Audre Lorde – Quotes

I am a post-mastectomy

I am a post-mastectomy woman who believes our feelings need voice in order to be recognized, respected, and of use. Audre Lorde

I have always wanted to be both man and woman, to incorporate the strongest and richest parts of my mother and father within/into me – to share valleys and mountains upon my body the way the earth does in hills and peaks. Audre Lorde

You will never be

You will never be able to defend your city while shouting. Audre Lorde

Hatred is a death

Hatred is a death wish for the hated, not a life wish for anything else. Audre Lorde

The quality of light

The quality of light by which we scrutinize our lives has direct bearing upon the product which we live, and upon the changes which we hope to bring about through those lives. Audre Lorde

I know the anger

I know the anger lies inside of me like I know the beat of my heart and the taste of my spit. It is easier to be furious than to be yearning. Easier to crucify myself in you than to take on the threatening universe of whiteness by admitting that we are worth wanting each … Read more

I am very, very

I am very, very happy for Alice Walker. Audre Lorde

Sadomasochism is an institutionalized

Sadomasochism is an institutionalized celebration of dominant/subordinate relationships. And, it prepares us either to accept subordination or to enforce dominance. Even in play, to affirm that the exertion of power over powerlessness is erotic, is empowering, is to set the emotional and social stage for the continuation of that relationship, politically, socially, and economically. Audre … Read more

I find I am

I find I am constantly being encouraged to pluck out some one aspect of myself and present this as the meaningful whole, eclipsing or denying the other parts of self. Audre Lorde

Those of us forged

Those of us forged in the crucibles of difference know that survival is not an academic skill. Audre Lorde