Audre Lorde

“I am not free while any woman is unfree, even when her shackles are very different from my own”.

Audre Lorde (1934-1992) in her own words was a: “black, lesbian, mother, warrior, poet,” who dedicated her life and her work to challenging injustices of racism, sexism, classism, ableism, heterosexism, and homophobia. In other words, she embodies intersectionality which is why I felt now was the right time to celebrate her, not least because she is a pillar of both the black and LGBT+ communities who are in focus atm. As she said: “There is no such thing as a single-issue struggle because we do not live single-issue lives”. I honestly recommend that you read some of her 18 publications, or at least google “Audre Lorde quotes” because almost every single one is worth posting alone! Lorde is renowned for her both her academic theories and her creative pursuits, and dedicated both to seeking greater representation for POC in traditional liberation movements.

Her writing is dedicated to highlighting the oppression of minorities and encouraging people to look for the common ground between them and celebrate differences rather than condemn them. She controversially coined the term “womanist”, in opposition to traditional “feminism” which she believed excluded women of colour and sought to define a new movement in which their voices could be heard. This notion is certainly not without its critics both from white feminists and people of colour themselves, but it was definitely radical and an important way of highlighting the exclusion that Lorde and her peers felt within traditional women’s rights movements.

I’d like to highlight three of her works which seem most relevant today. Firstly, Sister Outsider: Essays and Speeches (1984) which stresses the need for marginalized groups to communicate their experiences and make themselves visible in their repressive society. She urges different groups, but especially white and black woman, to note the common ground in their lived experience, but also to face difference directly, and use it as a source of strength rather than alienation. A continuous theme is the need for community in order to rebuild society into a fairer and better place.

Within Sister Outside, one essay is most famous: “The Master's Tools Will Never Dismantle the Master's House," in which she questions the possibility of implementing change through a racist and patriarchal lens. She urges women to see their differences as something that is ‘necessary to generate power and to actively "be" in the world.’ Only in celebrating our differences can we achieve liberation, Lorde believes: "Divide and conquer, in our world, must become define and empower." Importantly, one must educate themselves about the oppression of others because expecting a marginalized group to educate the oppressors is the continuation of racist, patriarchal thought. She explains that this is a major tool utilized by oppressors to keep the oppressed occupied with the master's concerns. Also in Sister Outsider, Lorde asserts: "Your silence does not protect you." Lorde emphasizes that "the transformation of silence into language and action is a self-revelation, and that always seems fraught with danger." This notion seems particularly prominent in the #BLM movement which rightly asserts that staying silent is indirect oppression. Lorde believed that ‘visibility is essential to live.’

Another important work is: In Age, Race, Class, and Sex: Women Redefining Difference. Here Lorde emphasizes the importance of educating others. However, before one can do that, one must educate themselves. Lorde believes that the privileged should not speak over or overstep the marganilzed, but ‘rather, privilege must be used to hold door open for other allies’.

I think Lorde’s take on the current situation could be summed up in the following short quote: ‘Oppression is as American as apple pie.”