Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie: We should all be feminists
Čimamanda Ngozi Adiči (Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie): Svi bi trebalo da budemo feministi
Inspired by Nigerian history and tragedies all but forgotten by recent generations of westerners, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s novels and stories are jewels in the crown of diasporan literature. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
about one of my greatest friends,
o jednom od mojih najboljih prijatelja,
I would ask Okoloma's opinion.
pitala bih Okolomu za mišljenje.
Sosoliso plane crash
u čuvenoj avionskoj nesreći Sosolisa
da se svađam, smejem i zaista razgovaram.
laugh with and truly talk to.
to call me a feminist.
koja me je nazvala feministkinjom.
bili smo u njegovoj kući i svađali se.
we were at his house, arguing.
with half bit knowledge
iz knjiga koje smo čitali.
particular argument was about,
dok sam se svađala i svađala,
that as I argued and argued,
"You know, you're a feminist."
„Znaš, ti si feministkinja.“
to say something like,
koji biste koristili da kažete:
what this word "feminist" meant,
šta znači reč „feministkinja“,
to know that I did not know.
and I continued to argue.
i nastavila da se svađam.
da uradim kad dođem kući
I planned to do when I got home
reč „feministkinja“ u rečniku.
"feminist" in the dictionary.
who among other things beats his wife
između ostalog, bije svoju ženu
the novel in Nigeria,
sa dobrim namerama,
to give unsolicited advice.
da daju savete koje im niko ne traži.
that my novel was feminist
da je moj roman feministički
a klimao je glavom tužno dok je pričao -
sadly as he spoke --
da nazivam sebe feministkinjom
call myself a feminist
are women who are unhappy
"a happy feminist."
„srećnom feministkinjom“.
rekla da feminizam nije u našoj kulturi,
„zapadnjačke knjige“.
by "Western books."
bile izričito nefeminističke.
were decidedly unfeminist.
izdanja Mils i Bun koji su izdati
Mills & Boon romance published
da pročitam knjige
i mučila bih se da ih dovršim.
struggled to finish them.
pošto feminizam nije bio afrički,
"a happy African feminist."
„srećnom afričkom feministkinjom“.
feminist who does not hate men
srećna afrička feministkinja
koja voli sjaj za usne
for herself but not for men.
a ne zbog muškaraca.
was tongue-in-cheek,
with baggage, negative baggage.
ide sa toliko tereta, negativnog tereta.
that sort of thing.
that she would give the class a test
rekla da će dati test razredu
would be the class monitor.
biće kontrolor razreda.
je bila velika stvar.
the names of noisemakers --
imena onih koji prave nered -
a cane to hold in your hand
da držiš štap u ruci
and patrol the class for noisemakers.
one koji prave nered u razredu.
actually allowed to use the cane.
koristiti štap.
for the nine-year-old me.
za mene sa devet godina.
to be the class monitor.
da budem kontrolor razreda
rekla da kontrolor mora da bude dečak.
that the monitor had to be a boy.
to make that clear earlier
score on the test,
na testu je imao dečak,
interesting about this
je da je dečak bio nežna duša
in patrolling the class with the cane,
da nadgleda razred sa štapom,
pa je postao kontrolor razreda.
is just as obvious to everyone else.
isto tako očigledno i drugima.
mog dobrog prijatelja Luija.
and he would tell me,
being different or harder for women.
da je drugačije ili teže ženama.
could not see what seems so self-evident.
ne vidi ono što je tako očigledno.
Louis and I went out with friends.
Lui i ja izašli sa prijateljima.
who are not familiar with Lagos,
who hang around outside establishments
koji bleje izvan ustanova
vam pomažu da parkirate kola.
"help" you park your car.
with the particular theatrics
naročitim teatralnim nastupom
a parking spot that evening.
mesto za parkiranje te večeri.
I decided to leave him a tip.
odlučila sam da mu dam bakšiš.
that I had earned from doing my work,
radeći moj posao,
very grateful and very happy,
veoma zahvalan i srećan,
I didn't give him the money."
Ja mu nisam dao novac.“
dawn on Louis' face.
koji sam imala ipak došao od Luija.
we have different sexual organs,
imamo drugačije seksualne organe,
in general physically stronger than women.
i uopšte su fizički jači od žena.
than men in the world,
nego muškaraca na svetu,
population is female.
and prestige are occupied by men.
većinu pozicija moći i statusa.
Nobelove nagrade za mir,
the fewer women there are."
tamo je sve manje žena.“
smo slušali o zakonu Lili Ledbeter,
of the Lilly Ledbetter law,
alliterative name of that law,
zvučno ime ovog zakona,
being equally qualified,
isto su kvalifikovani,
because he's a man.
zato što je muškarac.
muškarci vladaju svetom,
the most important attribute for survival.
najvažnija karakteristika za opstanak.
was more likely to lead,
da će fizički jača osoba da bude vođa,
are physically stronger.
muškarci su fizički jači.
in a vastly different world.
u potpuno drugačijem svetu.
is not the physically stronger person;
da vođa bude ne fizički jača,
the more intelligent person,
inovativnija osoba,
for those attributes.
to be intelligent,
kreativan i inovativan kao i žena.
of gender had not evolved.
of one of the best Nigerian hotels.
jednog od najboljih nigerijskih hotela.
ali shvatila sam da ne treba to da uradim.
but I thought I probably shouldn't.
and asked me annoying questions,
i postavljao mi neprijatna pitanja,
u hotel sama seksualna radnica.
into a hotel alone is a sex worker.
usredsređuju na navodnu ponudu,
focus on the ostensible supply
into many "reputable" bars and clubs.
u mnoge „ugledne“ barove i klubove.
ako si žena i sama,
if you're a woman alone,
sa nekim muškarcem,
a Nigerian restaurant with a man,
felt like, "Yes! I thought that!"
„Da! To sam mislila!“
da su muškarci važniji od žena.
are more important than women.
don't intend any harm.
and quite another to feel it emotionally.
a sasvim drugo osećati emocionalno.
I feel invisible.
osećam se nevidljivo,
that I am just as human as the man,
isto toliko ljudsko biće kao i muškarac,
ali ponekad male stvari bole najviše.
that sting the most.
o tome šta znači biti mlada žena u Lagosu,
to be young and female in Lagos,
„Toliko je ljutito.“
is a grave injustice.
je ozbiljna nepravda.
of bringing about positive change;
donošenja pozitivnih promena;
I'm also hopeful.
takođe imam i nadu.
in the ability of human beings
u sposobnost ljudskih bića
i poprave sebe nabolje.
themselves for the better.
na Nigeriju i Afriku uopšteno,
and because it is where my heart is.
i ono gde je moje srce.
da počnemo da sanjamo
and plan for a different world,
pravedniji svet,
who are truer to themselves.
koji će više biti ono što zapravo jesu.
svoje ćerke drugačije.
i svoje sinove drugačije.
on how we raise them;
načinom na koji ih vaspitavamo;
in a very narrow way,
i stavljamo dečake unutar tog kaveza.
of weakness, of vulnerability.
slabosti, ranjivosti.
in Nigerian speak, "hard man!"
nigerijski rečeno, „jaki muškarci“.
both of them teenagers,
oboje tinejdžeri, sa istim džeparcem,
of pocket money, would go out
očekivalo da plati,
would be expected always to pay,
to steal money from their parents.
pre da ukradu novac od roditelja.
muškost sa novcem?
„dečak mora da plati“
was not "the boy has to pay"
treba da plati?“
of that historical advantage,
raising children differently,
da vaspitavamo decu drugačije,
of having to prove this masculinity.
da moraju da dokažu muškost na taj način.
koju učinimo muškarcima,
da moraju da budu jaki,
that they have to be hard,
with very fragile egos.
the man feels compelled to be,
da mora da bude „jak muškarac“,
disservice to girls
to cater to the fragile egos of men.
slabom egu muškarca.
to make themselves smaller,
da umanjuju sebe.
„Možeš da imaš ambicije, ali ne previše.“
ali ne previše uspešna,
but not too successful,
in your relationship with a man,
the premise itself?
samu tu pretpostavku?
be a threat to a man?
to simply dispose of that word,
da jednostavno odbacimo taj izraz,
I dislike more than "emasculation."
koji više mrzim od „oduzimanja muškosti“.
me je jednom pitao da li sam zabrinuta
would be intimidated by me.
da budem zabrinuta
to me to be worried
koji bi mogao da me se plaši
be intimidated by me
I would have no interest in.
za kog ja nisam zainteresovana.
I'm expected to aspire to marriage;
od mene se očekuje da težim braku.
that marriage is the most important.
and love and mutual support.
ljubavi i uzajamne podrške.
to aspire to marriage
koja je odlučila da proda kuću
who decided to sell her house
to intimidate a man who might marry her.
muškarca koji bi je mogao oženiti.
who, when she goes to conferences,
kada ide na konferencije,
„ukažu poštovanje“.
in the conference to "give her respect."
who are under so much pressure
koje su pod tolikim pritiskom
even from work to get married,
čak i na poslu, da se udaju,
to make terrible choices.
to see it as a deep, personal failure.
kao veliki, lični neuspeh.
who is unmarried,
koji je neoženjen
to making his pick.
da nije stigao da napravi izbor.
just say no to all of this."
da kažu 'ne' svemu ovome.“
and more complex.
from our socialization.
o braku i vezama, pokazuje ovo.
and relationships illustrates this.
is often the language of ownership
pre nego rečnik partnerstva.
što žena ukazuje muškarcu,
a man shows a woman.
što muškarac pokazuje ženi.
ovo je izraz koji me veoma zabavlja -
I'm very amused by --
that they should not be doing anyway.
što ionako ne bi trebali da rade.
in a kind of fondly exasperated way,
na neki nežno ogorčeni način.
proves how masculine they are,
koliko su muževni, potrebni, voljeni.
da idem u klub svake noći,
I can't go to the club every night,
I do it only on weekends."
idem samo vikendom.“
"I did it for peace in my marriage,"
„Uradila sam to zbog mira u braku“,
about giving up a job,
od posla, sna, karijere.
kompromis ono što je svojstveno ženama.
jedna na drugu kao na konkurenciju -
each other as competitors --
which I think can be a good thing,
što mislim da može da bude dobra stvar,
cannot be sexual beings
da budu seksualna bića
knowing about our sons' girlfriends.
da znamo o njegovim devojkama.
pravog muškarca koji će biti njihov muž.
the perfect man to be their husbands.
we praise girls for virginity,
veličamo ih zbog nevinosti,
this is supposed to work out because ...
to treba da funkcioniše zato što...
is usually a process that involves ...
je obično proces koji uključuje...
was gang raped in a university in Nigeria,
višestruko silovana
i muškaraca i žena,
both male and female,
in a room with four boys?"
u sobi sa četiri dečaka?“
the horrible inhumanity of that response,
užasnu nehumanost takve reakcije,
to think of women as inherently guilty,
tako da misle o ženi kao suštinski krivoj,
to expect so little of men
toliko malo od muškaraca
without any control
bez ikakve kontrole, nekako prihvatljiva.
samim tim što su ženskog pola,
as though by being born female
koje ne vide da imaju želje.
who silence themselves.
who cannot say what they truly think,
da kažu šta zaista misle,
koju učinimo devojčicama -
we did to girls --
naprave umetnost.
who have turned pretense into an art form.
jednostavno ih mrzi,
that to be "good wife material"
da bi bila „dobar materijal za udaju“,
to use that Nigerian word --
tu nigerijsku reč - dobra „domaćica“.
began to complain that she had changed.
počela je da se žali kako se promenila.
samo se umorila od pretvaranja.
kakvi treba da budemo
slobodniji da budemo ono što zaista jesmo,
our true individual selves,
u vidu očekivanja od pola.
of gender expectations.
undeniably different biologically,
neosporno, biološki razlikuju,
exaggerates the differences
a self-fulfilling process.
koji se samoostvaruje.
to do the housework than men,
nego muškarci - kuvanje i čišćenje.
are born with a cooking gene?
rodile sa genom za kuvanje?
socialized to see cooking as their role?
tako da vide kuvanje kao njihovu ulogu?
možda stvarno rođene sa genom za kuvanje
women are born with a cooking gene,
da je većina poznatih kuvara na svetu,
of the famous cooks in the world,
„glavnog kuvara“, u stvari muškarci.
koja je bila sjajna žena,
iste prilike kao muškarci u odrastanju.
as men when she was growing up.
many more opportunities for women
nego što ih je bilo u vreme moje bake
during my grandmother's time
changes in law,
što je sve veoma važno.
is our attitude, our mindset,
naš stav, naš način razmišljanja,
and what we value about gender.
fokusirali na sposobnosti umesto na pol?
we focus on interest instead of gender?
fokusirali na interesovanja umesto na pol?
who have a son and a daughter,
a oboje su sjajni u školi i divna deca.
the parents say to the girl,
roditelji kažu devojčici:
for your brother."
particularly like to cook Indomie noodles,
da sprema nudle,
tako da mora da to uradi.
da spremaju nudle?
to cook Indomie?
koju bi dečaci trebalo da imaju.
is a very useful skill for boys to have.
zašto bi prepustili tako presudnu stvar,
to leave such a crucial thing,
and the same job as her husband.
istu diplomu i isti posao kao i njen muž.
she does most of the housework,
ona radi većinu kućnih poslova,
je da kad god bi muž promenio bebi pelenu,
changed the baby's diaper,
as perfectly normal and natural
kao nešto sasvim normalno i prirodno
care for his child?
da se stara o svom detetu?
many of the lessons of gender
od mnogih lekcija o polu
in the face of gender expectations.
kada se suočim sa očekivanjima o polu.
a writing class in graduate school,
na postdiplomskim studijama,
koji je trebalo da predajem
about the material I would teach
i predavala bih ono što volim da predajem.
what I enjoy teaching.
morati samim tim da dokažem koliko vredim.
have to prove my worth.
ako izgledam previše ženstveno,
that if I looked too feminine,
my shiny lip gloss and my girly skirt,
sjaj za usne i obučem suknju,
veoma muškobanjasto i grozno odelo.
that when it comes to appearance
kada je u pitanju izgled,
as the standard, as the norm.
for a business meeting,
za poslovni sastanak,
about looking too masculine
da bude uzet zdravo za gotovo.
for business meeting,
about looking too feminine
da li izgleda previše ženstveno,
she will be taken seriously.
i da li će biti shvaćena ozbiljno.
nisam obukla to odvratno odelo.
that ugly suit that day.
from my closet, by the way.
that I have now to be myself,
koliko sam sada, da budem ono što jesam,
even more from my teaching,
još više koristi od mog predavanja,
i mnogo više ono što zapravo jesam.
be apologetic for my femaleness
za svoju ženskost i za svoju ženstvenost.
in all of my femaleness
u celokupnoj mojoj ženskosti
conversation to have.
to encounter almost immediate resistance.
ponekad znači naići na direktan otpor.
are actually thinking,
da neki ljudi ovde sada misle u sebi:
ali ja ne mislim tako.“
actively think about gender
ne razmišljaju aktivno o polu
je deo problema o polu.
kao moj prijatelj Lui,
ne čine ništa da to promene.
into a restaurant with a woman
part of a longer version of this talk.
u dužu verziju ovog govora.
a very uncomfortable conversation to have,
može da bude neprijatan,
to close the conversation.
da se prekine taj razgovor.
evolutionary biology and apes,
evolucionu biologiju i majmune,
bow down to male apes
klanjaju muškim majmunima, i slično.
and have earthworms for breakfast,
i jedu crve za doručak, a mi to ne činimo.
"Well, poor men also have a hard time."
„Pa, jadni muškarci, i njima je teško.“
what this conversation is about.
are different forms of oppression.
različite vrste ugnjetavanja.
about systems of oppression
o sistemima ugnjetavanja
jedni za druge, razgovarajući sa crncima.
to a black man about gender
sa crncem o polu i on mi je rekao:
'my experience as a woman'?
'moje iskustvo kao žena'?
'tvoje iskustvo kao ljudsko biće'?“
govorio o svom iskustvu kao crnac.
about his experience as a black man.
doživljavaju svet različito.
experience the world differently.
we experience the world.
na koji doživljavamo svet.
suštinsku moć.“
bottom power is an expression
suštinska moć je izraz
da znači nešto slično tome
something like a woman
da bi dobijala usluge od muškaraca.
to get favors from men.
jednostavno ima dobru osnovu
from time to time --
bolestan ili impotentan.
that somebody else is in a bad mood,
being subordinate to a man is our culture.
da žena bude podređena muškarcu.
who are fifteen and live in Lagos.
koje imaju 15 godina i žive u Lagosu.
bile bi odvedene i ubijene.
taken away and killed.
it was our culture to kill twins.
kultura je bila da se blizanci ubijaju.
preservation and continuity of a people.
i u očuvanju i produženju vrste.
priča o tome ko smo,
in the story of who we are,
znanje o zemlji naših predaka.
ne mogu da idem na plemenske sastanke,
is not our culture,
ne čini našu kulturu,
Okoloma Maduewesi.
svog dragog prijatelja,
who passed away in that Sosoliso crash
u toj nesreći Sosolisa, počivaju u miru.
by those of us who loved him.
when he called me a feminist.
kada me je nazvao feministkinjom.
in the dictionary that day,
u rečniku, ovo je pisalo:
u socijalnu, političku
who believes in the social, political
from the stories I've heard,
je bila feministkinja.
she did not want to marry
za kog nije želela da se uda
the man of her choice.
za onog koga je izabrala.
of access, of land, that sort of thing.
pristup, zemlja, i tome slično.
did not know that word "feminist,"
za reč „feministkinja“,
da povrati pravo na tu reč.
with gender as it is today,
onako kako je to danas,
je moj brat Kene.
good-looking, lovely man,
zgodan, predivan muškarac,
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie - NovelistInspired by Nigerian history and tragedies all but forgotten by recent generations of westerners, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s novels and stories are jewels in the crown of diasporan literature.
Why you should listen
In Nigeria, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's novel Half of a Yellow Sun has helped inspire new, cross-generational communication about the Biafran war. In this and in her other works, she seeks to instill dignity into the finest details of each character, whether poor, middle class or rich, exposing along the way the deep scars of colonialism in the African landscape.
Adichie's newest book, The Thing Around Your Neck, is a brilliant collection of stories about Nigerians struggling to cope with a corrupted context in their home country, and about the Nigerian immigrant experience.
Adichie builds on the literary tradition of Igbo literary giant Chinua Achebe—and when she found out that Achebe liked Half of a Yellow Sun, she says she cried for a whole day. What he said about her rings true: “We do not usually associate wisdom with beginners, but here is a new writer endowed with the gift of ancient storytellers.”
(Photo: Wani Olatunde)
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie | Speaker | TED.com