Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie Quotes

The problem with gender is that it prescribes how we should be, rather than recognising how we are.

Some people look gender non-conforming because they want to look that way - they don't want to conform to society's expectations.

You should never be put into a mold based on your gender.

I definitely feel that society sets expectations for transgender people to fit in and makes us feel as if we have to dress a certain way so that we blend in with everyone else. But I believe all transgender individuals should be able to wear whatever they want and not worry about fitting in.

When gender comes down upon us, male or female, it comes as a restriction.

God made a woman equal to a man, but He did not make a woman equal to a woman and a man. We usually try to do the work of a man and of a woman too; then we break down.

If we keep on talking about masculine and feminine and following those stereotypes, then we will make women suppress and despise their so called masculine qualities and men suppress and despise their so called feminine ones, and that's where all the trouble starts.

I have a few girlfriends, but nearly all my friends are guys. I don't think I ever wore girl clothes. I wore baggy jeans, baggy T-shirts, sweaters, just to avoid the looks that everyone gives you when you're a young female in the world.

Being in drag for three months - I now have an idea of what women go through. At least maybe a little.

It's my view that gender is culturally formed, but it's also a domain of agency or freedom and that it is most important to resist the violence that is imposed by ideal gender norms, especially against those who are gender different, who are nonconforming in their gender presentation.

My father always defined my gender to my brothers. He'd say, 'This is your sister; you must take care of her.'

I'm in favour of hipster androgyny: Any trend that permits men to rebel against strict gender rules of appearance is going to make the world a more expressive and sensitive place for all of us.

I think there are a lot of rules for women. We have a lot of expectations and a lot of rules for women. So we're expected to march in a straight line, and when we don't, all hell breaks loose.

I think we're struggling with trying to redefine various positions at this point in history. To allow freedom for women, freedom for men, freedom from those sharply defined gender roles.

Little girls as children, I think, are expected to behave better. If a boy's naughty at school, he's a little bit cheeky and mischievous. If a girl's naughty, she's trouble.

In the end, I do think it's insulting to men and women to insist that they fit a certain profile. I never understood that.

You don't go out and change your gender for a television show, O.K.? It ain't happening. I don't care who you are.

When I was born, there was a very isolated idea of what it meant to be a man or a woman, and you belonged to one gender or the other.

There is more difference within the sexes than between them.

Especially with girls, people always want to put them in little brackets.

Gender is a way to hide from the simple truth we all tell: 'Hey, I'm here, I have a body.'

We determine whether a book is for boys or girls long before the reader gets a chance to decide: we package them with soldiers and ballet slippers on their covers, war machines and glittering gowns.

As you get older it's more confusing. Suddenly, there's more pressure to fit in to your assigned gender.

I was very against pink and purple when I was young, because they were girls' colors. But that was only because I didn't want people to write me off for what I can do. When I got into my 20s, I decided that was stupid.

I do believe that it's something that we don't talk about, but when there are clearly defined gender roles, it is much simpler. Because you don't have to think, which people apparently don't like to do.