Status Updates From The Selected Works of Audre...

I liked Lorde’s discussion about how it may seem easier & safer to conform. There’s some truth to that, but you still won’t ever be fully accepted. It’s better to be honest with yourself, voice your opinions, & fully address oppressive forces; as Lorde states. Her poetry is wonderful too. I liked having the prose before the poetry, because it gave valuable context.

It’s important to hear about Audre Lorde’s experiences as a Black woman with cancer. Medical malpractice & discrimination are real, even more so during the 80s than now. I’m glad she combined her self-preservation instincts & her own research, this allowed her to find doctors who were better suited to treat her.

How moving to read Lorde’s journal entries while she had a liver tumor. She still had so much passion & dedication towards teaching & advocating for other women in her community. She was fearless; standing up for herself & asking why she was giving a lesson about being a Black woman with no Black women in the audience.

-explain themselves well & they shouldn’t do it to try to spare privileged communities from guilt. Guilt is useful when it becomes a catalyst for change, but when it ruminates & overstays its welcome, it becomes harmful shame.

Lorde is absolutely right; anger can be empowering when expressed. It’s understandable that marginalized communities become angry when faced with discrimination. During my healing & learning, I’ve discovered that anger is a signal emotion; it lets us know that a boundary has been crossed, & it’s truly other feeling(s) in disguise. Asking marginalized communities to not be angry is unfair; they can still-

-liberation while still operating under the rules of your oppressor. Applying oppressive, colonial norms to your own community will not bring freedom. I liked how she acknowledges that all forms of oppression are linked & how capitalism makes things even more rigid.

Love the statement of eroticism being rooted in spirituality. Sexual empowerment is self-connection shared with another; I love that & feel it’s very true. Being self-satisfied helps us challenge mediocrity & external limitations. I also appreciate hearing Lorde’s experiences & thoughts on sexism in the Black community. As mentioned previously in her discussions of intersectionality, you can’t achieve-

Your silence will not protect you! What is better, to speak or to die? We must take our power back by expressing our feelings & opinions! Even if we fear it may be meaningless, we must be brave & do it regardless! We deny ourselves & others by not sharing; & by not listening. Audre Lorde emphasizes the importance of taking multiple perspectives. We have a lot to learn from others, both similar & different to us.

Only listened to 1 part so far, but so excited to explore more of Audre Lorde’s work (& something longer)! I’ve only read individual works. I love her exploration of critical analysis, revelation, & identity. It’s not enough to recognize that we dislike living under systemic oppression; we need to consider its limitations & find who we truly are despite it, not under the expectations of others.