Third Suggestion Summary - Degree 6th sem

Class: Degree 3rd year
Sem: Degree 6th Sem
State: Telangana

Subject: ENGLISH

Lesson: THIRD SUGGESTION

Nigerian writer Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie was born in 1977 and has received multiple honours. She is the author of three novels (Purple Hibiscus, 2003; Half of a Yellow Sun, 2006; Americanah, 2013); a memoir (Notes on Grief, 2021); a collection of essays; and a short story (The Thing Around Your Neck, 2009). Her 2012 TEDx talk, "We Should All Be Feminists," has received over five million views on YouTube. Her writing has been translated into 30 languages and has received praise on a global scale.

Third Suggestion Summary

The following passage, headed "Third Suggestion," is taken from Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's 2017 book "A Feminist Manifesto in Fifteen Suggestions." This excerpt only addresses the third SUGGESTION Adichie gave her friend Ijeawele in response to her query on how to nurture her feminist daughter Chizalum. This excerpt addresses the degree to which society shapes gender by conditioning men and women differently, as well as providing a conceptual introduction to gender roles.

The book Dear Ijeawele, or a Feminist Manifesto in Fifteen Suggestions by Chimamanda Adichie Ngozi provides an excellent overview of how to raise a feminist child.

A gender role, sometimes referred to as a sex role, is a social role that encompasses a variety of actions and viewpoints that are typically regarded as suitable, acceptable, or appropriate for an individual based on that individual's sex. Gender roles, while not always rigid, are typically based on ideas of what it means to be a man or a woman. While some aspects of these gendered norms may be universal across a variety of civilizations, the specifics may differ significantly between them. Gender roles have an impact on many aspects of human behaviour, such as relationships, career choices, and attire.

  

This is a recurring subject in the extract, according to author Adichie. In her third suggestion, she told her friend "Ljeawale" to teach her daughter Chizalum that "the idea of 'gender roles is absolute nonsense". The author disagrees, arguing that gender is not a natural phenomenon that all people are born with, despite the way this viewpoint presents it. According to her, gender roles are imposed on children by society, who teach them to behave differently depending on their sex even if boys and girls are equal from birth. We are frequently informed that gender plays a role in how men and women behave.

Women are docile, empathetic, and compassionate just by virtue of being female, whereas men are energetic, logical, and hardworking. We are taught that our gender determines how we will act in particular situations or complete particular activities. Our gender essentially determines who we are and places boundaries on our personal potential. Our society starts moulding kids as boys and girls differently almost from the moment of birth. We choose different toys for them to play with, treat them differently, dress them differently, and converse with them. Thus, author Adichie counsels parents to raise their kids to be active, self-reliant adults by treating them as people first and "boys and girls" second.

The author ends the excerpt by expressing her hope that her writing would serve as a wake-up call for society and by looking forward to a world in which gender roles will no longer exist.