Sister Outsider: Essays and Speeches

“And it’s not that there are no individuals who are nationalists, or racists, but that the taking of a state position against nationalism, against racism, is what makes it possible for a society like this to function. And of course the next step in that process must be the personal element. I don’t see anyone attempting or even suggesting this phase, however, and that’s troublesome, for without this step socialism remains at the mercy of an incomplete vision, imposed from the outside. We have internal desires but outside controls. But at least there is a climate here that seems to encourage those questions.” 

This quote captures Lorde’s consideration of alternatives to America’s model of power, while it acknowledges that it is not merely a government stance that brings true and lasting change. Although socialism appears to have potential in terms of encouraging the kinds of questions and institutions that could stimulate more societal equity, there remains the personal element. This personal element—oppressed people’s role in bringing about their own liberation by dealing with the internal aspects of oppression—is a recurring concern.

“For within living structures defined by profit, by linear power, by institutional dehumanization, our feelings were not meant to survive. Kept around as unavoidable adjuncts or pleasant pastimes, feelings were expected to kneel to thought as women were expected to kneel to men. But women have survived. As poets.”

Here, Lorde acknowledges the white male model of power that privileges thought over feeling, and she notes its inseparability from patriarchy and sexism. She encourages women to access the feeling part of themselves because that reservoir of emotional, nonrational knowledge is where there resides the possibility of liberation outside dominant models of power. Poetry translates emotional knowledge into language, idea, and action, so poetry is essential for women’s survival.

“We can sit in our corners mute forever while our sisters and our selves are wasted, while our children are distorted and destroyed, while our earth is poisoned; we can sit in our safe corners mute as bottles, and we will still be no less afraid.” 

Lorde advocates for women to use their voices and speak up for themselves. Although silence has been a perceived safety mechanism, it has not guaranteed safety, nor has it diminished fear. Therefore, women might as well speak.