Oh Lorde

Race. It is something that no one can fully understand. As a white woman, I cannot relate to or understand what it means to be African American, Hispanic, Asian, or anything else that is not considered white. The same goes for everyone else. An Asian woman has never experienced life as a white, African American, or Hispanic woman. Therefore, the anger expressed by Lorde is foreign to me. I do not know the anger she feels because I do not know how she feels and I am not going to pretend like I do. Being a black woman is difficult. There is no denying that. Being a woman is difficult. As a colored woman, you have two forces working against you. I, as a white woman, only have one and therefore the anger I may feel towards men, is multiplied for a woman of color who is halted by not just her gender, but by the color of her skin.

I think a common reaction to Lorde’s article would be for white woman to feel bad for black women. Or try to understand how they feel. But they will NEVER know how they feel, which seems to be one of Lorde’s main points. Lorde’s piece was very powerful and I honestly did not know what to think after completing it. I was not sure how my thoughts about feminism and race changed, but I did feel her anger. I felt her struggle and her frustration and it was refreshing.

After class on Tuesday, I kept thinking about how calm the “debate” was. Although I truly appreciate the calm nature and respectfulness in which our class operates, this “debate” did not do Lorde justice. The group representing non-white feminists in the debate, while making a series of excellent points, did not reach the level of passion exuded by Lorde. Although we have discussed the white-dominated feminist struggle on many occasions this semester thus far, Lorde made me think about it in an entirely different way.

There are so many different “types” of feminists, which we saw in the debate on Tuesday. Although there was a group that represents her cause, Lorde seems to fall into her own category. I am unsure as to what I would name this type of feminism, but it is a passionate and powerful one.