RantCrush Top 5: March 14, 2017

The other day, Channel 4 interviewed Nigerian author and feminist Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. One of her answers has received serious criticism from the trans community and allies. Adichie, who is a supporter of LGBTQ rights and has campaigned for the cause in Nigeria, said that transgender women necessarily must have a different life experience than cisgender women. Immediately, people attacked her on social media, claiming that her comments made it sound as though trans women cannot be like cisgender women.

Fellow cis-women: DO NOT speak about the experiences of trans women. You will never know what it means to be trans. Just read and listen.

— Tracey Ross (@traceylross) March 13, 2017

Adichie said she was shocked to be seen as transphobic and sought to clarify her comments later, saying that girls are raised in a sense “to reduce themselves, to cater to the egos of men, to think of their bodies as repositories of shame. As adult women, many struggle to overcome, to unlearn, much of that social conditioning.” She said that trans women have experienced the privileges of living as a man before transitioning, and that discrimination and privilege do not stem from how you feel, but how the world views you. Some people accepted the explanation, but many were still very upset. Here are Adichie’s remarks:

Incase you are wondering this is what Chimamanda Adichie Ngozi said pic.twitter.com/o4zChLLE8W

— The Instigator (@AmBlujay) March 11, 2017

Emma Von Zeipel

Emma Von Zeipel is a staff writer at Law Street Media. She is originally from one of the islands of Stockholm, Sweden. After working for Democratic Voice of Burma in Thailand, she ended up in New York City. She has a BA in journalism from Stockholm University and is passionate about human rights, good books, horses, and European chocolate. Contact Emma at EVonZeipel@LawStreetMedia.com.