This month has carried an integral examination into the ways women have shaped not only our environment but our words as well. Though revolutionary actions are something that should nevertheless be met with appraisal and drive, the underlying power of words has allowed women to amplify their voices and to curate and strengthen a platform that many have tried to dismantle.
Patriarchal structures have and continue to attempt to stifle the insight of women among all spectrums, particularly within criticisms of the facets of oppression and the way it has deliberately disenfranchised women for centuries.
Throughout the month, I’ve engrossed myself within the works of Audre Lorde. An African-American writer, activist, lesbian, and feminist, Audre Lorde has mastered the seamless maneuver of identity politics, revolutionizing feminist thought, and critiquing society’s adherence to dehumanizing women of color.
Reading her essays and speeches in Sister Outsider has allowed me to explore the intricacies of intersectionality. Lorde speaks of the ways in which oppression takes all forms, be it through racism, ableism, classism, homophobia, etc. She centralizes her focus upon marginalized groups uniting together in solidarity so as to disassemble the structures that perpetuate oppression.
With her writing, I’ve learned that the most imperative trait to have is persistence. Through words, there is persistence. Through vocalization, there is persistence. And as long as there is persistence, change will come, be it through a long or short duration of time.
Audre Lorde’s poetry is interwoven with a depth of perception that is cathartic in its execution. She examines sexuality, identity, culture, and womanism through a diction so remarkably shaped that even the simplest phrases could evoke a string of sincerity and emotion. One such poem is “Making Love to Concrete,” where she utilizes a strong sense of imagery so as to explore autonomy.
She even discovered a new genre of writing, known as “Biomythography,” which she brings about to life in her autobiography entitled Zami: A New Spelling of My Name.” The genre curates a narrative through which elements of myth, biography, and history are woven into the content. This sort of composition conveys Audre Lorde’s innovative style and her various approaches to writing.
Her thought, perception, exhibition, and dogmas are central in the ways they have shaped modern feminism. The sociological critiques and examinations have brought about a vital perspective into what it means to attain intersectionality in our feminism. To allow intersectionality is to truly embrace the embodiment of feminism and to strengthen its foundation.
Celebrate women writers this month. Celebrate their words. And celebrate the way in which those words have revolutionized thought.
