女性主义:一场包罗万象的盛宴

2021-09-13 08:33
阅读与作文(英语高中版) 2021年8期
关键词:艾玛女性主义学子

奇玛曼达·恩戈兹·阿迪契(Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie)是来自尼日利亚的小说家。最近她在美国著名女校韦尔斯利学院2015年毕业典礼上发表演讲,与即将踏入社会的女生们分享了她对女权主义的独到见解和一些人生建议。

早在1997年,希拉里·克林顿于北京发表了一场关于女性权益的著名演说;2014年,艾玛·沃特森也在联合国发表了“He for She”的女性主义主题演讲。这些演讲掷地有声,均引起了良好的社会反响。但直到现在,女性遭到不平等对待的现象仍然普遍,我们暂且撇开客观因素,扪心自问:自己是否做到了力所能及的事。恶势力要想取胜,只要足够多善良的男人和女人选择袖手旁观就可以。就像艾玛说的那样,在需要我們站出来却感到害怕的时候,可以这样问自己:如果不是我,那又该是谁;如果不是现在,那又该是何时!

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届的学子们,你们好!

祝贺大家!感谢大家的热情欢迎。还要感谢波特姆利校长对我的精彩介绍。

我长久以来一直对韦尔斯利学院满怀崇敬——其使命、故事、成就,因此我非常感谢你们邀请我来此。

你们能够从这个卓越的堡垒、这片美丽的土地毕业,实在是幸运得不像话。如果天上地下的神祗们行事无差,你们很快也将成为这个培养了美国史上第一位女总统的学院的荣誉校友!未来的希拉里们,加油!

今天能够来到这里,我真的真的很高兴,太高兴了。事实上,当我发现你们这一届的特定颜色是黄色时,我就决定要涂上黄色的眼影。但转念一想,我意识到,即便我对韦尔斯利学院无比崇敬,黄色的眼影也有点过于高调了。因此我翻出了这条黄色的——淡黄色的——头巾作为替代。

你们今天就要毕业了,面对此刻的兴奋和疑惑,我极力主张你们去努力创造一个自己想要生活于其中的世界。

竭力帮助这个世界令其发生改变。以一种真实、积极、实际的方式,身体力行地去改变这个世界。

韦尔斯利学院将会为你们打开通往大千世界的大门。你们需要做的,就是要坚定自信、大步流星地迈出这些大门。

创作出这样的电视节目——剧中女性的出色表现不是凤毛麟角,而仅为常态。

教导你们的学生明白脆弱是“人类”之共性,而非“女性”的特质。

让杂志文章教授男士们该“如何令女性快乐”,因为已经有太多的文章告诉女士们该如何取悦男性。在媒体采访中,记得问问父亲们是如何平衡家庭和工作的。在这个“愧为家长”的时代,请平等地向父母亲散播这种内疚感。让父亲们也像母亲们一样感觉不安。让父亲们分担这种自责的荣光。

在美国各处发起运动,力争女性带薪产假和男性带薪陪产假。

女性职员少的地方要多招女性。但要记住,你所招聘的女性不一定非要特别优秀。就像大多数被招聘的男性一样,她只要能够胜任工作便足矣。

女性主義仿佛从来都被认为是一种只有精英阶层拥趸的小众派别,成为其中一员要经过隐秘的仪式。

但情况不应该如此。女性主义应该……女性主义应该是一场包罗万象的盛会。女性主义应该……女性主义应该是一场充满了各种各样女性主义的盛会。

因此,2015届的学子们,请走向社会,让女性主义成为一场盛大的、喧嚣的、包罗万象的盛会吧。

今天是你们毕业的日子,我极力主张你们要更多地思考这一点。思考对于你们来说,到底什么是真正重要的。思考你们“希望”什么是真正重要的。

在世界各地,女孩们都被教导要令自己受人喜爱,为投他人所好而委曲求全。

请你们不要扭曲自己来讨好他人。不要这样做。如果有人喜欢那样的你,那样虚假而有所保留的你,那么他们喜欢的只不过是那个扭曲的幻象,而非真实的你。我们生活在一个如此丰富多彩、无所不包的世界,所以在这个世上一定会有人喜欢你,那个真实的你,那个原原本本的你。

我很幸运,我的作品给予了我一个平台,我选择利用它来谈论我所关心的事情,而我也发表过一些不太受某些人的欢迎的言论。有人告诉我说应该对某些事情闭口不言——例如在非洲大陆上支持同性恋群体的平等权利,例如我笃信男女完全平等。我不为煽动而演讲。我演讲是因为我认为人生在世光阴短暂,而我们不展现最真实自我的每一刻,我们伪装自己的每一刻,我们口是心非只因觉得那是别人想听的话语的每一刻,都是在浪费自己的生命。

我并非想要显得矫情做作,但请不要浪费你们的生命,不过也有一个例外。唯一一个可以接受的浪费人生的事情就是网购。

好了,最后一点是关于我的母亲,望上帝保佑她。我母亲和我在性别问题上有许多看法不尽相同。我母亲相信有些事情是一个人应该做的,原因很简单,只因这个人“是个女人”。例如要不时点头微笑,即使你根本笑不出来。例如在某些争论中,特别是同一名男性争论时,要战略性地让步。例如要结婚生子。如今我能够想到相当不错的理由来做以上的任何事情。但“因为你是个女人”绝非这些理由之一。因此,2015届的学子们,永远不要接受“因为你是个女人”作为你做或是不做任何事情的理由。

祝贺大家!

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