Chimamanda Adichie: Author questions Hillary Clinton for describing herself as 'wife' on Twitter

The author was upset that Hillary Clinton seemed to describe herself as a function of her husband, Bill Clinton.

Celebrated Nigerian author, Chimamanda Adichie is in the news again for her feminist views; this time, for asking former American first lady and presidential hopeful, Hillary Clinton, why she decribes her self as "Wife" among other things in her Twitter bio.

Sitting across from the former presidential candidate, the renowned feminist asked the former Presidential candidate, "In your Twitter account, the first word that describes you is ‘Wife.’ And then I think it’s ‘Mom,’ and then it’s ‘Grandmother,’” Adichie said.

“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.’”

Bill Clinton’s Twitter bio reads, ‘Founder, Clinton Foundation and 42nd President of the United States,’.

 

Miss Adichie asked the question when she interviewed Hillary Clinton at a PEN World Voices Festival lecture at the Cooper Union in Manhattan, New York on the night of Sunday, April 22, 2018.

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Adichie made it obvious she wanted to understand if, and why Clinton wanted to be viewed in relation to her husband.

In response, Clinton was clear that she saw the problem, or at least, a bit of it.

“When you put it like that, I’m going to change it,” Clinton said, prompting roars from the crowd.

However, she made a case for why she wrote "Wife" in her bio.

Mothers, professionals and wives

The former senator stated that while women celebrate their achievements, they should also be able to celebrate their relationships.

"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.", Clinton retorted after another former first lady, Barbara Bush had given her two cents.

 

"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."

ALSO READ: Chimamanda Adichie says she was molested when she was 17

As someone who Christiane Amanpour describes as "an icon of the feminist movement", Chimanda Adichie's views are polarizing in a patriarchal society.

As with most of her positions on just about any issue, Nigerians have expressed various opinions about her question.

Most are of the opinion that her brand of feminism should not be the benchmark if gender politics are to be easily resolved.

Either way, the author seems to have struck a cord with Hillary Clinton who says Adichie has convinced her to make adjustments to her twitter.

Perhaps she will choose Adichie's apt suggestion, "Should have been a damn good president"