The1986

Winner0f
BEFORE
COLTJMBUS
FOTJNDATION
AMERICAN
BOOK

ISBN 0-9i3175-03-x
ISBN 0-913175-18-8

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I his Bridge Called My Back intends to reflect an uncompromised

definition of feminism by women of color in the United States.
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Lontaining prose, poetry, personal narrative and analysis by

Afro-American, AsianAmerican,Latina, and Native Americarr
women, This Bridge Called My Back is divided into six powerful
sections.

CxruonnxPAssrHG
rNTHEsTREETS
The Rootsof Our Radicalism

ENrenrxcrHELrvEsoForHERs

Theory in the Flesh

Ailo wHeil You rEAvE,

TAKE YOURPICTURESWITH YOU
R a c i s mi n t h e W o m e n ' sM o v e m e n t

BErwsEnrHEuNEs
O n C u l t u r e , C l a s sa n d H o m o p h o b i a

Sppnxrrc rNToNGUEs

The Third World Woman Writer

El nuroozuRDo

The Vision

KITCHEN TABLE: Women of Color Press

Audre

The Master's Tools Will Never

Dismantle The Master's House
Commentsat "ThePersonaland the polincal,,panel
lSecondSexConference,October 29, jg7g)

Audre Lorde
I agreed to take part in a New york Uriversity Institute for
the
Humanities conference a year ago, rvith the understanding that
I
would be commenting upon papersdealing with the rore oi diflerc,rce
within the lives of american women; difference of race, sexr.ralitr.,
ciass,arrd age. For the abserrceof these colrsideratior.r,
*'"uk.,rr r,,,,l
feminist discussionof the personal and the political
It is a particular academic arrogance to assume a.y discussic_r'
.f
f e m i n i s t t h e o r y i n t h i s t i m e a n d i . t h i s p l a c ew i t h o u t e x a r , i n i . s . u r
many differences,and without a significant input frorn poo. ,.-o,,,",,,
black and third-world \A,omen,and lesbians.And yet I sianclhere ersa
black lesbian feminist, having been invitecr to comment n,itl.ri, tl.re
only panel at this conferencewhere the input of black fernirists and
lesbiansis represented.what this says about the vision of tl-risco.ferenceis sad, in a country where racisrn,sexismar-rdhor.ropl-robia
arc
inseparable.Tc read this progam is to assumethat lesbian arc-lblack
women have nothing to say of existentialisrn,the erotic, \vonreus
culture and silence, developing feminist theory, or heterosexualitv
and power. And what does it mean in personal and political ter'rs
when even the two black women rvho did present rrerewere literalll.
found at the iast hour? what does it mean."vhenthe tools of a r-iicrst
patriarchy are used to examine the fruits of that sarnepatriarchvl, It
means that only the most narro\\. perirnetersof cl.rangeare possiblc
and allowable.
The absenceof any considerati.n of lesbian consciousnessor the
consciousnessof third rn'orldwomen leavesa serious gap u'ithin this
conferenceand within the papers presented here. For exanrple,in a
paper on material relationshipsbetrveenwonlen, I u,as conscious.ri
an either/or model of nurturing which totally disrnissedmv kno*'ledge as a black lesbian. In this paper there was l)o exanrinatitrrr,f
mutuality between wornen, no systemsof shareclsupport, no inter.dependence as exists betrteer-ilesbiansand wornen-iclentiiiedrvourL.n.
Yet it is only in the patriarchal rnodel of nurturance tr-ratwonrer "r'hrr
attenrptto emancipateti.remselves
pay perhaprstoo high a price for the
results,"as this paper states.
For women, the need and desire to nurture eacl.rother is r-rotp.tlrtr'
l o g i c a lb u t r e d e m p t i v e ,a n d i t i s w i t h i n t h a t k n o w l e d g et h a t , , , . , .r c u l

|'(

Lorde

r'r'hichis so feared by
nowef is rediscovered.It is this real contlection,
Y6"iaViarcl-ral
r^,,orld.Por it is only r-rndera patriarchal structure that
is the only social power open to wonlen'
maternity
"-interd"p"t-tderlcl' between \{orlen is the only way to the freedorr-r
"I" "be",not in order to be used,but in order to be crc*hi.h ullo*t the to
betrveenthe passive"be"and the active"beingl'
is
a
diiference
aiive.rnis
lvomen is the
Advocating tl.rernere toleranceof difference between
o f t h e c r e a t i v ef u n c t i o no i d i f f e r d
e
n
i
a
l
i
s
t
o
t
a
l
I
t
a
r
e
f
o
i
l
l
i
s
n
r
.
srossest
tolerated,but seen
En." ir-tour lir.es.For difference'mustbe not merely
rvhich our creativity car-r
polarities bet'uveer.r
as a fund of r-recessary
for interdependnecessit,v
the
does
then
Only
dialectic.
a
like
sfark
b".orr]" unthreatening.Or]ly rvithirl that interdeperldencyof difto seek nert'
"n.y
fe.ent rt.et-tgths,acknorvlegedand equal, can the power
,,be"in the rvorld generate,as well as the couragearrd
ways to actii.ely
there are no charters'
sustenanceto act r'r'l'rere
within the interdependenceof n]utual (non-dominant) differences
liesthat securit;,rt'hich errablestts to clescendirlto the chaosoi knort'ledgeand return ,u{itl'rtrue visions of our future, along with the concoiritant power to effect those cl.rangeswhich can bring that future
into being. Difference is that ralr, and po$'erfr.rlconnection frotn
which onr persoltal porver is forged.
As women, rve have been taugl.rtto eitl.rerignore our clifferencesor
to viert, tlter.uas catlsesior separationand suspiciorl rather tharl as
forcesfor change.Withor.rtcor-nntunity,there is r.roliberation, or-rlythe
most vulnerable aud temporarV arlnistice betweetl an individr'laland
her oppression.But cornrnunity must t.totnleall a sheddingof our clifferences,nor the pathetic pret(rnsethat thesedifferencesdo rlot exist.
Those of us rt ho stand outsidetl.recircle of this society'sdefinition of
acceptablewolnen; t].roseof us rt'ho have been forged it'rthc crr'rciblesof
who are black'
difference;those of r-tsr'vhoare poor, r'r'hoare lesbierns,
It is learl.ring
rlol
academic.slrill.
arl
ts
sr/rvival
who are older, knorv that
and how to
reviled,
sonretimes
and
how to stand alone, unpopttlar
the strucoutside
as
iclentified
other
tl.rose
make commotl cause$,ith
wc call all flourish. lt
tures.in order to define artclseek a rvorld irl r,^,'hich
rnake thetlr strengths. Fc;rthe
is learning ho,uvto take our differences ar-rcl
tle t|:l- nlc.stershorse. Tliel' rllal' allorv us
masrcr'stcrolstlill /ieverdisrTlar?
but they r.t,illnever enablc us
temporarily to beat hi|r-rat his rlrt'n gar-r]e,
to bring about ger-ruinc
chanse.Anclthis iact is rtniv tllreatenirlcto those
wo.,l",] $,ho still define the master'shouse as their only source of
support.
Poor and third rvorld wontelt knorv there is a difference betn'ecn tlie
of n]arital slaVery arld
daily n]ar-rifestatior"rs
and de1-runtanizations
Iine 42ntl Street. The
lr.ho
prostitution, becar.rse
daughters
it is or.rr

100

IoI

Au,lt, 1.,,,.,,,

I'orde
Audre

oncesaid:
S i n r o n eD e B r ' a i l v o i r
] r i i , , , t h e k n o w l e d g eo f t h e g e n u i n ec o n d i t i o n so f o u r l i v e st h a t v V c
to live.and our reasonsfor acting'"
must drarv our streirgtll
irr tSis
t l o , l r o p n n b f aa r c r e a l c o n d i t i o ' s o f a l l o u r l i ' e s
nui'i'#uua
dee'p
thttt
htrt
reach drn'n
^tanedDd thls tllre t ttrge eacltonertf us hereto
P^:::;:;i,r"n,/cdse insid; hersel[anclktut'h that terrctr antl kwtling of att'';:;;;r,
personal as
thar IiJesthere' Seev'hosc faceil u'eat's Then the
l''cgil.lto illun'rinaieall our choices'
i,e politi.at can

Black panelists'observation about the effects of relative po\\'eflessness and the differences of relationship between black women ;1n6
rnen from white women alld nren illustrate some of our ultiquc problems as black feminists. If white american feminist theory necrl rrc-rr
deal with the differencesbetween us, and the resulting difference in
aspectsof our oppressions,then u,hat do you do r,t'iththe fact that the
women who clean yorlr housesand tend your children r,r,hilevoLlattend confereltceson feminist theory are, for the most part, poor ancl
third world women? What is the theory behind racist feminisnt?
In a world of possibility for us all, our personalvisions help lat' the
groundwork for political action. The failure of the academicferrinists
to recognize difference as a crucial strength is a faiiure to reach
beyond the first patriarchal lesson.Divide and conquer, in our n'orlcl
must become define and empower.
Why weren't other black women and third world lr,orneniounil ro
participatein this conference?Why were tlvo phone calls to ntc considereda consultation?Am I the only possiblesourceof namesof black
feminists?And although the black panelist'spaper ends on a irnportant
and powerful connectionof love between women, what about intcrracial co-operationbetween ferlinists who don't love each otherl
In academic feminist circles, the ansr,t'erto these questionsis often
'We
did not know who to ask."But that is the same evasionof responsi.
bility, the same cop-or.lt,that keepsblack r,r,omen's
art out of r,r'or.nen's
exhibitions,black women'swork out of rnostfeminist publicationscxcept for the occasional"SpecialThird World Women's Issue,"*ancl
black wornen'stexts off of your reading lists. But as Adrienne Rich
pointed out in a recent talk, white ferninistshave educatedthemselves
about such an enormous amount over the past ten years, ho\'v conre
you l'raven'talso educatedyourselvesabout black \\'omerl and the'clifferencesbetween lrs - white and black - when it is key tclour survival
as a movement?
Wornen of today are stiil being called upon to stretch acrossthe gap
of male ignorance, and to educate men as to our existenceand ottr
needs. This is an old and primary tool of all oppressorsto keep th.'
oppressedoccupied r,r'iththe master'sconcerns.Nor,t'we hear that it is
the task of black and third lt,orld womer.rto educatewhite women, ttl
the face of tremendousresistance,as to our existence,our differerrces,
our relative roles in our joint survival. This is a diversion of energies
and a tragic repetition of racist patriarchal thought.

.ConrJitiorr-s
o f B r o o k l y r . rN
, Y i s a n r a j o r e x c e p t i o n .l t h a s f a r r l v c o n s i s t c n t l vp u b l i s h t , i
t l . t ew o r k o f r , r ' o m c no f c o l o r b c f o r e i t u ' a s ' f a s h i o n a b l e ' t o d o s o . i e d i t o r ' sf o o t n o t . ' \