Because of writers like Chinua Achebe and Camara Laye … I realized that people like me, girls with skin the color of chocolate, whose kinky hair could not form ponytails, could also exist in literature.
Chimamanda Ngozi AdichieRead
I look young. I heard this said so often that it became irritating. I once worked as a babysitter for a woman who, the first time we met, said she didn't want somebody in high school. I was 22. Later, I realised that in certain places being female and looking 'young' meant it was more difficult to be taken seriously, so I turned to make-up.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote highlights the challenges women face in being taken seriously based on their appearance, particularly when they look young.
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie reflects on her experiences as a young woman entering the workforce, emphasizing how her youthful appearance often led others to underestimate her abilities and professionalism. This realization prompted her to adapt her appearance through make-up to navigate societal perceptions, shining a light on the pressure women experience to comply with certain beauty standards in order to be taken more seriously.
Themes
YouthAppearanceGenderProfessionalismMakeup
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about gender bias in the workplace, you could use this quote to illustrate the challenges women face.
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If I had not grown up in Nigeria- and if all I knew of Africa were of popular images- I too would think that africa was a place of beautiful landscapes, beautiful animals and incomprehensible people fighting sensless wars, dying of poverty and aids- unable to speak for themselves and waiting to be saved by a kind white foreigner.
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Stories can break the dignity of a people, but stories can also repair that broken dignity.
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You can't write a script in your mind and then force yourself to follow it. You have to let yourself be.
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Non-fiction, and in particular the literary memoir, the stylised recollection of personal experience, is often as much about character and story and emotion as fiction is.
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