Reviews

"As white women ignore their built-in privilege of whiteness and define woman in terms of their own experience alone, then women of color become 'other'."

I especially enjoyed her focus on the belief that, not only must difference be tolerated, but it must be seen as a strength and a requirement for liberation. Black people, indigenous people, people of color, disabled people, LGBTQIA+ people must not only be included, but exemplified, in conversations about feminist liberation if any progress is to be made. I also liked how she included the issue of ageism, and how those of us who consider ourselves feminist must remember to fight for the unique issues that older women face.

"Certainly there are very real differences between us of race, age, and sex. But it is not those differences between us that are separating us. It is rather our refusal to recognize those differences, and to examine the distortions which result from our misnaming them and their effects upon human behavior and expectation."

She unflinchingly calls out white feminists at the time (whose beliefs are definitely still relevant today) for their inability to remove themselves from the safety of patriarchy, which she argues is inextricably intertwined with racism, homophobia, ageism, and ableism. Interestingly, she also tackles issues within the Black feminist/womanist community at the time, which was influenced by homophobic stereotypes and fear of lesbianism. Lorde also briefly critiques socialism and the racism pervasive within its beliefs.

On top of intersectionality, I particularly enjoyed the essay "Eye to Eye: Black Women, Hatred, and Anger", in which Lorde tackles respectability politics and explains the importance of embracing anger and using anger as a tool to assess our society and eradicate the issues that plague it. Not only does she argue for Black women to embrace their emotions, especially anger, as a source of power, but she argues that white people, who have long denied Black people's feelings and forced them to focus on survival rather than emotion, need to be accepting of Black women in all of their emotions, especially anger, in order to allow progress to be made. I found this essay to be incredibly powerful and moving emotionally, and it was definitely my favorite from the whole collection.

The collection includes her most popular essay, "The Master's Tools Will Never Dismantle the Master's House", which on its own is incredibly informative and important to the movement, but all of the writings included are well-written and thought-provoking.

I felt like her essays tackled a wide range of issues that were all connected quite well to her main thesis of intersectionality. You can definitely see without a doubt how much her writings influenced modern feminist theory, and even modern anti-racist theory.