Chimamanda is the award-winning author of the novels Purple Hibiscus (2003), Half of a Yellow Sun (2006), and Americanah (2013), the short story collection The Thing Around Your Neck (2009), and the book-length essay We Should All Be Feminists (2014). Her work has been translated into over thirty languages and she has been invited to speak around the world.
In her 2009 TED Talk, The Danger of A Single Story, Chimamanda warns that if we only hear a single story about another person or country, the consequence is creating stereotypes that flatten and misjudge people. With over 19 million views, it is one of the most-viewed TED Talks of all time.
I am angry. Gender as it functions today is a grave injustice. We should all be angry. Anger has a long history bringing about positive change, but in addition to being angry I am also hopeful. Because I believe deeply in the ability of human beings to make and remake themselves for the better.
In 2012, Chimamanda spoke about her feminist journey at TEDxEuston and later published a book with her speech We Should All Be Feminists. She discusses her own experiences as a feminist, going in depth on gender and how we must raise children differently. She explains, "Gender prescribes how we should be, rather than recognizing who we are."
There's been an overwhelmingly positive response to Chimamanda's essay. In particular, Sweden — the third most gender equal country in the world — launched an initiative to give a copy to every 16-year-old student in the country. Beyoncé also featured We Should All Be Feminists in her 2013 song, Flawless.