sister outsider essays and speeches audre lorde

Oppression is a major theme in all of the works in Sister Outsider. Worse still, the structure of society, Audre believes, encourages division and infighting in minority groups, keeping their power to a minimum. Exacerbating this is the fact that most minorities are relatively powerless figures in the economic sense. Most minority groups, of course, are not included in these norms. With material profit as its core, this value system discourages the exploration of the self in favor of unquestioning adherence to societal norms. Several themes are prominent in Lorde's essays, one of which is a deeply-held distrust for the prevailing American system of values, which she believes promotes racism, sexism, homophobia, and a host of other ills. Audre Lorde uses all of these forms to explore race and sex issues and the anger, guilt, and fear that may result from internalizing a skewed system of values. Most of the works in Sister Outsider were presented or published between 19 and range from travelogues (Notes from a Trip to Russia, Grenada Revisited: An Interim Report) and letters (An Open Letter to Mary Daly) to academic papers and presentations. Sister Outsider is a collection of essays and speeches by Audre Lorde, a black lesbian feminist more widely known for her poetry.

Sister outsider essays and speeches audre lorde