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Chimamanda Adichie tackles Hillary Clinton over Twitter bio

Published

7 years ago

April 23, 2018

Nigerian author , Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie has taken her feminism a notch higher as she asked former US presidential candidate , Hillary Clinton , why her Twitter bio begins with ‘ wife ’ , rather than her career achievements .The two were talking at a PEN World Voices Festival lecture at the Cooper Union in Manhattan on Sunday .

“ In your Twitter account , the first word that describes you is ‘ Wife . ’ And then I think it ’ s ‘ Mom , ’ and then it ’ s ‘ Grandmother . And when I saw that , I have to confess that I felt just a little bit upset . And then I went and I looked at your husband ’ s Twitter account , and the first word was not ‘ husband . ’” Adichie asked the former FLOTUS while interviewing her .

Bill Clinton ’ s Twitter bio leads with , “ Founder , Clinton Foundation and 42 nd President of the United States . ”

Adichie wanted to know if it was Clinton ’ s choice to first be identified in relation to her husband , and if so, why .

“ When you put it like that , I ’ m going to change it , ” she laughed ; before adding that women should be able to celebrate both their personal and professional achievements .

Clinton went on to quote the late former First Lady Barbara Bush , who said : “ At the end of the day , it won ’ t matter if you got a raise , it won ’ t matter if you wrote a great book , if you are not also someone who values relationships , ” Jezebel reports .

Clinton added that the subject matter of female identification wasn ’ t so clear cut ; “ It shouldn ’ t be either / or . It should be that if you are someone who is defining yourself by what you do and what you accomplish , and that is satisfying , then more power to you . That is how you should be thinking about your life , and living it . If you are someone who primarily defines your life in relationship to others, then more power to you , and live that life the way Barbara Bush lived that life , and how proud she was to do it .

“ But I think most of us as women in today ’ s world end up in the middle . Wanting to have relationships , wanting to invest in them , nurture them , but also pursuing our own interests , Clinton concluded .