Audre Lorde

Literary theories are means through which a text can be broadened and understood in a new way. In queer theory, texts are seen through a lens that reveals the underlying queer aspects of it. Audre Lorde’s “Beams” is a poem that already subtly delivers its meaning but when read from a queer theory point of view, it is even clearer to see the internal struggle faced by the speaker. A decision of maternity versus sexuality is discussed through vivid descriptions of places, people and memories and…

It has been proven that race and gender play a major role in the formation of identity. According to former president of Spelman College, Dr. Beverly Daniel Tatum in her piece “The Complexity of Identity: Who am I?”, “The aspect of identity that is the target of others’ attentions and subsequently of our own, often is that which sets us apart as exceptional or “other” in their eyes.”.(Tatum) She prefaced this statement by mentioning an experiment that was held in a coeducational setting the…

sexuality, and gender expression, though this vision is not currently implemented in mainstream feminism. Kimberle Crenshaw describes what an inclusionist feminist vision should be when talking about intersectionality. Peggy McIntosh, Naomi Wolf, and Audre Lorde all respectively write about how most feminist movements ignore factors that set many women apart, such as race, age, class, and…

Throughout The Brief Life of Oscar Wao sexuality is a poignant element of Oscar’s identity. Not only does he consistently try to pursue women as romantic partners, but he also acknowledges that his lack of sexual experience governs the way people view him in this society. For example, Yunior articulates the significance of sex in this Dominican culture when he says, “it’s against the laws of nature for a dominicano to die without fucking at least once” (Diaz 174). Ultimately, sex parallels power…

inclusion in order to avoid distortions of difference/experience,to promote diversity and intersectionality, and to be truly successful. Methods I began by reading a collection of essays by Audre Lorde in her 1984 book Sister Outsider, to sense an enunciated philosophical writings by a feminist writer. In Audre Lorde's book I read the essays “Poetry Is Not a Luxury,” “The Transformation of Silence,” and “Age, Race, Class, and Sex: Women Redefining Difference” these essays gave me the tools I…

The Transcendence of the Silhouette The Death of the Last Black Man in The Whole Entire World, a play by Suzan-Lori Parks, explores the intricacies of race in a nonlinear, disjoint, and unconventional manner. The conjunction of precise characters and language, though seemingly haphazard, signify in the perpetuation of racism and the history of African American subjugation. The first scene in the story places the audience in the middle of a disconcerting image. In this scene, Park presents a…

She is inspired by a well known Afro-German feminist, Audre Lorde, who was one of largest influences of Ika’s life and especially her memoir. Audre was one of the only people who truly understood Ika and she “felt an immediate connection to her” (Hügel-Marshall 95). This gave her the comfortability to discuss topics she was never able to discuss with anyone else such as racism and feminist ideas. From speaking to Audre and expressing her ideas she states “As a Black women, I feel that…

Analysing the works of Mimi Mariuncci, Audre Lorde, and Rosemarie Garland- Thomson I hope to answer the question of why intersectionality is imperative to feminist discourse and praxis. Feminism, in simple terms, refers to collective desire to end the oppression of women. Because oppression takes various forms and affects those who are victim to it in a number of different though often intersecting ways, feminism can therefore be termed a multifaceted set of movements working towards multiple…

Audre Lorde 's essay, "The Fourth of July," proves that ignoring a problem does nothing to solve it, as the overwhelming whiteness of the pavement and the monuments of the nation 's capital paled in comparison to the white superiority complex infecting peoples ' mentalities. The attitude of Lorde’s passive parents towards the uncomfortable topic, that “perhaps it would go away, deprived of… attention” (Lorde) is reminiscent of the “color blind” ideology…

them. Rich supports her argument by including excerpts from other scholars who support her argument, such as Audre Lorde. Rich and Lorde makes similar arguments were women live a double life, where women make life tolerable for each other. They encourage women to reclaim themselves from the institutions that oppress them in numerous ways, by informing them of the intuition of…