This was my third read-through of We Should All Be Feminists and I definitely appreciated it more now than I did in 2015. Now, I understand better what Chimamanda is trying to say, and that problems that might not be relatable to me (because they don't mirror my culture) are still fucking important and moreover, relevant for me as well. 
 Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, awardwinning author of Americanah, was born and raised in Nigeria, in this speech she draws from her earliest experiences with gender and what it means to be a feminist. 
 Most of you probably now that this was originally a TEDx talk, and I would highly suggest that you watch her give that talk instead of reading this tiny book. Her way of speaking is much more engaging and helps with the understanding of passages that are supposed to be read in a funnier/ lighter tone, moreover her ulterior motive becomes clearer. 
 I really liked how she structured her speech. She started out with her earliest memory of her best friend calling her a femnist. Back then, she didn't know what it meant, but she knew it wasn't a compliment. She talks about the baggage that comes with the word. You can't call yourself a feminist, without people assuming that you are angry, unhappy, sexually frustrated, against wearing make-up and dressing up, and in the case for our beautiful African women: not embracing your culture - because feminism apparently is un-African, and just a silly Western trend. I applaud Chimamanda for calling out that bullshit, and defying the odds: She's a "happy African feminist who does not hate men and who likes to wear lip gloss and high heels for herself and not for men" - Round of fucking applause! 
 I loved the insights she gave into growing up and living in Nigeria today. It is apparent that women in that culture face vastly different, and much more pressing problems than their Western sisters. She recounts how in Lagos, she is not greeted by waiters in restaurants or staff in general, and how it is always assumed that the man has all the money, and therefore if she decides to tip a waiter, she doesn't get a thanks, but her male companion does. She recounts how she gets constantly harshly interrogated when she enters hotels without a male companion, because it is automatically assumed that she must be a sex worker. She reminisces about her childhood, and how certain privileges, like the task of being class monitor, were reserved for boys; that girls were taught to cook, whilst boys were taught to order their sisters around about what they want to eat. 
 These are very unrelatable issues for me, because I grew up in Germany, were, in regards to the equality of the sexes, the situation is more progressive. Nonetheless, I appreciate the insight that Chimamanda gave my own privileged ass. ;) 
 However, there were some moments in this collection, when Chimamanda started to generalize certain aspects of Western culture, so moments that I should be able to relate to, that I (kind of) didn't agree with. I am not an experienced woman. I was never in a relationship. I never had to face the job market. My parents are very casual, and don't put much pressure on me. So, when Chimamanda started talking about how in Western cultures women are pressured to marry, and that when a woman at a certain age doesn't have a partner and/ or kids, she is regarded as a failure, whereas men get away much more easily, I couldn't whole-heartedly agree, it just differs from my own experiences and the experiences of my social circle. But then again, I am quite young and unexperienced, so maybe I just haven't entered that stage of my life yet. However, I kind of rubbed me the wrong way how generalizing she spoke about these issues. 
 Another reason why this fell a bit flat for me, is completely my fault: I thought that this would be a sort of introduction to feminism, and what it means to be a feminist in the 21st century. I wanted a speech that would pack an emotional punch. Sadly, I didn't get that. This talk is much more focused on Chimamanda's own experiences (which is perfectly fine, not just what I would have preferred), and lacks brilliance - meaning, that it isn't super engaging (then again, when you listen to her give that speech, it is much better). 
 In conclusion, I am very happy to have read this, because it taught me a few things, and opened up new perspectives!