Celebrated Nigerian novelist, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's talk on feminism in Africa is interesting, dazzling even, peppered as it is with sharp humor and anecdotes that one can easily relate to, especially if the audience is a female from any part of the globe, of any class and ethnicity.
A few things Adichie said struck me as gem-like utterances:
"The problem with gender is that it prescribes what we should, instead of recognizing how we are."
"Women are not born with cooking genes."
"Men ought to know how to cook if only because it's risky to delegate the task of nourishing oneself to the hands of others."
"Women and men, both should strive to unlearn the lessons of gender they have internalized."
"The Nigerian saying that women have more 'bottom power' than men and therefore rule the world, is based on a belief that is degrading to women." ['Bottom power' is the local slang for sexual power; means women get things done by manipulating men through sex].
While I was highly impressed by Adichie's experience of being a feminist in Nigeria, I also thought that she spoke of a crucial social issue of power, gender and justice like a celebrity would. The tone was too catchy to be true; her body image was too desirable to not please, and most importantly, she is advocating feminist values post ipso facto, after the fact of her celebrity status.
Turn to Gloria Steinem now: At 81, having been one of the lighters of the fire of the women's movement in the 60s, Steinem at 81, comes across as a spokesperson of an idea of women, not as a celebrity who makes a mark on her audience because of how famous she is.
Steinem's thoughts are exquisite yet mellow enough not to find place as captions on mugs and T shirts, but to quietly embed themselves in the loamy soil of one's consciousness.
Steinem's characterization of women as a perpetual "immigrant" group who are always falling behind because they have to negotiate structures of powers in societies from which they have been historically excluded, is brilliant.
Equally memorable is the "pink ghetto" phrase: Women typically are founts of cheap labor in capitalism; it's no surprise that the healthcare industry (especially home health care) and food industry, among other industries, are dominated by women. The jobs pay little to nothing.
Steinem focuses on the exploitation of women, not simply, as Adichie does, on how they are victims of a gender-bias.
On any given day, I'd choose La femme Gloria over all the other la femmes who come and go these days.
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