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Sister Outsider
Sister Outsider: Essays and Speeches | Audre Lorde
Presenting the essential writings of black lesbian poet and feminist writer Audre Lorde, SISTER OUTSIDER celebrates an influential voice in twentieth-century literature. In this charged collection of fifteen essays and speeches, Lorde takes on sexism, racism, ageism, homophobia, and class, and propounds social difference as a vehicle for action and change. Her prose is incisive, unflinching, and lyrical, reflecting struggle but ultimately offering messages of hope. This commemorative edition includes a new foreword by Lorde scholar and poet Cheryl Clarke, who celebrates the ways in which Lorde's philosophies resonate more than twenty years after they were first published. These landmark writings are, in Lorde's own words, a call to never close our eyes to the terror, to the chaos which is Black which is creative which is female which is dark which is rejected which is messy which is. . . . Reviews"...it's been almost a quarter of a century since Audre Lorde's essays and speeches in Sister Outsider made an indelible mark on 20th-century literature. But the words of the black lesbian feminist poet seem as lyrical and unforgettable, and, sadly, as relevant today as when she first tackled everything from racism and homophobia to ageism and class dichotomies. A must-have book that every lesbian should read."Curve Editor's Pick Lorde was a brilliant feminist poet and intellectual whose theories on the power of embracing our internal contradictions as well as the differences between people and groups is the way to powerful coalition building and social progress. New York Post, Sunday Poet and librarian Lorde collected 15 of her finest essays and speeches in this 1984 volume. With her poet's command of language, she addresses sexism, racism, black women, black lesbians, eroticism, and more. Still powerful.Library Journal, Starred ReviewAudre Lorde is a passionate sage. I say is' and not was' because her keen insights continue to provoke and sustain us and give us courage. The reissue of this book is a gift to longtime admirers and to new readers who have yet to discover the power and grace and splendid audacity of Audre Lorde.Valerie Miner, author of After Eden and professor of feminist studies at Stanford University[Lorde's] works will be important to those truly interested in growing up sensitive, intelligent, and aware.New York Times From the Trade Paperback edition.
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TheBookHippie
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💕 Happy Galentine‘s Day 💕

IndoorDame One of my all time favorite quotes! ✊🏼💕 1mo
ElizaMarie YES!!!!!! 1mo
BookmarkTavern I love Lorde! Happy Galentine‘s Day! 💖 1mo
dabbe ❤️💜🩷 1mo
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RealLifeReading
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New audiobook. Am enjoying Robin Eller‘s lovely voice as she reads Audre Lorde‘s essays

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TheBookHippie
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HeatherBookNerd
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Pickpick

Finally read this collection of Audre Lorde essays, filling in a noticeable gap in my reading on race and LGBT issues. She‘s such a powerful writer and storyteller. Even though these were written decades ago they are still so timely, especially in light of so many steps backwards with the recent Supreme Court decisions.

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HeatherBookNerd
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Finally reading some Audre Lorde. So much of this feels incredibly timely even though it was written decades ago.

merelybookish That was my reaction too! 9mo
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Autumnscribe
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Cannot believed I have lived this long without ever having encountered Lorde.

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underground_bks
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Pickpick

Published nearly 40 years ago, this iconic collection of essays, interviews, and speeches by the self-described "black, lesbian, feminist, socialist, mother, warrior, poet" Audre Lorde remains as powerful, impactful, and relevant as ever. Here, in these brilliantly intersectional writings, Lorde confronts sexism, racism, & homophobia, all while inviting us to see the potential for political change in social difference and revelation in the erotic.

ChaoticMissAdventures I just read her autobiography Zami, she had such an interesting life, her mother sounded like a powerhouse. Her writing is so amazing. 9mo
underground_bks @ChaoticMissAdventures I need to read Zami! I wonder if it‘s a better place to start with her writings! 9mo
ChaoticMissAdventures @underground_bks I have read a few of her books, I started with Sister Outsider, probably because it is so well known, I am not sure what would be best, knowing where she went with her life then reading about her origins was interesting. I do recommend Zami, Harlem in the 40-50 was such an interesting time. 9mo
underground_bks @ChaoticMissAdventures I love that I asked the right person! 9mo
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TheBookHippie
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GatheringBooks
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#BookMoods Day 11: A current #DNF but I hope to finish it eventually. My mood allows me to dip into the essays every now and again.

Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks Great photo 📷 (edited) 2y
Eggs Fun!! 2y
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Augustdana
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Slowly savoring, keeping this on my bedside table. I‘m clearly running out of time with this book. Still totally relevant. My first reading of hers.

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GatheringBooks
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#SavvySettings Day 9: No need to go to a #Pub when one can have Il Vino Dell‘Amore Petalo Moscato at home. 💕

Eggs 🧡🥃🧡 2y
batsy Happy birthday!! 🥂🌻📚 2y
merelybookish What a gorgeous edition! 2y
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GatheringBooks
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Because I cannot find a book that #BeginsWith #First - then here is our first meal out as a family on the #first evening of 2022. Sizzling cookie with ube ice cream - it actually works!

Catsandbooks Ube yum!! 💜 2y
Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks Looks delicious 😋 2y
Eggs I‘m curious ~ what is ube ice cream 2y
GatheringBooks @Eggs it is purple taro yam - really delicious! 2y
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christhelesbian
Pickpick

OMG OMG OMG
a MUST
audre is my favorite writer she articulates details so eloquently i can feel and smell and see everything written in all of her books
as a lesbian please marry me

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GatheringBooks
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#GratefulHarvest Day 9: A #Table filled with freshly-chucked oysters and Audre Lorde. When in Seattle.

Eggs 📚 🦪 🍶 2y
Aims42 Yum!!! Enjoy!!! 2y
Wife I love ❤️ 🦪🦪🦪🦪🦪s! 2y
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rjsthumbelina
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Pickpick

Audrey Lorde was such an important feminist thinker. Some of the things she has to say are still so relevant today! Will definitely be picking up more of her work

#shesaid

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AnneCecilie
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Pickpick

The essays in this collection is from the 70s and 80s, and sadly they still feel current and as of the could be written today. Lorde writes about how you have to fight for your rights and use your voice and how anyone who is not male and white and heterosexual need to stop arguing amongst ourselves.

#SheSaid

vlwelser I really like that cover. 2y
batsy That's a fab cover. 2y
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Riveted_Reader_Melissa
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Pickpick

If you‘ve been reading along with me and #SheSaid you‘re not going to be surprised that this was a pick for me. It took concentrated reading to follow these often deep & incisive essays, lose concentration for a bit & you will have missed something & need to re-read, but there is so much here that is still very relevant, she could have easily been critiquing things going on today, she was not only incredibly smart, but ahead of her time.

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Riveted_Reader_Melissa
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Discussion time #SheSaid

I found a lot here I related to as a woman (even if it‘s as a handicapped white woman and not necessarily the intended audience), plus I thought the large section about internalized hatred steaming from racism & sexism is something we really need to look at more closely….even white women who vote against their own interests (how much of that is the same type of internalized hatred & anger against ourselves & other women).

Karisa I kept writing “Unity” and “Identity” in the margins as reoccurring themes. Made me reflect on what I can do as a teacher to help students celebrate their identities and unify for strength/understanding. I agree with your original post. We are repeatedly told that women are not leaders (and other negative stereotypes) and many then show that in the way we vote. We need to really listen to the messages and vote for who can truly represent us 3y
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vlwelser That essay on Grenada made my head explode. I think I was too young to know about this but it seems like a recurring theme in American politics. 3y
vlwelser I think she saved the best essay for last (because she added the Grenada one later). She was such an amazing person and a great person with a unique perspective. 3y
MallenNC @vlwelser I didn‘t know any of that about Grenada either. I have a vague memory of it happening but had no idea why (or “why”) it happened. (edited) 3y
MallenNC I was glad I read this because I didn‘t know much about Audre Lorde other than seeing her quoted in other contexts. As we‘ve all said, it is striking how relevant her writing from the 1980s still is. In this section, I enjoyed her thoughts about what could be learned from the 1960s. It was good timing as I‘ve been watching the Muhammad Ali doc on PBS, and Malcom X has a big part in the first episodes. 3y
Riveted_Reader_Melissa @MallenNC I read Malcom X‘s autobiography recently… his story and transformation as he learns and grows more is amazing. 3y
Riveted_Reader_Melissa @Karisa All of that and, women are too emotional, but also if we tone that down to please, to cold. Basically we are just taught that women are less than, to be seen and not heard (unless she‘s backing up a man), and we internalize all of that and dislike people who break out in any way. I‘m old enough to remember when Hillary was hated because she was still going to “work” when her husband was elected & the flack when she “stood by her man” ⤵️ 3y
Riveted_Reader_Melissa ↪️After he cheated. 3y
Riveted_Reader_Melissa @Karisa I can see the sane thing with “the squad” now. They are too independent, too ethnic….AOC alone is too stuck up, but she “danced” in college (on tape gasp!). She‘s just a bartender, but she went to the Met Gala for the rich, what was she doing. Literally no matter what she does, it‘s vilified 3y
Karisa @Riveted_Reader_Melissa Yep, there is no winning. Especially because at the heart of it is a desire to keep the status quo—everyone staying in their “place”. So frustrating! 3y
KathyWheeler I loved that essay on hate and anger. I think it‘s possibly the best one in the book. I remember that Grenada invasion— I was young enough (in my 20s) to be less cynical about the USA than I am now and was very confused about the whole thing. That essay added some clarity. 3y
rjsthumbelina The essay about black women's hate and anger was my favorite in the book. I know it wasn't directed at me, but as a (white) fat woman with chronic pain, it felt so familiar. This collection as a whole made it clear what an important thinker/philosopher Lorde was. 3y
ravenlee There was so much in this section, so many things I underlined or noted in the margins! I‘m just amazed at how clearly Lorde articulated these nebulous concepts, crystallizing the important parts, so that no matter where we come from we can all identify with it and shout “yes!” I feel like we were cheated by her loss at such a young age, and I wish she were with us now to help make sense of the mess we‘re currently in. 3y
ravenlee @Riveted_Reader_Melissa I think Lorde had more than one intended audience - because she might have been speaking directly to Black women, but she made it a point to include the rest of the world so we could learn from her words without her having to pander/dumb it down for us. I love the way she‘s inclusive yet specific. She puts the heavy lifting on us to understand but enables our understanding (did that make sense). 3y
KathyWheeler I also loved when, in the essay on Malcolm X, she said, “There is no such thing as a single issue struggle because we do not live single issue lives.” 3y
Riveted_Reader_Melissa @vlwelser Yes it does! I was too young then too. And I didn‘t fully understand the implications of Reagan‘s administration until later (again too young) until I learned more about the “War On Drugs” vs “Iran Contra Affair” and how they related. But boy, it sure sound reminiscent of the case to go to war in Iraq doesn‘t it (WMD‘s that weren‘t there, but oil was 🙄) talk about forgetting our history and repeating it. I also couldn‘t help in ⤵️ 3y
Riveted_Reader_Melissa ↪️ this section thinking about a book a read about Hawaii, and how even way back we have arranged things just so, to “save” them. In Hawaii‘s case it became as state by asking too, under equally duplicitous twists…the “Hawaiians” who asked for statehood were the children of missionaries and settlers on the island, not the natives. And the US at the time wanted a Navy base to be a naval power, so pushed it against the native Hawaiians wishes. 3y
Riveted_Reader_Melissa @rjsthumbelina I found a lot in that essay too (white, fat, & genetic disorder here)…so much that related to women themselves. How we are taught to take care of everyone else, but not ourselves, and if we dare to take time/care for ourselves, we are selfish…and if we break down and cry we are weak and also using our tears. So much of that crossed over as sexism (and controlling) and relatable to me. Even the hating of self, internalizing it ⤵️ 3y
Riveted_Reader_Melissa ↪️ it…leading to staying with bad people in bad relationships (because we think we don‘t deserve better), or the hate turned inward because it‘s unacceptable to put outward by “good girls”. I‘d have loved to see her views on this as we moved into the eating disorder, cutting, etc issues of today. To me, that essay seemed ahead of its time. (edited) 3y
Riveted_Reader_Melissa @ravenlee I know, some books I highlight so much, I‘m surprised the Goodreads quotes/notes section doesn‘t have basically the whole book in it and violate copyright laws. (edited) 3y
Riveted_Reader_Melissa @ravenlee Yes it did make sense. There were a lot of layers to her writing, and I find myself glad that she got the space and time to write these, not just the poetry she is known for. So much is still relatable today, and I think any women could get something from this, and probably different things at different states of her life. 3y
staci.reads @KathyWheeler I highlighted that quote as well. It seems more and more people are single issue voters, and I struggle to understand that kind of thinking. 3y
Riveted_Reader_Melissa @KathyWheeler I highlighted that quote too! She was ahead of her time with intersectionality too, and reading her put it so plainly…I can‘t imagine why feminism took so long to get there. It seems so obvious in her writing. (edited) 3y
Riveted_Reader_Melissa @staci.reads Yes! How can you not look at the whole package? I don‘t think I‘ll ever understand how people can turn off 90% of their interests because so-and-so says they‘ll do 1 thing. What good is that 1 thing to you, if the rest of your life is miserable…not to mention everyone else‘s? 3y
staci.reads I found her quote " We do not have to romanticize our past in order to be aware of how it seeds our present." It makes me think about current issues with Confederate memorbilia and statues and the argument that we shouldn't be erasing history. There is such a difference between romanticizing history and acknowledging history, and I think that's what a lot of people fail to understand. 3y
staci.reads I also was moved by her statement "Revolution is not a one time event. It is becoming always vigilant for the smallest opportunity to make a genuine change in established, outgrown responses..." 3y
ravenlee @KathyWheeler @staci.reads @Riveted_Reader_Melissa I don‘t understand the single-issue thing, especially when that single issue is abortion. They refuse to see how so many other issues are related: healthcare, poverty, minimum wage, education…and those anti-abortion candidates are making everything that contributes to a higher abortion rate so much worse! 3y
ravenlee @vlwelser I knew almost nothing about Grenada (a small amount from movies), and I was just horrified. And it keeps happening, and happening. 3y
ravenlee @staci.reads I found that notable too. We must constantly fight to retain the ground we‘ve gained, because there are those who are constantly trying to take it back. My mom marched in a women‘s march a few years ago with my sister and niece with a sign that said “I can‘t believe my granddaughters are still fighting for the same shit we did.” 3y
Riveted_Reader_Melissa @staci.reads Yes! So many of the quotes just seemed like they jumped out about issues today. I‘m glad it wasn‘t just me seeing those connections. The romanticizing the past quote also made me think of the recent backlash against plantation weddings…how did they go from homes of the landed elite that enslaved and tortured people for generations to romance settings…and yet, here we are. 3y
Riveted_Reader_Melissa @staci.reads And the quote about Revolution not being a one time event…made me think of all those young people who thought feminism had won, it was all over, roe v wade was settled and safe… to the point where being a feminist was a “bad” thing…a feminazi, a man hater. It‘s seen a bit of a resurgence lately, but the first few big names who said they were feminists were taking big risks at the time. It‘s amazing how much was taken for granted ⤵️ 3y
Riveted_Reader_Melissa ↪️ that now has to be fought for again, exactly the same thing with Civil Rights at the moment and things like voting rights. Laws were enacted & people felt safe and got complacent, but there was & still is this huge movement working to unwrite those decisions & laws, groups actively looking to reverse them….so feeling safe & not worrying about it, gives them space to unwrite the Voting Rights Act for example, now it must be fought for again. (edited) 3y
KathyWheeler @ravenlee The abortion thing drives me nuts because those same people are also against birth control, free condoms, Plan B, universal health care, and sex education. Everything that‘s been proven to reduce abortion rates. Even if I were against abortion, I simply could not vote on that issue alone — not when so much of the policies by anti-abortion politicians impacts my life negatively. 3y
Riveted_Reader_Melissa @KathyWheeler It drives me crazy too…for all those reasons, if you don‘t want abortions make unwanted pregnancies easier to prevent and the flip side….if you are so prolife, why are you against maternity leave, childcare, healthcare, geez even school lunches. Even as a single issue, it just seems hypocritical how they support it. 3y
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staci.reads
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Pickpick

The #shesaid choice this month is a powerful, dense piece of history. Audre Lorde's collection of essays give us a snapshot of some of the discussions around gender, race, identity, and politics as the 70s transitioned into the 80s. Her voice and her message are still too relevant to today's world, reminding us how much work we have left to do. @Riveted_Reader_Melissa

Karisa Yes! Agreed! 👏👏👏 3y
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AnneCecilie
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For if I take the white world‘s estimation of me as a Black-woman-synonymous-with-garbage to heart, then deep down inside myself I will always believe that I am truly good for nothing. But it is very hard to look absorbed hatred in the face. It is easier to see you as good for nothing because you are like me. So when you support me because you are like me, that merely confirms that you are nothing too, just like me. It‘s a no-win position, a case

AnneCecilie of nothing supporting nothing and someone‘s gonna have to pay for that one, and it sure ain‘t gonna be me! 3y
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AnneCecilie
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Lexie Goldman and I on Lexington Avenue, our adolescent faces flushed from springtime and our dash out of high school. We stop at a luncheonette, ask for water. The woman behind the counter smiles at Lexie. Gives us water. Lexie‘s in a glass. Mine in a paper cup. Afterward we joke about mine being portable. Too loudly.

#SheSaid

BarbaraBB Incredible ❤️‍🩹 3y
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ravenlee
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Pickpick

Wow, what a powerful book. I wish I‘d read this in my twenties, and again and again. I will revisit this one, absolutely. I‘ve already recommended it to my mom and a friend. Thanks @Riveted_Reader_Melissa for a great #SheSaid selection. My only complaint is I prefer the newer cover over the green one, which is a really minor thing.

Riveted_Reader_Melissa There are some books where it‘s so tempting to pick up multiple additions, for the covers. 3y
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vlwelser
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Pickpick

❤❤❤❤❤

#SheSaid with @Riveted_Reader_Melissa
Final discussion on Sunday. Until then 🤐

#BookSpinBingo square 3
@TheAromaofBooks

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Riveted_Reader_Melissa
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Just a reminder that Hood Feminism is next on our list for October, so put in your library hold and interlibrary loans if you haven‘t already.

And we need a June book, it should be time for a fiction book by then, so start posting your suggestions/recommendation below and I‘ll make up a voting quiz.

#SheSaid

Riveted_Reader_Melissa @Tera66 I know you were thinking about joining us for Hood Feminism in Oct, so I wanted to tag you here too. 3y
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vlwelser I'm skipping Hood Feminism (already read it with a different group) but don't take me off your tag list. 3y
rjsthumbelina Idk if anyone else likes to read nonfiction via ebooks so that you can save your highlights to search through later, but Hood Feminism is currently $5.99 on Kindle! 3y
rjsthumbelina (in the US, at least) 3y
rjsthumbelina It will be a re-read for me, but last time I listened to it on audio, and I remember thinking that I should re-read it physically so that I can highlight and retain more of it 3y
Riveted_Reader_Melissa @vlwelser No problem, you can still jump into discussions if you want. 3y
Riveted_Reader_Melissa @rjsthumbelina I picked it up on a previous kindle sale, so that‘s very timely that it‘s on sale again. 3y
staci.reads It's non fiction, but I'd nominate Girlhood by Melissa Febos as a future-read. It came highly recommended by a former student and has a 4.29 rating on Goodreads. 3y
staci.reads For fiction, I'd nominate Women Talking by Miriam Toews. I picked it up based on employee recs in a bookstore but haven't read it yet. 3y
Megabooks I may do a reread with y‘all. Could you tag me? 3y
Singout Yay Canadian authors! You might want to tweak Alicia Elliot's name spelling, though.
To-reads: Under the Undala Trees, Seven, All of These Hills is Gold, The Mountains Sing

Have-reads: Milkman, about a young woman dealing with personal sexual harassment and political oppression during the Troubles in Northern Ireland
The Marrow Thieves: Indigenous Canadian post-apocalyptic.
Sing, Unburied, Sing
Everything I Never Told You
The Bone People
3y
Riveted_Reader_Melissa @Singout Thanks for the catch, I fixed her name. Auto fill and auto correct are a blessing and a curse. 😂 3y
KathyWheeler @SamAnne posted this review of a book earlier that seems interesting and appropriate for this group. It‘s not fiction though. The book is called The Right to Sex. Here‘s the review: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/21/books/review-right-to-sex-amia-srinivasan.htm... 3y
Riveted_Reader_Melissa I just heard about this one 2y
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Riveted_Reader_Melissa
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KathyWheeler This resonated with me. I think women‘s anger gets trivialized all of the time. Being asked to hide that anger not only trivializes what we do, it is doubly insulting because it trivializes our anger — as of what we‘re angry about is of no importance. And this seems to me, it would be even worse if you have multiple reasons to be angry. 3y
Riveted_Reader_Melissa @KathyWheeler plus anger is a violation of the whole be a “good” girl trope/trap. 3y
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Riveted_Reader_Melissa @KathyWheeler This guilt response has me thinking now about all those posts like “NotAllMen” when women try to point out gender issues, disparities. How much of that is really guilty reactions meant to silence the conversation yet again. 3y
KathyWheeler @Riveted_Reader_Melissa I hadn‘t thought about guilt being the motivation, but I have noticed that behavior forever and not just online. There also the “what about the men” argument that‘s frustrating as well. I went to a discussion about domestic violence when I was an undergrad. There were a lot of men there who would go, “what about the male victims ?” about every single proposed solution. It was a silencing topic, not genuine interest. 3y
tenar Out of all the amazing quotes in this section, this was the one that really hit me. I think she nailed it, and I want to bring it as a reminder for myself into any difficult conversation that asks me to change my behavior. 3y
mandarchy I have been hearing a lot of people crying that Critical Race Theory will make their children feel guilty when their children haven't done anything to deserve it. This quote speaks volumes to that fear. 3y
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Riveted_Reader_Melissa
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That‘s a great argument not only for intersectionality… but a great reason to read and understand and listen more!

#SheSaid

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Riveted_Reader_Melissa
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Does that not sound like it could have been written about the 2016 election, an evaluation of why white women voted for Trump over Hillary? #SheSaid

Karisa I underlined that part too and read it to my husband also with thoughts of the past presidency. So many women (mostly white) blindly following someone who had so little respect for women or human rights. Seems fueled by a fear of losing power if Black women, lesbians, trans, immigrants, and all labeled as “outsiders” are allowed to be seen as human and have equal rights. Can‘t believe we are still grappling with these issues forty years later. 3y
Riveted_Reader_Melissa @Karisa Right! So sad that we haven‘t learned yet. But yes, all his stoking of fear of x y z worked with so many people, afraid of boogie men. 3y
Leftcoastzen She was so significant and ahead of her time . 3y
staci.reads Ah, you beat me to it. That section really leaped off the page for me! 3y
KathyWheeler I remember hearing how many white women voted against their own interests and being shocked. This passage explains that better than any of the analysis that I‘ve ever seen. I still don‘t get it, but I may be closer to an understanding. 3y
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Riveted_Reader_Melissa
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Deep stuff, but I‘m loving it. By making us all feel less than the “norm”…which doesn‘t really exist…and therefore think it‘s ok to be treated as less than because we aren‘t good enough.

#SheSaid

Karisa Good point! Also, I was noticing the capitalization choices she makes (which I‘d missed by using the audiobook before😅). 3y
KathyWheeler @Karisa The first time I saw weird capitalization, I thought it might be an editing error, but then I noticed that she was making deliberate choices. It was interesting. 3y
ravenlee This struck me - I remember in the mid-90s as I was a sophomore in HS, my parents went with me to a community festival to support my friends in Amnesty International. There was a lot of tie-dye, some…unusual smells that may or may not have been pot, lots of international foods. My dad told us later he felt really uncomfortable - “not the place for a white, middle-aged, warmongering white male” were his words. First time he was the outsider. 3y
Riveted_Reader_Melissa @ravenlee If only we would have been worldly wise enough at that age to reply…now you know how women/minorities feel ever single day. (edited) 3y
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Riveted_Reader_Melissa
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Another section of deep essays. You really need to space these out and concentrate when you read them, or I, at least, get lost.

So what did you thing this week #SheSaid. I found a lot that was useful, and sadly still very relevant (and I wish it wasn‘t, that we‘d have moved past, but some of these read like current essays on our dynamics today).

ravenlee I found this week‘s section harder to connect with than the previous essays. Some of it felt repetitive from the earlier works, and I didn‘t feel as strong a connection with it this time around. I wonder if it would be the same if I‘d read them the other way around. I like her emphasis on seeing past superficial differences, bringing our different but related experiences together to overcome our shared obstacles. 3y
See All 27 Comments
Riveted_Reader_Melissa I am posting a few quotes today under the title and #SheSaid tag 3y
Karisa I switched from the audiobook to a paperback this week and found that I took more from it being able to mark up pages in my own copy. The main thing I learned from the audiobook was the proper way to pronounce Adrienne Rich‘s name (Add-dree-in). In this week‘s section I was so amazed and inspired by Lorde‘s fearlessness in speaking truth to power. I mean, at a feminist conference she is calling them out on only having two women of color speakers⬇️ 3y
Karisa ⬆️being ageist, and not offering ways for more poor people to participate. She was such a force. So much of what she said about white women falling in line with patriarchy to hope for a slice of the power rings so true even today. So many times I had “wait. What?” moments that had me re-reading to admire her way with words. I can see why you‘ll be posting quotes, Melissa! Just not enough room in one post. 3y
Karisa Oh! And how she pointed out again that not only people of color can teach about Black history and how more women of color authors should be included in all courses not just separated out had me thinking of Professor Cornel West‘s resignation letter from just this last Summer https://images.app.goo.gl/wGz4jgzeCZBvySy3A 3y
MallenNC I took the same from this section — that she could have written this same message in 2021. There is a lot of conversation now about white feminism being exclusionary. I was thinking we‘ll probably see echos of this in Hood Feminism when we read that. @Karisa I also was impressed by how Lorde was unafraid to speak truth to power, or as we say in the South, to “tell someone about themselves” to their face. 3y
Karisa @MallenNC Tell someone about themselves 🤣 Never heard that saying before. I love it! 3y
vlwelser I agree with @ravenlee this felt repetitive and I had a hard time connecting. 3y
vlwelser It is amazing that all of her topics are so relevant even now. None of these essays has felt dated despite being 40ish years old. 3y
staci.reads @Karisa Yes, those parts really stuck out to me as well, white women towing the line of the patriarchy is still SO relevant. 3y
Riveted_Reader_Melissa @Karisa I had to go back and re-read a few sections too. It‘s definitely not one you can passively read or listen too. 3y
Riveted_Reader_Melissa ⬆️ every time my concentration slipped, I got lost and had to backtrack and reread. For one of our skimmer books, it‘s taking more mental energy to process. 3y
staci.reads @Karisa @MallenNC "Today...it is easier once again for white women to believe the dangerous fantasy that if you are good enough, pretty enough, sweet enough, quiet enough, teach the children to behave, hate the right people, and marry the right men, then you will be allowed to coexist with patriarchy in relative peace, at least until a man needs your job or the neighborhood rapist happens along." WOW ? "telling someone about themselves" for sure! 3y
Riveted_Reader_Melissa @ravenlee posted the origin of “woman-identified woman”, which makes so much more sense. I was reading it as trans women (although totally wrong).⤵️ (edited) 3y
Riveted_Reader_Melissa @staci.reads That‘s one of the quotes I posted today. Along with trying to control everyone that isn‘t in the “mythical norm” because you can never really measure up/fit in, be enough. (edited) 3y
staci.reads I also loved "For women, the need and desire to nurture each other is not pathological but redemptive, and it is within that knowledge that our real power is rediscovered. It is this real connection which is so feared by a patriarchal world." It's that whole 'divide and conquer' theme that she keeps trying to get across. We have to stop letting our diversity divide us. 3y
staci.reads I was also blown away by her comments about poetry being the most economical form of art, and therefore often the means used for the "voice of the poor, working class, and Colored women." It had never even occurred to me that art is divided by classlines and availability of materials. 3y
Riveted_Reader_Melissa @staci.reads Yes! I thought that point was so good. It takes a lot of time and economic security to be able to sit and write a book, verses scraps of paper for poetry 3y
Riveted_Reader_Melissa Such a great distinction, and so important to what is considered “important” works being all from a certain privileged group. 3y
Riveted_Reader_Melissa @staci.reads The part about women nurturing women also harkened back to her earlier essay about about them trying to demonized the strong black woman/matriarchs…because finding support elsewhere, outside the system, it threatening to the system. 3y
ravenlee Having said that I didn‘t connect as easily this week and it felt repetitive, every time I read one of y‘alls‘ comments I‘m nodding and agreeing…so maybe I‘m just not able to communicate it as clearly as all y‘all this week. 😆 3y
Riveted_Reader_Melissa @ravenlee It was a deep and sometimes hard to read section, but yet we all found things that we related too. So it‘s both 3y
Riveted_Reader_Melissa @MallenNC yea, Hood Feminism is next, and I think that might be a great, if accidental, pairing. The past and current, same issues. (edited) 3y
rjsthumbelina I'm glad y'all found this section a little hard to process, too! She had SO MUCH to say in these that it was overwhelming, at times. Especially bc it's all stuff that's still so relevant. I am reading it via ebook, and I highlighted something at least once per page! 3y
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ravenlee
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For anyone else who‘s been confused by the “woman-identified woman” that keeps popping up in the essays, I found this:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Woman-Identified_Woman

#SheSaid @Riveted_Reader_Melissa

Riveted_Reader_Melissa Thank you for sharing this. I‘ve been reading woman-identified woman as trans women. 🤦‍♀️ (edited) 3y
ravenlee @Riveted_Reader_Melissa I was trying to figure it our from context and there were just too many possibilities. When I finally googled it and found this answer it made a big difference! 3y
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mandarchy
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The audio book wasn't working for me and I got behind in my reading for #shesaid so I hit the bookstore. The Kerouac books are because someone loaned me copies 10 years ago. Don't loan me books unless you are a library.

Reign_5.0 Lol. That was hilarious, "don't loan me a book unless you're a library." At least you were honest 3y
Riveted_Reader_Melissa I have the same problem. And yes, I went to text too, the audiobook needs to be redone with a new narrator. 3y
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Riveted_Reader_Melissa
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Sorry for the delay this morning (afternoon now) #SheSaid

How‘s everyone doing with this week‘s sections. I‘m finding them all applicable, even if they weren‘t originally to apply to me, if that makes sense.

Riveted_Reader_Melissa I really liked that she dissected why the black matriarch was vilified (might be before the time of some of you, but a rise in single moms and “welfare queens” was the big boogie man in the 80‘s, responsible for the crack epidemic and gangs and troubled youth….nevermind that it was the gov‘t war on drugs imprisioning, the police policing crack more than cocaine, and the Iran Contra scandal shipping in the drugs 🙄 sorry, long history)…but I ⤵️ 3y
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Riveted_Reader_Melissa ↪️ really appreciated that she took up how that vilification of women, single women, head of household women was absorbed into the communities and it‘s effects. 3y
Riveted_Reader_Melissa And I found a lot that could be applicable to me, a single aunt, raising a nephew….and how those are often the catch all‘s of families. 3y
Riveted_Reader_Melissa And more on the in fighting between women and men, I may be a white lady, but as the catch all single daughter/sister/aunt you are expected to help everyone, emotionally and with unpaid labor…both elder care and child care….and yet also resented for interfering (basically being there and having a voice because you are on the ground and know what‘s going on 🙄). 3y
ravenlee @Riveted_Reader_Melissa I just recently read Freakonomics, which introduced me to some of this rhetoric for the first time, so I found that section this week really interesting. It was a direct experience to compare to the after-the-fact summarizing I‘d already read. Also, I follow Heather Cox Richardson‘s history/current events synopses on Facebook and she‘s had some good analysis of that era‘s politics. 3y
ravenlee I am just constantly amazed at how current and applicable Lorde‘s writing is. I wish I‘d read this years ago, but I‘d still be reading this and getting something different out of it. I keep recommending it to people in my life - reading as prescription medicine, you know? I‘m telling my mom she needs to read this essay, and my friend these sections. The Man Child essay should be read by all parents/guardians/caretakers. 3y
Riveted_Reader_Melissa @ravenlee Yes. I‘m thinking this should be one you revisit/reread every 5-10 years, because what you get out of it grows and changes depending on what stage of life you are going through….yet it‘s all still applicable to the lives of women. 3y
Riveted_Reader_Melissa @ravenlee I‘m going to have to read Freakanomics. 3y
ravenlee I found Freakonomics interesting (if a bit dated) but I‘m not sure I can agree with some of the conclusions drawn from the data. Especially in the section that has the “welfare queen” bits. I‘m glad I read it, but I wouldn‘t read it again. 3y
MallenNC Some of this was a bit above my head, but the main point I got was the importance of intersectionality. Black women need to be able to speak for Black women. My favorite of the section was the essay about raising her son. 3y
MallenNC This was a favorite quote from that essay, when she admits to her son that she was afraid as a kid: “It is an important step for a boy, whose societal destruction begins when he is forced to believe that he can only be strong if he doesn‘t feel, or if he wins.” 3y
Riveted_Reader_Melissa @MallenNC Yes… I thought that was a great quote too. And that we need to raise our boys to be men that we would want our daughters to interact with. 3y
Riveted_Reader_Melissa @ravenlee Have you read The New Jim Crow…that‘s where I learned a lot about how gov‘t criminalized a population, made it their fault, then made money off of their imprisonment, and then used that status to deny them rights. Great book. 3y
Riveted_Reader_Melissa @MallenNC About parts feeling above your head, I feel that way sometimes too, that‘s why I‘m thinking it would be great to revisit overtime, as you learn more, more might click or be applicable. 3y
vlwelser I wrote down this quote, "Freedom and future for Blacks does not mean absorbing the dominant white male disease of sexism." I wish this was no longer relevant. I wish more people read books like this. I wish more people listened to Audre Lorde when she was still here to respond. And I also wish there were many more Audre Lordes in the world. 3y
vlwelser Just 1 last thing. Am I the only one that had to google Adrienne Rich? Her name came up in another book I was reading this week. Sometimes I feel like I grew up under a rock and I've been playing catch up ever since. 3y
Riveted_Reader_Melissa @vlwelser I completely understand that! I think it‘s because we are taught such a narrow view of history and literature (mostly western, European, & white) so there is so much that feels completely unknown to us. Which is sad. (edited) 3y
tenar @vlwelser I‘ve had to look up almost every name and place in this book, and I feel the same! But I suppose it‘s a sign I‘ve stepped outside a bubble and am learning something new. 3y
tenar Her open letter to Mary Daly felt relevant to me as a white reader. Touched on concepts that‘ve been brought up by black authors since the recent rise in popularity of the anti-racism reading list. Not just what am I reading, but how and why? Am I going to Black authors looking for different things, separate from a standard that is whiteness? Especially, am I looking for evidence of tragedy? Am I still ‘othering‘? Here‘s some I highlighted: 3y
tenar “Have you read my work, and the work of other black women, for what it could give you? Or did you hunt through only to find words that would legitimize your chapter … the assumption that the herstory and myth of white women is the legitimate and sole herstory and myth of all women to call upon for power … and that nonwhite women and all her stories are noteworthy only as decorations, or examples of female victimization.” 3y
ravenlee I haven‘t yet, but I need to. Like so many, it‘s on my list. 3y
rjsthumbelina I loved the last 2 in this section most. I found the essay about raising her son so relatable, even as a woman in a straight (passing, at least) relationship. I have struggled with what I want my son to believe and who I want him to be (and he's only a year old!) And the conversation with Adrienne Rich covered SO MUCH ground 3y
KathyWheeler I really loved her conversation with Adrienne Rich and well as the essay about raising her son. My son is white and I‘m in a straight relationship, but I also struggled with what I hoped my son could learn from me and his father. The Uses of the Erotic essay didn‘t resonate with me at all though. Maybe, ironically, it was too abstract? 3y
MallenNC @tenar I marked that quote in the letter to Mary Daly too. So often people pick and choose quotes that reinforce what they already think without reading (or caring) about the full context. 3y
KathyWheeler I loved, in the interview with Rich, where she talks about teaching as the only way learning really happens. I found that was true for me when I was teaching English— that what I thought about grammar and story only really crystallized for me when I was teaching, not when I was a student. 3y
KathyWheeler @MallenNC Yes! And because they completely ignore the context, they‘ve used that quote to support something that is the exact opposite of what the quote really means. (edited) 3y
Riveted_Reader_Melissa @KathyWheeler I found the erotic one hard to wrap my head around at first too, because we are so socialized to think of erotic as sexual, and what I got was she was referring to it as things that give us pleasure (even if it‘s reading) embracing those things that give us joy (even if it‘s just music) and not being talked out of them because they are “selfish” desires for ourselves, instead of women‘s work to benefit everyone else….sort of ⤵️ 3y
MallenNC @KathyWheeler yes! This happens with Martin Luther King Jr. quotes all the time. 3y
Riveted_Reader_Melissa ↪️find what gives you joy and go with that, make time for that and you and things that feel right to you. 3y
KathyWheeler @Riveted_Reader_Melissa I think that was my issue as well; I just had such a difficult time separating it from the sexual and she didn‘t define the erotic as things that give you joy that weren‘t necessarily sexual until later in the essay. 3y
KathyWheeler @MallenNC Perfect example! 3y
ravenlee @rjsthumbelina I was thinking that conversation was EVERYWHERE! And then I thought, imagine the full three hours! 🤯 3y
ravenlee @KathyWheeler @Riveted_Reader_Melissa I agree - I ended up really liking the Uses of the Erotic essay, but I had to go back to the beginning after she got to the point of defining erotic as anything that supports feelings of love and self-worth. It changed the entire context and I feel like it needed to be much earlier. 3y
KathyWheeler @ravenlee Maybe if I reread it, I will like it better. I agree that her definition needed to appear much earlier in the essay. 3y
staci.reads @Riveted_Reader_Melissa @ravenlee I agree. I know I'm getting something entirely different from it now than I would have 10 or 20 years ago. 3y
staci.reads @vlwelser you are not the only one who had to Google her. I had never heard of her before either 3y
staci.reads @MallenNC I underlined that quote as well. The "only if he wins" stopped me cold. 3y
staci.reads @MallenNC @tenar The open letter was my favorite section, especially the line you quoted. I found myself wondering if Mary Daly ever responded, and it turns out she did...before the open letter was published. https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://feminismandreligion... 3y
staci.reads This quote from the open letter hit hard too... " I had decided never again to speak to white women about racism. I felt it was wasted energy because of destructive guilt and defensiveness, and because whatever I had to say might better be said by white women to one another at far less emotional cost to the speaker, and probably with better hearing." 3y
tenar @staci.reads Wow! That‘s incredibly interesting, thank you for sharing. I am not really familiar with Mary Daly, but I respect how she responded to Lorde, as the open letter was a rather stinging critique. But I also feel glad I got to read it, for all these powerful lines and food for thought! I wish they would have had more fruitful interactions. 3y
Riveted_Reader_Melissa @staci.reads Right! Great quote! 3y
Riveted_Reader_Melissa @staci.reads Wow! Thanks for posting that response letter! It‘s also very good. Makes me wonder if they crossed in the mail (so to speak), was one letter sent off to the publisher before the other arrived…like how did that snafu happen. Although, I‘m glad it did, both letters are excellent. Now I have a new answer when asked, who dead or alive famous would you want to have dinner with (pick these two ladies and just sit back and watch)! 3y
Riveted_Reader_Melissa @staci.reads @vlwelser I want to say Rich was mentioned in something else we‘ve read. Maybe Well-Read Black Girl? I have the name jotted down on my list to to read already from somewhere, but haven‘t read any of her work yet. 3y
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Singout

THIS: as true now as in 1979.
“I had decided never again to speak to white women about racism. I felt it was wasted energy because of destructive guilt, and defensiveness, and because whatever I had to say might better be said by one white woman to another at far less emotional cost to the speaker and probably with a better hearing.” #SheSaid

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Singout

It is for black men to speak up and tell us why and how their manhood is so threatened that women should be the prime targets of their justifiable rage. What correct analysis of this capitalist dragon in which we live can justify the rape of black women by black men?....Why isn‘t that male rage turned upon those forces that limit his fulfillment, namely, capitalism? #SheSaid

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Riveted_Reader_Melissa
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Since I don‘t think anyone else shared this quote from last week, I decided to post it. As children & women are put into more & more danger situations (whether it‘s climate, COVID rules, legal abortion limits, gun violence) it‘s important to remember that no matter how much other humans might try to shut us down with over talking, ignoring, shouting us down, trolling….being quiet in our separate corners doesn‘t make us more safe.
#SheSaid

Singout That reminds me of the wisdom of Ta-Nehisi Coates in Between the World and Me. 3y
BarbaraTheBibliophage Yaaasssss. She is so wise. 3y
Suet624 An important truth. 3y
ravenlee This actually reminds me of Lord of the Rings - I don‘t know the exact wording, but the women of Rohan having learned long ago that those who do not fight by the sword can still die by it. 3y
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Singout

#SheSaid I just finished the essay about barriers to women and loving and found it intriguing: as a white person I can‘t fully understand the barriers, and don‘t know what form the take now with more emphasis on intersectionalism, but I like how she challenges the horizontal barriers among women or Black people, and instead pushes people to look at sexism, homophobia, and racism as being fundamental elements to oppression of queer black women.

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mandarchy
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I transcribed this from the audio, so omitted the page number and punctuation. It occurred to me that some of us in the world have the privilege to question. It reminds me to be more intentional as a teacher to teach and appreciate questioning. #SheSaid

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MallenNC
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From this week‘s section of our #SheSaid book club pick. Two of us mentioned how this quote felt like a mission statement for our group. Thanks to @Riveted_Reader_Melissa for keeping us reading women‘s voices.

tpixie Great quote! 3y
Riveted_Reader_Melissa Thank you! It‘s a group effort that would never have been possible without this great group! 3y
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Riveted_Reader_Melissa
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A group of very different speeches and essays this week, I found them all moving in different ways. What spoke to you this week #SheSaid ?

I particularly found myself thinking, not enough has changed since these were written…they feel just as current today, which is sad…you would have hoped we‘d have made more progress in the years since these were written. The one about Silence struck me too, made me think about #MeToo and that the more ⤵️

Riveted_Reader_Melissa ↪️ we open up and talk about our issues, the more in common we find they are, and the more they unite us. (edited) 3y
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Riveted_Reader_Melissa @batsy & @WomanistBibliophile I wasn‘t sure if you two wanted tagged in the discussions or not, so feel free to jump in if you want to. 3y
tenar I don‘t know if #SheSaid is in need of a mission statement, but I felt like Lorde wrote one in The Transformation of Silence! “And where the words of women are crying to be heard, we must each of us recognize our responsibility to seek those words out, to read them and share them and examine them in their pertinence to our lives.” I found what she said in that section about not letting our differences limit what we read and teach powerful. 3y
BarbaraTheBibliophage Whoops! I need to pull out my copy and catch up!! 3y
MallenNC @tenar I marked that same quote and thought it fit #SheSaid so well. I‘ve always read a lot of women authors but this group has helped me expand that to nonfiction. The quote shows why that‘s important. 3y
MallenNC This was my first time reading Audre Lorde. She‘s always been just someone who is quoted, so it is great to be able to put those quotes in context. The first one I found in this section that I had heard before was “Your silence won‘t protect you.” I didn‘t know it‘s context until this. I also noticed the quote @tenar mentions. I didn‘t connect well with the Russia essay so I kind of wish this collection had opened with something else. 3y
Riveted_Reader_Melissa @tenar That was so powerful too. In an age where it feels a bit insensitive to teach things that don‘t come from our wheelhouse/our background, it‘s important to remember if we don‘t open ourselves up to other perspectives, if we don‘t seek them out, and to go there and read/learn, we may never hear them at all. In some ways it also works to silence voices. If only someone of that particular background can teach it, and we don‘t learn about ⤵️ 3y
Riveted_Reader_Melissa ↪️ until they are hired….then we also won‘t see the need for hiring diverse teachers because no one knows of any of their work or scholarship or basic input. 3y
Riveted_Reader_Melissa @MallenNC @tenar I love that you both thought about our group. And on a side note, this month and week marks our 1year Anniversary of our first book and discussion for #SheSaid 💙 3y
MallenNC @Riveted_Reader_Melissa That‘s awesome! I missed the very first book but I‘ve read everything since. The group has helped me move a lot of books off my TBR. 3y
ravenlee @tenar @Riveted_Reader_Melissa that section made me think that the key to teaching these works is to present them as works to study without being the expert. If the teacher can be humble and honest about not having all the answers, but let‘s ask the questions anyway, it can be done. The problems come from trying to claim expertise in someone else‘s experience. 3y
Riveted_Reader_Melissa @MallenNC Yes, The Russia section was good, but a tough start. I‘ve had the privilege to travel out of county once (still to an English speaking country) and could relate to it in the way you trust your instincts more, and read more what isn‘t being said, and notice it more when you‘re out of your comfort area. Something we need to try to tap into more even within our own comfort circles, instead of being on auto-pilot. But any travel is ⤵️ 3y
Riveted_Reader_Melissa ↪️ such a privileged thing and not open to many, no matter how global we become. 3y
Singout I‘m only partway through the Russia essay: I like the intro with the strong old Russian woman and the return to the significance of her medals: like a scene in The Salt Path where an elderly local tells the main character she has “salt” in her. I‘m having a harder time connecting with some of the other content in that essay so far, and the language seems more formal and detached than I was expecting. 3y
tenar @Riveted_Reader_Melissa Yes, same. I like a lot about movements reminding us to reflect on where our portrayals come from, like #OwnVoices for example, but I agree with what Audre wrote, too, to not let our differences silo us off from each other. I liked her example- if a modern teacher can teach Plato, is there excuse in difference to not teach a Black writer, or any writer? I think @ravenlee you hit the nail on the head on how to navigate this! 3y
Deblovestoread I didn‘t get through our whole section but was struck by in choosing silence “I would still have suffered and I would still die” put a great perspective on my fear of speaking out. This is my introduction to Lorde and I am grateful. I will be caught up by next Sunday. 3y
KathyWheeler @tenar I agree — and she doesn‘t remain abstract in her thought either, pointing out that saying you can‘t teach the work of people different from you doesn‘t work because everyone had been teaching white men forever without have their same experiences. It can be done. 3y
tenar @Riveted_Reader_Melissa @MallenNC I can‘t believe it‘s been a year! That‘s amazing. Thank you for introducing me to so many great books and for all the thoughtful discussions 💙 3y
KathyWheeler I loved the part in the last section where Lorde talks about horizontal hostility as a technique for dividing people & avoiding the real question. We see it all the time; the meme asking why Narcan is free for drug addicts but insulin is not free for diabetics avoids the question of “why don‘t we have a healthcare system that provides both?” and pits two powerless people against each other instead of uniting them to fight the real enemy. (edited) 3y
MallenNC @KathyWheeler Yes! Horizontal hostility was not a term I had heard before but that method of division is definitely common now. 3y
Riveted_Reader_Melissa @KathyWheeler Yes! I thought she did a great job there dismantling the US vs Them dynamic used to divide so many groups with common cause for so long….and we see it again and again and again. That‘s a great current example too! 3y
ravenlee @KathyWheeler @MallenNC yes! We see that a lot with working-class Americans who are worried about immigrants “stealing” their jobs, instead of fighting against the corporations that take advantage of cheap labor and hoard the profits instead of paying fair wages and benefits. 3y
MallenNC @ravenlee Yes! That‘s another example that defines a lot of the current political divide. 3y
ravenlee I was really moved by a lot of what I read - in fact, I‘m off to buy my own copy today because I see myself coming back to this a lot. I already recommended it to a friend who‘s in a creative writing MFA program now, and to another who‘s a breast cancer survivor and going through some personal strife. Lorde speaks truth poetically and powerfully. 3y
ravenlee The section about why women need poetry had a paragraph that made me think of Amanda Gorman, about the white fathers making poetry a wordplay exercise but women, especially Black women, keeping poetry as a truth from the soul. 3y
mandarchy I waited too long to get the Kindle ed so I'm listening to an audio version. This makes it really hard because I don't focus well. 😕 I loved the Russian piece because we and Russia have changed so much since 1976 and her reaction to Russia feels threatening, like now she's a Comi-pinko-fag (authentic insult McCarthy era). It made me nervous because she put her credibility on the line. I'm not sure if that's accurate (my feelings). 3y
vlwelser It's funny but the one that stuck with me was the one about Russia. Her thoughts on universal healthcare were pretty insightful and it's a bit different from other things we have read. Of course the thoughts on silence were also probably pretty unusual at the time this was written. 3y
mandarchy But like @KathyWheeler , the expression horizontal hostility stuck out. So much media presents women behaving badly toward other women. You hear about mean girls. I think we need to work on that, especially in these divisive times. 3y
Riveted_Reader_Melissa @ravenlee Yes! That poetry section! It was very moving to me too. And I find it true even now with some of the poetry I like, women poetry that is more about feeling than form…like Amanda Lovelace and Rupi Kaur (edited) 3y
Riveted_Reader_Melissa @mandarchy YES! For the time it was written, her saying anything at all positive about Russia. Even just that they have at least solved the bread problem, or medical care problem I‘m sure put her on A LOT of political lists. Now it‘s apparently acceptable to love Russia, while still hating communists/socialist (a whole political party seems to have embraced this dichotomy) , but then…. VERY dangerous. 3y
Riveted_Reader_Melissa @mandarchy I picked up the audiobook version from the library too and was switching back and forth between that and my ebook version…and I don‘t know if we have the same narrator, but yes, she‘s a bit dry. This one really would benefit from an actress, better more passionate, re-recording. (edited) 3y
Riveted_Reader_Melissa @vlwelser Yes, crazy that‘s still an issue….decades later and we still haven‘t managed to solve the bread or healthcare issues in the US. 3y
Riveted_Reader_Melissa @vlwelser I also found the imagery of all the students on break going down to pick the cotton very interesting! I‘m also reading 400 Souls and the juxtaposition between the white plantation owners “needing” slavery for cotton and this were stark. Even in the time this was written much of our cotton I‘m sure was still picked by African American‘s probably prison labor, arrested & leased under Jim Crow. 😬 3y
vlwelser The other thing I thought was interesting was her description of women doing jobs that men might normally do. That was probably unusual to her back in the 70s or whenever she wrote this. 3y
vlwelser Four Hundred Souls is amazing. I think everyone should read it. 3y
rjsthumbelina I most connected with the sections about poetry and silence. Both very moving to me. I thought that it was interesting that Lorde touches on so many different topics in her writing - she pretty much runs the gamut on what are, still, the big contemporary issues 3y
rjsthumbelina @Riveted_Reader_Melissa I made the same connection to 400 Souls when the students picking the cotton on break got brought up! 3y
Riveted_Reader_Melissa @rjsthumbelina I‘m sure it caught her attention as noteworthy, and interesting enough to write down for the same reason it caught ours….the students on break and festive/party atmosphere. She was there for a writers conference, but also talked to groups about oppressed peoples, so she knew the US‘s history very well, most likely better than I ever will, and from personal experience. 3y
staci.reads @tenar I underlined that part as well and thought how perfectly that summarizes the purpose of #shesaid! 3y
staci.reads @MallenNC first-timer here as well. I've sent her referenced in many other pieces, but have never read her work. 3y
staci.reads "...for it is not difference which immobilizes us, but silence. And there are so many silences to be broken." This passage spoke to me as a human amd as an educator. 3y
staci.reads Also loved "Poetry is the way we give name to the nameless so it can be thought." Just, wow. 3y
Karisa @staci.reads Those are beautiful quotes! I was just talking with one of my students last week about why we study poetry and stories. The student declared that only math is somewhat important. 😅 Maybe I should share some parts of the essay with her. 3y
Karisa @Riveted_Reader_Melissa Regarding the students on break picking cotton: I was talking with another mom last year who‘d grown up in the Soviet Union about that. She said they‘d often work the fields as teenagers and it was very hard. She had mixed feelings about it. She seemed to not like the practice but also kind of wish her son (born in the US) had experienced that kind of hard, productive work. It‘s interesting 3y
mandarchy Students picking cotton follows the idea of tracking them into professions early in a similar way as the U.S., but more transparent. It may have been decided by 6th grade which students would go to college. Then to maintain the sense of equality they had those students do “service“. We do this by requiring students to do service credits to graduate, but our students get to select the service. Equality was attempted, never achieved in Communism. 3y
mandarchy Another thing to remember about the 1976 when these speeches were presented. In 1976 a single woman could not get a mortgage in the United States. A father or husband would have been required to obtain a mortgage. Women had just started receiving credit, but not much. Some jobs could still require skirts in their dress code and women had to wear nylons - no bare legs at work or formal setting. Anyone else think of rights we've gained since '76? 3y
Singout What staying with me now that I finished the Russian essay is the courage of naming that some elements of socialism can be effective, contrasting things like healthcare and a baseline of economic security with the US. In my very brief time in Cuba I observed the same things. I also liked that she was visiting and described Uzbekistan, not only Russia, and explored the diversity of cultures in the former USSR. 3y
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KathyWheeler
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Settling in to read for a bit today. #SheSaid

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mandarchy
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Currently listening to Notes from a Trip to Russia. #SheSaid

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ravenlee
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The white fathers told us: I think, therefore I am. The Black mother within each of us - the poet - whispers in our dreams: I feel, therefore I can be free.

Intersection of #SheSaid and #SophiesWorld reading. @GingerAntics @TheBookHippie

TheBookHippie 🤍 it keeps happening to me too!!! 3y
Riveted_Reader_Melissa I‘m reading with #SheSaid and #400Souls, and finding a lot of crossover too. 3y
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ravenlee
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I speak here of poetry as a revelatory distillation of experience, not the sterile word play that, too often, the white fathers distorted the word poetry to mean…

This makes me think of Amanda Gorman and her amazing poetry.
#SheSaid

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ravenlee
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What gets me about the United States is that it pretends to be honest and therefore has so little room to move toward hope. [talking about how we treat people, in general, racism and such]

Written in 1976, and look how far we haven‘t come.
#SheSaid

Ruthiella Yup. The denial is real. And taught to us at a young age. 3y
Riveted_Reader_Melissa Yes…that‘s really striking to me too! 3y
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MallenNC
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Saving this #SheSaid reading schedule here so I can find it later. I‘ve never read Audre Lorde so I am looking forward to our discussions.

mandarchy Thanks! This is a good reminder to get started. 3y
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Riveted_Reader_Melissa
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Just a reminder that we have Sister Outsider coming up next month #SheSaid, so if you haven‘t put in your library hold yet, you might want to start thinking about it.

See All 16 Comments
Christine Ooh, could I please be added the list? 3y
mandarchy Please add me to the list. I'm interested. I read this several years ago and so much has changed since then, I want to see how it resonates now. 3y
BarbaraTheBibliophage I‘m definitely in for this one. Listened to it years ago and hated the narrator. YMMV But now I own a print copy so will go with that one. 3y
rjsthumbelina I'm interested in this one! Can I be added to the list? 3y
rockpools Could I be added to the list too please? Thank you 😊 3y
Riveted_Reader_Melissa @Christine Yes you can! Welcome aboard! 3y
Riveted_Reader_Melissa @mandarchy I definitely will, I‘m curious about that too! So much changes, and yet so much sadly stays the same. 3y
Riveted_Reader_Melissa @BarbaraTheBibliophage a bad narrator can really ruin a whole book! 3y
Christine Yay, thank you! 3y
Riveted_Reader_Melissa @Christine You‘re very welcome! 3y
batsy An excellent book. 3y
WomanistBibliophile I love this book so much, one of my all time favourites that remains always fresh! 💖 3y
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MamaMastracci
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My June 2021 Reads. It‘s Pride month! 🏳️‍🌈 I only read LBGTQ+ authors this month and it was an excellent month of reading. ❤️
#June2021Reads
#PrideMonth
#LGBTQVoices

marleed Oh cool - what a great way to give tribute to this month! 3y
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AliD73
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AliD73
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review
Rachiiebookdragon
Pickpick

An intense book (read some on my e-book and listened to the rest by audiobook) 3.5/5 Read for #whateveryouwantathon and for the #readharderchallenge2021