Novelist Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie Goes Anti-Trans Again
Acclaimed novelist Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie is once again voicing anti-transgender views.Ngozi Adichie, a Nigerian who lives part of the time in the U.S., went into trans issues in a recent interview with The Guardian in conjunction with her delivery of a Reith Lecture for the BBC.
She received much criticism for a remark she made five years ago — “When people talk about, ‘Are trans women women?’ my feeling is trans women are trans women” — and has written about it a great deal.In her Reith Lecture, she denounced self-censorship and recounted a conversation with an American at a book reading, with the American advising her that certain things should remain unsaid even if they’re true.
She did not reveal what comment spurred the conversation, so Guardian interviewer Zoe Williams asked if it dealt with trans issues.Ngozi Adichie did not answer directly, but remarking on the criticism of her generally, she said, “Now this whole trans thing, I did not know I was walking into anything.
I thought I had said something self-evident. So I think I just experienced a sadness. I felt, ‘I’m on your side. We’re a tribe.
