Home / Quotes / Quote by Audre Lorde

Quote by Audre Lorde

“I have suckled the wolf's lip of anger and I have used it for illumination, laughter, protection, fire when there was no fire, no food, no sisters, no quarter. We are not goddesses or matriarchs or edifices of forgiveness; we are not fiery fingers of judgement or instruments of flagellation; we are women forced back always upon our woman's power.”

Book:Sister Outsider: Essays and Speeches

Work

Sister Outsider: Essays and Speeches

Sister Outsider is a compilation of essays and speeches by Audre Lorde, a prominent African American poet and civil rights activist. The book delves into the complexities of race, gender, and identity, offering a profound and personal perspective on these issues. Lorde's work is characterized by its powerful and poetic language, as she shares her experiences and insights on the challenges faced by marginalized communities. more

Author

Audre Lorde

Audre Lorde, an American writer, poet, and speaker, was born on February 18, 1934, and passed away on November 17, 1992. Known for her profound insights into race, gender, and sexual orientation, her work encompasses poetry, prose, and novels, which have had a profound impact on contemporary literature and social movements. more

“Well, women with breast cancer are warriors, also. I have been to war, and still am. So has every woman who had had one or both breasts amputated because of the cancer that is becoming the primary physical scourge of our time. For me, my scars are an honorable reminder that I may be a casualty in the cosmic war against radiation, animal fat, air pollution, McDonald’s hamburgers and Red Dye No. 2, but the fight is still going on, and I am still a part of it. I refuse to have my scars hidden or trivialized behind lambswool or silicone gel. I refuse to be reduced in my own eyes or in the eyes of others from warrior to mere victim, simply because it might render me a fraction more acceptable or less dangerous to the still complacent, those who believe if you cover up a problem it ceases to exist. I refuse to hide my body simply because it might make a woman-phobic world more comfortable.”

Women Power Feminism Cancer Breast Cancer Mastectomy

Book:The Cancer Journals

Source: The Cancer Journals

“Teach her that saying no when no feels right is something to be proud of.”

Feminism Daughters

Book:Dear Ijeawele, or a Feminist Manifesto in Fifteen Suggestions

Source: Dear Ijeawele, or a Feminist Manifesto in Fifteen Suggestions

“We gather as we always have: Naomi and Ruth, Aphrodite and Helen, Eve and her lioness. We are good girls. Mothers and dancers and counselors. We are wicked too, but we won't tell you this. Instead we arrange plates of bread and fruit, slip into the center of each other. Find our childhoods, our varied pleasures, the aged and blistered scars. We are half drunk, half destroyed. Nothing left but blood and bone. Still we surface— fold into each other like paper cranes. Her, like a long-lost lover. Her, a cool and healing balm.”

Poetry Women Feminism

Book:What Kind of Woman: Poems

Source: What Kind of Woman: Poems