奇瑪曼達(dá)·恩戈茲·阿迪契(Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie)是來自尼日利亞的小說家。最近她在美國著名女校韋爾斯利學(xué)院2015年畢業(yè)典禮上發(fā)表演講,與即將踏入社會(huì)的女生們分享了她對女權(quán)主義的獨(dú)到見解和一些人生建議。
早在1997年,希拉里·克林頓于北京發(fā)表了一場關(guān)于女性權(quán)益的著名演說;2014年,艾瑪·沃特森也在聯(lián)合國發(fā)表了“He for She”的女性主義主題演講。這些演講擲地有聲,均引起了良好的社會(huì)反響。但直到現(xiàn)在,女性遭到不平等對待的現(xiàn)象仍然普遍,我們暫且撇開客觀因素,捫心自問:自己是否做到了力所能及的事。惡勢力要想取勝,只要足夠多善良的男人和女人選擇袖手旁觀就可以。就像艾瑪說的那樣,在需要我們站出來卻感到害怕的時(shí)候,可以這樣問自己:如果不是我,那又該是誰;如果不是現(xiàn)在,那又該是何時(shí)!
So hello, Class of 2015, Congratulations! And thank you for that wonderful welcome. And thank you President Bottomly for that wonderful introduction.
I have admired Wellesley—its mission, its story, its successes—for a long time and I thank you very much for inviting me.
You are ridiculously lucky to be graduating from this bastion of excellence and on these beautiful acres. And if the goddesses and gods of the universe do the right thing, then you will also very soon be the proud alumnae of the college that produced Americas first female president! Go Hillary!
Im truly, truly happy to be here today, I am so happy to be here, in fact, that when I found out your class color was yellow, I decided I would wear yellow eye shadow. But on second thoughts, I realized that as much as I admire Wellesley, even yellow eye-shadow was a bit too much of a gesture. So I dug out this yellow—yellowish—headwrap instead.
And so as you graduate, as you deal with your excitement and your doubts today, I urge you to try and create the world you want to live in.
Minister to the world in a way that can change it. Minister radically, in a real, active, practical, get your hands dirty way.
Wellesley will open doors for you. Walk through those doors and make your strides long and firm and sure.
Write television shows in which female strength is not depicted as remarkable but as merely normal.
Teach your students to see that vulnerability is a HUMAN rather than a FEMALE trait.
Commission magazine articles that teach men HOW TO KEEP A WOMAN HAPPY. Because therere already too many articles that tell women how to keep a man happy. And in media interviews, make sure fathers are asked how they balance family and work. In this age of ‘parenting as guilt, please spread the guilt equally. Make fathers feel as bad as mothers. Make fathers share in the glory of guilt.
Campaign and agitate for paid paternity everywhere in America-paid paternity leave everywhere in America.
Hire more women, where there are few. But remember that a woman you hire doesnt have to be exceptionally good. Like a majority of the men who get hired, she just needs to be good enough.
It was as though feminism was supposed to be an elite little cult, with esoteric rites of membership.
But it shouldnt. Feminism should…feminism should be an inclusive party. Feminism should…feminism should be a party full of different feminisms.
And so, Class of 2015, please go out there and make feminism a big, raucous, inclusive party.
And as you graduate today, I urge you to think about that a little more. Think about what really matters to you. Think about what you WANT to really matter to you.
All over the world, girls are raised to be make themselves likeable, to twist themselves into shapes that suit other people.
Please do not twist yourself into shapes to please. Dont do it. If someone likes that version of you, that version of you that is false and holds back, then they actually just like a twisted shape, and not you. And the world is such a gloriously multifaceted, diverse place that there are people in the world who will like you, the real you, as you are.
I am lucky that my writing has given me a platform that I choose to use to talk about things I care about, and I have said a few things that have not been so popular with a number of people. I have been told to shut up about certain things—such as my position on the equal rights of gay people on the continent of Africa, such as my deeply held belief that men and women are completely equal. I dont speak to provoke. I speak because I think our time on earth is short and each moment that we are not our truest selves, each moment we pretend to be what we are not, each moment we say what we do not mean because we imagine that is what somebody wants us to say, then we are wasting our time on earth.
I dont mean to sound precious but please dont waste your time on earth, but there is one exception. The only acceptable way of wasting your time on earth is online shopping.
Okay, one, one last thing about my mother, bless her. My mother and I do not agree on many things regarding gender. There are certain things my mother believes a person should do, for the simple reason that the said person ‘is a woman. Such as occasionally nod and smile even when smiling is the last thing you want to do. Such as strategically give in to certain arguments, especially when arguing with a non-female. Such as get married and have children. Now I can think of fairly good reasons for doing any of these. But‘because you are a woman is not one of them. And so, Class of 2015, never ever accept “Because You Are A Woman” as a reason for doing or not doing anything.
Congratulations.
2015屆的學(xué)子們,你們好!
祝賀大家!感謝大家的熱情歡迎。還要感謝波特姆利校長對我的精彩介紹。
我長久以來一直對韋爾斯利學(xué)院滿懷崇敬——其使命、故事、成就,因此我非常感謝你們邀請我來此。
你們能夠從這個(gè)卓越的堡壘、這片美麗的土地畢業(yè),實(shí)在是幸運(yùn)得不像話。如果天上地下的神祗們行事無差,你們很快也將成為這個(gè)培養(yǎng)了美國史上第一位女總統(tǒng)的學(xué)院的榮譽(yù)校友!未來的希拉里們,加油!
今天能夠來到這里,我真的真的很高興,太高興了。事實(shí)上,當(dāng)我發(fā)現(xiàn)你們這一屆的特定顏色是黃色時(shí),我就決定要涂上黃色的眼影。但轉(zhuǎn)念一想,我意識(shí)到,即便我對韋爾斯利學(xué)院無比崇敬,黃色的眼影也有點(diǎn)過于高調(diào)了。因此我翻出了這條黃色的——淡黃色的——頭巾作為替代。
你們今天就要畢業(yè)了,面對此刻的興奮和疑惑,我極力主張你們?nèi)ヅ?chuàng)造一個(gè)自己想要生活于其中的世界。
竭力幫助這個(gè)世界令其發(fā)生改變。以一種真實(shí)、積極、實(shí)際的方式,身體力行地去改變這個(gè)世界。
韋爾斯利學(xué)院將會(huì)為你們打開通往大千世界的大門。你們需要做的,就是要堅(jiān)定自信、大步流星地邁出這些大門。
創(chuàng)作出這樣的電視節(jié)目——?jiǎng)≈信缘某錾憩F(xiàn)不是鳳毛麟角,而僅為常態(tài)。
教導(dǎo)你們的學(xué)生明白脆弱是“人類”之共性,而非“女性”的特質(zhì)。
讓雜志文章教授男士們該“如何令女性快樂”,因?yàn)橐呀?jīng)有太多的文章告訴女士們該如何取悅男性。在媒體采訪中,記得問問父親們是如何平衡家庭和工作的。在這個(gè)“愧為家長”的時(shí)代,請平等地向父母親散播這種內(nèi)疚感。讓父親們也像母親們一樣感覺不安。讓父親們分擔(dān)這種自責(zé)的榮光。
在美國各處發(fā)起運(yùn)動(dòng),力爭女性帶薪產(chǎn)假和男性帶薪陪產(chǎn)假。
女性職員少的地方要多招女性。但要記住,你所招聘的女性不一定非要特別優(yōu)秀。就像大多數(shù)被招聘的男性一樣,她只要能夠勝任工作便足矣。
女性主義仿佛從來都被認(rèn)為是一種只有精英階層擁躉的小眾派別,成為其中一員要經(jīng)過隱秘的儀式。
但情況不應(yīng)該如此。女性主義應(yīng)該……女性主義應(yīng)該是一場包羅萬象的盛會(huì)。女性主義應(yīng)該……女性主義應(yīng)該是一場充滿了各種各樣女性主義的盛會(huì)。
因此,2015屆的學(xué)子們,請走向社會(huì),讓女性主義成為一場盛大的、喧囂的、包羅萬象的盛會(huì)吧。
今天是你們畢業(yè)的日子,我極力主張你們要更多地思考這一點(diǎn)。思考對于你們來說,到底什么是真正重要的。思考你們“希望”什么是真正重要的。
在世界各地,女孩們都被教導(dǎo)要令自己受人喜愛,為投他人所好而委曲求全。
請你們不要扭曲自己來討好他人。不要這樣做。如果有人喜歡那樣的你,那樣虛假而有所保留的你,那么他們喜歡的只不過是那個(gè)扭曲的幻象,而非真實(shí)的你。我們生活在一個(gè)如此豐富多彩、無所不包的世界,所以在這個(gè)世上一定會(huì)有人喜歡你,那個(gè)真實(shí)的你,那個(gè)原原本本的你。
我很幸運(yùn),我的作品給予了我一個(gè)平臺(tái),我選擇利用它來談?wù)撐宜P(guān)心的事情,而我也發(fā)表過一些不太受某些人的歡迎的言論。有人告訴我說應(yīng)該對某些事情閉口不言——例如在非洲大陸上支持同性戀群體的平等權(quán)利,例如我篤信男女完全平等。我不為煽動(dòng)而演講。我演講是因?yàn)槲艺J(rèn)為人生在世光陰短暫,而我們不展現(xiàn)最真實(shí)自我的每一刻,我們偽裝自己的每一刻,我們口是心非只因覺得那是別人想聽的話語的每一刻,都是在浪費(fèi)自己的生命。
我并非想要顯得矯情做作,但請不要浪費(fèi)你們的生命,不過也有一個(gè)例外。唯一一個(gè)可以接受的浪費(fèi)人生的事情就是網(wǎng)購。
好了,最后一點(diǎn)是關(guān)于我的母親,望上帝保佑她。我母親和我在性別問題上有許多看法不盡相同。我母親相信有些事情是一個(gè)人應(yīng)該做的,原因很簡單,只因這個(gè)人“是個(gè)女人”。例如要不時(shí)點(diǎn)頭微笑,即使你根本笑不出來。例如在某些爭論中,特別是同一名男性爭論時(shí),要戰(zhàn)略性地讓步。例如要結(jié)婚生子。如今我能夠想到相當(dāng)不錯(cuò)的理由來做以上的任何事情。但“因?yàn)槟闶莻€(gè)女人”絕非這些理由之一。因此,2015屆的學(xué)子們,永遠(yuǎn)不要接受“因?yàn)槟闶莻€(gè)女人”作為你做或是不做任何事情的理由。
祝賀大家!