The Double R: Recap and Responses
Hello all!
From The Millennial sh as been such an interesting and hopefully informative series so far. I thank god that majority of the responses were extremely positive. I have to say, it has been a tight race so far on who has been the most appreciative of the pieces, between the millennials themselves (for airing out their views and feelings to their parents) and the parents, (for letting them know how their kids really feel and think).
What matters most to me however, is the fact that my generation is being represented! Our voices are finally being heard! Our pressing issues are being taken into consideration, which is the driving force behind the #FromTheMillennials series in the first place.
The series is something nobody has done in thisday Style. given that it is definitely not one of the ordinary, it was obviously bound to receive the most interesting of responses, ranging from the good, the bad and the hilarious. let’s take a trip down memory lane as we recap on the past episodes and their responses:
MENTAL HEALTH MATTERS.
Just read your article in Thisday style. it was an eye opener. already looking forward to the next one’ – Parent
I was so impressed with it! it was as if a real doctor wrote it!– Hotel staff member, Lagos
It was so eye opening. Going to be a shocker for a lot of parents! – Parent
So this is how children really feel? this is what they’re hiding? – Parent
What I loved most about the Mental Health piece was the fact that it seemed to make a considerable difference on how a lot of readers regard mental illnesses. I was grateful that people gave it to their parents to read and parents became more sensitive to their kids’ feelings. Mental illness is Serious and cripples way too many. Why does our country still see it as a taboo?
A fellow millennial, an age mate of mine, submitted an article to my website recently. She bravely addressed her mental illness journey in Nigeria and spoke on how she felt nothing but ridiculed and quarantined by her own community for opening up about her depression. Such treatment by her own people almost cost her her life. The stigma around mental illness needs to be reversed by all means! It’s very much real.
FEMINISM – your daughter is her own individual.
This article was well written, appropriately balanced and educative! - Father of two, twitter
No thanks.– man on Twitter
You feminists have come again with your rubbish!– man on Twitter
We don’t need feminism in nigeria please – man on Twitter
19 year old Seyi has managed to explain feminism to nigerian aunties and uncles! Well done sweetie – woman on twitter
Thank you for this! – man on twitter
Nicely written mam, i love it but like you said, the big challenge is the application and majority of females misapply, more work for you – man on twitter
Your version of feminism is too watered down – woman on Twitter
Ah, the feminism article was definitely the most popular out of the three I’ve done so far!! In all honesty, between the Sunday that the article came out and the Tuesday afterwards, I received over 200 followers on Twitter. The responses were about 98% positive and 2% negative. I gathered from the responses that strangely enough, many men blamed Women for the reason behind feminism being a not so popular topic in Nigeria. A lot of them stated things along the lines of ‘Why don’t you explain feminism to women instead?’, ‘The women I’ve met are the ones who don’t know what feminism truly means’, ‘Women have turned feminism into female domination’. Weird. How other people feel about/ respond to a particular thing should NOT affect whether or not you believe in it.
The responses to this article also confirmed my belief that many Nigerians only accept the ‘peaceful’ aspects feminism – y’know, the parts of feminism that advocate gender equality, equal pay and what not – as long as men and their superior power in society remain undisturbed. I was told by a father that had my article been any more extreme, other fathers would have completely disregarded it – which would be at the expense of the several daughters who tweeted that they wish their dads understood the basic concept of gender equality. Numerous men are uncomfortable with the fact that feminism seeks to abolish patriarchy* in the first place, so would it be safe to say that maybe the radical aspects of feminism were better left out in that particular article? Something to consider. In order for a predominantly sexist nation to understand and accept feminism, baby steps must be taken.
*Patriarchy – dictionary defined as a system of society in which men hold the power and women are mainly excluded from it.
UNIVERSITY/ PROFESSIONAL DEGREE IS NOT FOR EVERYONE.
Although this article is only a few days old as I write this, it is being well received by pretty much everyone, mostly my generation.
Parents need to understand that university is too a specific an institution to be well suited for absolutely everybody. We were all born and nurtured with different skills and talents which are applicable in different fields of life, so for what reason are we all being confined to the likes of law, Medicine, engineering and finance? Why are you embarrassed to say your child studies english literature instead of Chemical engineering? What makes the former less prestigious than the latter? every year, thousands of people fall into deep depression due to lack of job satisfaction (i.e unhappiness with their jobs). The most common of all these people, are bankers and those in the financial industry. kevin Roose, in his study, found that many young bankers were depressed and almost suicidal.
Financial, engineering and medical related degrees/ careers are the most respected in Nigeria, yet a 2017 study by forbes showed that four out of the 10 unhappiest jobs investigated were linked to the three aforementioned industries. Now don’t get me wrong – this is NO attempt to dissuade anyone from pursuing such careers! It just goes to show that money/respect/status, should NOT be prioritised over happiness. let your child explore their own dreams and passions!
So there you have it: the first three episodes of the From The Millennials series all wrapped up into one article, as well as the nation’s responses to the episodes. Do continue to keep up with me, as I carry on the journey of millennials reaching out to their parents regarding certain issues and topics!
Stay tuned for the next episode where I address the next most popular thing thousands of millennials on Twitter wished their parents’ generation understood: Stop comparing your kids. you are not always right.
** Join in on the conversation on twitter using the hashtag #FTM!**