The Danger of a
Single Story
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Warm-Up 5/19
• Choose one of the following and apply it to
the question below: Texas, Pakistan, China,
Canada, Tokyo, Tijuana, Las Vegas, Paris,
Salt Lake City, Dubai, Watts, Washington
D.C., or Beverly Hills.
• What would your life be like (daily
activities, personality, world view, religion,
clothing, lifestyle, language, politics, social
class, food etc.) if you had been born and
raised in ________________?
How are we fed a
single story?
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Television
Movies
Magazines
Advertisements
Assumptions
Upbringing
History Textbooks
Single Story Questions
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What is feminine?
What is masculine?
What is beautiful?
What is exotic?
What is intelligent?
Who decides?
Naomi’s Single Story
Cinderella
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Beauty Ideals
Prince Charming
False View of Relationships
Happily Ever After
Marriage Equals Success
Finding a Spouse Solves All Problems
Nice = Beautiful Ugly = Mean
Kenneth and Mamie Clark
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Testified in Brown vs. Board of Ed.
Fought for the desegregation of schools
1940’s Doll Study
American Psychological Association
President 1970-1971
• Current Doll Studies (Kiri Davis, MSNBC)
Children vs. Adults
• Less Knowledge
• Lack of Logic and
Reasoning
• Narrow Worldview
• More susceptible to
the danger of a
single story
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Accumulation of POV
Powers of Reasoning
Powers of Logic
Broader Worldview
Despite these facts
adults are still
susceptible to the
danger of a single
story
When reading your story
think about:
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What POV the story is written from
Who is represented in the story
Who is underrepresented in the story
Stereotypes and Generalizations
Positive and Negative Effects
Words and Visual Images