.

To the monkeys that will/may quote me out of context, ;I'm a stunch feminist.




Other foods for thought;

Because a lady is ruling the UK, females are treated like gods there.

As a lady you slap a man in his ass without his consent and you'd be praised for it. You won't be jailed because of useless excuses like; oh she was only playing with him, it's a lie, oh she's pregnant, oh she has kids.
As a man you slap a lady in her ass without her and you'd be imprisoned or sued.
That's exactly what's happening in places like Britain, Germany and USA right now.

What's gonna happen if a lady is allowed to rule Nigeria today
men will be treated like dogs.

I pray I never become a President some day, because if I do, any lady that falsely accuses someone of rape, sexual harrasment and molestation will spend their entire lives in jail.


Why should a man be the one to lose more in a case of divorce?
We are in a world where women can't build homes, only men build homes and women move in freely.
Women are always awarded custody of children.


Women are more favoured than men in very very many things yet I pity the men don't complain, even if they do some people still call them "weak".



Like I said earlier I pray I don't become a President... that's all I got to say..


Quote me and answer yourself