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The Danger of a Single Story

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I'm a storyteller. I grew up on a university campus in Nigeria.

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When I was eight, I started to write stories.

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All my characters were white and blue-eyed. They drank ginger beer.

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I had never been outside of Nigeria. We didn't have snow or ginger beer.

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This shows how vulnerable we are in the face of a story.

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The single story creates stereotypes. And the problem with stereotypes

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is not that they are untrue, but that they are incomplete.

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They make one story become the only story.

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Stories matter. Many stories matter. Stories have been used to dispossess and to malign.

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But stories can also be used to empower and to humanize.

The Danger of a Single Story

Learn English with TED (2009). Watch, read the transcript, practice pronunciation and complete grammar exercises. The Danger of a Single Story

Full Transcript

I'm a storyteller. I grew up on a university campus in Nigeria. When I was eight, I started to write stories. All my characters were white and blue-eyed. They drank ginger beer. I had never been outside of Nigeria. We didn't have snow or ginger beer. This shows how vulnerable we are in the face of a story. 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. Stories matter. Many stories matter. Stories have been used to dispossess and to malign. But stories can also be used to empower and to humanize.

Traducao (Portugues)

Sou contadora de histórias. Cresci em um campus universitário na Nigéria. Quando tinha oito anos, comecei a escrever histórias. Todos os meus personagens eram brancos e de olhos azuis. Bebiam cerveja de gengibre. Eu nunca tinha saído da Nigéria. Não tínhamos neve nem cerveja de gengibre. Isso mostra o quão vulneráveis somos diante de uma história. A história única cria estereótipos. E o problema com estereótipos não é que são falsos, mas que são incompletos. Eles fazem uma história se tornar a única história. Histórias importam. Muitas histórias importam. Histórias foram usadas para desapropriar e difamar. Mas histórias também podem ser usadas para empoderar e humanizar.

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