Step by Step: How to Raise a Feminist Daughter | The Odyssey Online
Start writing a post
Entertainment

Step by Step: How to Raise a Feminist Daughter

Much easier said than done.

228
Step by Step: How to Raise a Feminist Daughter
About Happy Books

Despite having a busy life, I am currently on a mission to read as much feminist literature as possible. On my reading shelf thus far is Roxane Gay’s Bad Feminist, Warsan Shire’s Teaching My Mother How to Give Birth, and recently, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s Dear Ijeawele, or A Feminist Manifesto in Fifteen Suggestions.

For short—Dear Ijeawele began as Facebook Post (don’t all our best ideas start this way) that Adichie posted in October of 2016. In that post, she drafted a list of 15 suggestions on raising a daughter in the most feminist way possible for her close friend Ijeawele. The text post was later expanded and turned into a book that was released in March of 2017.

At only 21 years old, I am not sure if I ever will have children or not, but books like Dear Ijeawele get me thinking. They get me to contemplate about how I would raise a child, a girl child especially, with strong feminist principals. Adichie alleviates my future stress significantly with this text, giving the ins and outs of feminist parenting, from how to speak to your daughter, to how to destroy gender roles in your household, to how to teach her to be a full person amongst many others. As I said before, I am not sure what the future holds for me, but if I have a daughter, I will tell her some of these things.

Here are some of my favorite quotes from Dear Ijeawele, or A Feminist Manifesto in Fifteen Suggestions:

1. “When there is true equality, resentment does not exist. “

2. “Being a feminist is like being pregnant. You either are or you are not. You either believe in the full equality of men and women or you do not.”

3. “. . . but here is a sad truth: our world is full of men and women who do not like powerful women. We have been so conditioned to think of power as male that a powerful woman is an aberration. And so she is policed . . . is she humble? Does she smile? Is she grateful enough?”

4. “If we don’t place the straitjacket of gender roles on young children, we give them space to reach their full potential.”

5. “I have kept my name because it is my name. I have kept my name because I like my name.”

6. “Her job is not to make herself likeable, her job is to be her full self, a self that is honest and aware of the equal humanity of other people.”

7. “We teach girls to be likeable, to be nice, to be false. And we do not teach boys the same. This is dangerous.”

8. “Social norms are created by human beings, and there is no social norm that cannot be changed.”

9. “To make sure she doesn’t inherit shame from you, you have to free yourself of your own inherited shamed.”

10. “People walk different paths in the word, and that as long as those paths do no harm to others, they are valid paths that she must respect.”

Report this Content
This article has not been reviewed by Odyssey HQ and solely reflects the ideas and opinions of the creator.
Featured

15 Mind-Bending Riddles

Hopefully they will make you laugh.

195777
 Ilistrated image of the planet and images of questions
StableDiffusion

I've been super busy lately with school work, studying, etc. Besides the fact that I do nothing but AP chemistry and AP economics, I constantly think of stupid questions that are almost impossible to answer. So, maybe you could answer them for me, and if not then we can both wonder what the answers to these 15 questions could be.

Keep Reading...Show less
Entertainment

Most Epic Aurora Borealis Photos: October 2024

As if May wasn't enough, a truly spectacular Northern Lights show lit up the sky on Oct. 10, 2024

18188
stunning aurora borealis display over a forest of trees and lake
StableDiffusion

From sea to shining sea, the United States was uniquely positioned for an incredible Aurora Borealis display on Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024, going into Friday, Oct. 11.

It was the second time this year after an historic geomagnetic storm in May 2024. Those Northern Lights were visible in Europe and North America, just like this latest rendition.

Keep Reading...Show less
 silhouette of a woman on the beach at sunrise
StableDiffusion

Content warning: This article contains descriptions of suicide/suicidal thoughts.

When you are feeling down, please know that there are many reasons to keep living.

Keep Reading...Show less
Relationships

Power of Love Letters

I don't think I say it enough...

460373
Illistrated image of a letter with 2 red hearts
StableDiffusion

To My Loving Boyfriend,

  • Thank you for all that you do for me
  • Thank you for working through disagreements with me
  • Thank you for always supporting me
  • I appreciate you more than words can express
  • You have helped me grow and become a better person
  • I can't wait to see where life takes us next
  • I promise to cherish every moment with you
  • Thank you for being my best friend and confidante
  • I love you and everything you do

To start off, here's something I don't say nearly enough: thank you. Thank you, thank you, thank you from the bottom of my heart. You do so much for me that I can't even put into words how much I appreciate everything you do - and have done - for me over the course of our relationship so far. While every couple has their fair share of tiffs and disagreements, thank you for getting through all of them with me and making us a better couple at the other end. With any argument, we don't just throw in the towel and say we're done, but we work towards a solution that puts us in a greater place each day. Thank you for always working with me and never giving up on us.

Keep Reading...Show less
Lifestyle

11 Signs You Grew Up In Hauppauge, NY

Because no one ever really leaves.

28026
Map of Hauppauge, New York
Google

Ah, yes, good old Hauppauge. We are that town in the dead center of Long Island that barely anyone knows how to pronounce unless they're from the town itself or live in a nearby area. Hauppauge is home to people of all kinds. We always have new families joining the community but honestly, the majority of the town is filled with people who never leave (high school alumni) and elders who have raised their kids here. Around the town, there are some just some landmarks and places that only the people of Hauppauge will ever understand the importance or even the annoyance of.

Keep Reading...Show less

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

Facebook Comments