chimamanda adichie: the danger of a single story

i've lived extensively in greece, canada, the U.S. and a bit in china. i'm often asked, what's america/greece/china like? i most often have no idea what to answer. you can't sum up a country in a sentence... or a conversation. it often happens that i get asked if this or that stereotype is true -- and it often is, but it's part of a larger mosaic that makes it untrue.

if i had more money and independence, i'd travel more. not to go on a holiday, but to live. it's very exciting and satisfying to have your misconceptions demolished.



a couple of snips:

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the single story creates stereotypes and the problem with stereotypes is not that they are untrue but that they are incomplete. they make one story become the only story.
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the consequence of the single story is this: is robs people of dignity. it makes our recognition of our equal humanity difficult. it emphasizes how we are different rather than how we are similar.

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