to read is to explore - on reading Americanah

I was born as a white, upper middle class woman. I grew up in the suburbs of Long Island where you could count on one hand how many people of color lived in our town. And it wasn't until I studied abroad two years ago that I was ever in a position where I felt that I was in the minority.

And because of all of this, I have really never had to confront the question of race in the same way that a person of color would have to. 

Thankfully, during my time in undergrad, as a Sociology major, I had the opportunity to confront the topic of race in a very real and meaningful way in many of the classes I took. Power of Whiteness was one of my favorite classes because it was a class during which we spent the entire semester learning about white privilege and how it has come to be - and also, what it means to not have it. Race can be an uncomfortable subject to approach, but if you happen to be white, it is so so so important to be made aware of your privilege, because you need to be able to check that privilege. Not everyone is afforded the same opportunities or experiences due to the color of their skin, and institutional racism is still very much in existence - and all of this is super important to take into consideration when thinking about and discussing race. 

And while I will never truly know what it is like to live my life as a woman of color, it is through my academic experiences and the books that I read that I am able to become more informed about other people's reality. 

Reading fiction is a wonderful way to experience another individual's reality and their life experiences, and when a friend of mine recommended Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichi to me, I was excited to pick up a copy at The Strand bookstore and start reading it as soon as possible. I was only able to start my reading this past weekend, but I was absolutely enthralled by the brilliant prose and uniquely engaging plot right from the start. 

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichi is a super badass feminist and Nigerian novelist, and while I'm only about 150 pages into Americanah, I've already added her other novels to my list of books to read. Rather than being just another love story, Adichi makes a point to address a whole host of issues through her writing, including hair, race, racism, feminism, and sexism while simultaneously dissecting modern culture in a manner which is both insightful and comedic. 

The novel begins with Ifemelu, a Nigerian immigrant who has been living in America for the past thirteen years, is a recently retired blogger and is preparing to move back to Nigeria, where her old flame, Obinze, still lives with his wife and child.  So not only is there a love story in existence between the two main characters, but it is also a book about the difficulties which accompany being an immigrant in America, and not only an immigrant, but being black in America - something which is completely different than being black in Nigeria. 

Within the first ten pages, Adichi addressed one cultural difference which her main character, Ifemelu, had noticed during her time living in America with this quote:

"She had never thought of them as "fat," though. She had thought of them as "big," because one of her first things her friend Ginika told her was that "fat" in America was a bad word, heaving with moral judgement like "stupid" or "bastard,"not a mere description like "short" or "tall"." (page 6)

This is why I love reading fiction, because while it isn't a book about a real person, there is a certain amount of truth within it. Fiction conveys a certain amount of truth, something which makes it so incredibly great and interesting for me. And this quote about the word "fat" contains a nugget of truth that opened my eyes to a certain aspect of reality that I had never thought much about before. Calling someone "fat" can be incredibly hurtful, rather than being simply an adjective used to describe a person because of the connotations which it carries in American society. I know I personally would use the word "heavy" to describe a person to their face before I would ever use the word "fat", because I know how damaging that could be to an individual with especially low self esteem. But it's really interesting to read another culture's interpretation of the word "fat," since it isn't the same across the board. 

So after I finish up all my homework for the week, I'm looking forward to diving head first back into this book. And if you haven't already, I highly recommend getting yourself a copy of this masterpiece because it is well worth your time - I promise.

Cheers,
Katie