“I learned a lot about systems of oppression and how they can be blind to one another by talking to black men. I was once talking about gender and a man said to me, "Why does it have to be you as a woman? Why not you as a human being?" This type of question is a way of silencing a person's specific experiences. Of course I am a human being, but there are particular things that happen to me in the world because I am a woman. This same man, by the way, would often talk about his experience as a black man. (To which I should probably have responded, "Why not your experiences as a man or as a human being? Why a black man?")”

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Originally said in English.

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About Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Nigerian novelist and feminist writer, she has shaped contemporary conversations on gender and identity. Her work explores the complexities of African experiences through fiction and nonfiction, blending sharp social critique with vivid storytelling.

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"I learned a lot about systems of oppression and how they can be blind…" — Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie | Daily Quotes