Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie lets us know that Beyoncé’s feminism isn’t the same as her own, and we totally understand
Some may know her as an accomplished novelist and international symbol of feminism, while others may know her as the powerful voice on ***Flawless***. Either way Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie is an inspiration to a lot of us, including Beyoncé.
In a recent interview with Dutch magazine de Volkskrant, Adichie shared the deets behind working with the pop culture icon. While she happily gave Beyoncé permission to use a portion of her infamous Ted Talk We Should All Be Feminists, being featured on Bey’s self-titled album didn’t exactly make Adichie jump for joy in the end. In fact, after the fact, she resented a lot of the exposure.
"I was shocked about how many requests for an interview I received when that song was released," Adichie says. "Literally every major newspaper in the world wanted to speak with me about Beyoncé. I felt such a resentment. I thought, 'are books really that unimportant to you?' Another thing I hated was that I read everywhere, Now people finally know her, thanks to Beyoncé, or, 'She must be very grateful. I found that disappointing. I thought, 'I am a writer and I have been for some time and I refuse to perform in this charade that is now apparently expected of me.'"
We totally get it! Having your art recognized on an international level is no small feat, but when you feel that your years of hard work are only being celebrated because of your connection to a major celebrity, it can be a bit of a disappointment. However, Adichie still adores Queen Bey just like the rest of us, and was proud to have worked on the project.
"I think she’s lovely and I am convinced that she has nothing but the best intentions," Adichie says when asked about Bey. "In addition, Beyoncé is a celebrity of the first order and with this song she has reached many people who would otherwise probably never have heard the word feminism, let alone gone out and buy my essay."
And although she’s a fan of the songstress, she admitted to not being able to identify with Bey’s brand of feminism — and we think that’s totally OK!
"Her style is not my style, but I do find it interesting that she takes a stand in political and social issues," Adichie says. "She portrays a woman who is in charge of her own destiny, who does her own thing, and she has girl power. I am very taken with that. Still, her type of feminism is not mine, as it is the kind that, at the same time, gives quite a lot of space to the necessity of men. We women should spend about 20 per cent of our time on men, because it's fun, but otherwise we should also be talking about our own stuff."
There’s certainly more than one way to be a feminist, and Adichie just showed everyone that you can have differencing views and still share respect and admiration for one another.
So, sorry folks! There’s no controversy here. Just a couple of talented women giving each other freedom to think for themselves. <3
