Renowned author and feminist activist Chimamanda Adichie has expressed her dedication to instilling in her sons the values of gender equality and respect for women.
Speaking in an interview with BBC’s Emma Barnett published on Wednesday via YouTube, Adichie addressed concerns about toxic masculinity and the role parents play in shaping future generations.
“I’m determined to raise good men. I’m thinking about how to make them never feel entitled to women’s bodies,” Adichie stated.
Adichie, who just released a novel titled “Dream Count”, after more than a decade since her last fiction, emphasised the need for boys to have positive role models, lamenting that while young girls today have strong female figures to look up to, boys often lack the same.
“In general, little girls now have women in public life they can admire. But I don’t think boys have that in the same way. That space is instead occupied by noxious characters and ideas. I wish the good men would stand up.
“Culture doesn’t make us, we make culture. We can remake masculinity in a way that is compatible with equality. It can be done,” she said.
Adichie also reflected on the impact of motherhood on her life and creativity, narrating that motherhood has influenced her writing process and, at one point, led to a creative block.
“I don’t like to use the expression ‘writer’s block’ because I’m superstitious, but it happened when I became pregnant. Something changed, and I don’t think it was just physiological,” she said.
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