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Overview

Sister Outsider: Essays and Speeches is comprised of fifteen individual sections, each of them in the form of an essay or speech. The first section, “Notes From a Trip To Russia,” was compiled from notes Lorde took during a trip to the U.S.S.R., where she saw Moscow and Uzbekistan for herself. In her essays about these two cities, she compares them to other cities that she knows well—in particular New York City and Accra, Ghana—and ultimately remains ambivalent on whether life is better under capitalism or communism.

In this essay, Lorde explains how poetry is not a luxury but an essential part of life. She argues that poetry and emotion are just as important as rationality and logic, which are usually considered to be more valuable because they’re associated with men. Lorde thinks that the hierarchical view of these two categories is harmful to society.

“The Transformation of Silence into Language and Action” uses memoir as a starting point from which to wrestle with politics. Lorde talks about getting surgery for a tumor, and how that led her to realize the importance of speaking out and sharing your feelings. She says that when you do this, it can lead to personal catharsis as well as political action.

“Scratching the Surface: Some Notes on Barriers to Women and Loving” talks about homophobia in African-American communities. Lorde says that Black men are homophobic, which is based on sexism, and it’s harmful to the fight for racial justice. She argues that Black women are often encouraged to compete with one another for the attention of men instead of being friends with each other.

In “Uses of the Erotic: The Erotic as Power,” Audre Lorde argues that eroticism is not frivolous, but rather a powerful tool for self-understanding. She asserts that when a person recognizes their own desires and how they relate to them, it can lead to great personal growth and fulfillment in all areas of life. This makes eroticism an important force to be reckoned with politically and personally. In order to distinguish between pornography and erotica, she writes about the differences between the two: while porn is based on emotional sterility, erotica arises from deep personal feeling.

Sexism is a problem in America, especially for Black women. They face many different kinds of oppression that are unique to them and not faced by white women. This essay was written as a response to an article about how sexism affects black men, by Robert Staples. In this paper, Lorde argues that Black feminism isn’t threatening to black men because it’s necessary and based on the experiences of only black women. She also accuses Staples of believing in the same model of success (masculine dominance) that oppressors use against black people overall.

“An Open Letter to Mary Daly” is a response to an academic, this time from a Black feminist writer who respects and admires her. However, Lorde criticizes some of the ideas in Daly’s book Gyn/Ecology, such as how she ignores or minimizes the experiences of Black women. In particular, she takes issue with quotations that are taken out of context and seem like they’re pulled from one source but actually aren’t. She also connects these issues to recent violence against Black women in Daly’s city Boston, arguing that it stems from ignoring their stories and experiences.

Lorde’s writing takes a more personal approach in “Man Child: A Black Lesbian Feminist’s Response.” She talks about raising her son as a feminist and lesbian, knowing that he will grow up to be a man in a misogynistic society. However, she argues that being honest with him is the best way to raise him well-adjusted. She also advocates for feminism that tolerates men and boys, arguing that separatism is not helpful or radical.