Summary: Women Redefining Difference By Audre Lorde

Krista Kerrigan

Professor Cuevas-Reyes

WMGS 102-05

December 16, 2014

Final Exam

Part I:

Age, Race, Class, and Sex: Women Redefining Difference, is a powerful article written by Audre Lorde about the issues that women face in each of these categories. In the article, Audre Lorde describes herself as a, “forty-nine-year-old Black lesbian feminist socialist mother of two, and a member of an interracial couple,” (Lorde 114). She also confesses that she feels as though she is seen as a part of some group that is labeled as, “other, deviant, inferior, or just plain wrong,” (Lorde 114). Within these issues of age, race, class, and sex, Lorde focuses on Black and Third World women, and how they are oppressed in our society. She also discusses how women are constantly oppressed by males in our patriarchal society. She also touches on the fact that white women ignore their white privilege. She states that, “as white women ignore their built-in privilege of whiteness and define women in terms of

their own experience alone, then women of Color become other, the outsider whose experience and tradition is too alien to comprehend,” (Lorde 117.) If white women choose to ignore their white privilege, then nothing will change for women in our society.

To conclude her article, Lorde argues that in order to gain equality, women must, “recognize differences among women who are our equals, neither inferior nor superior, and devise ways

to use each others’ difference to enrich our visions and our joint struggles,” (Lorde 122). To gain equality, there has to be change and acceptance of everyone regardless of our differences.
White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Backpack is a compelling article written by Peggy McIntosh about White privilege in our society. She begins the article by explaining that male privilege often goes unacknowledged, as does white privilege. She argues that she only used to see the disadvantages of racism, and not the advantages that she had because she is white. She argues this idea by stating that, “I realized I had been taught about racism as something which puts others at a disadvantage, but had been taught not to see its corollary aspects, white privilege, which puts me at an advantage,” (McIntosh 1). Throughout the entirety of this article, she begins to realizes all of the privileges that she has as a white person in society. She ends by arguing that white privilege needs to be talked about and discussed in our society, people need to open up their eyes to the fact that white privilege exists, or our society will see no change.
The two articles, Age, Race, Class, and Sex: Women Redefining Difference and White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Backpack share some similarities in their purpose of the arguments made. Both of these articles have strong arguments to back up their ideas. The main similarity they share is that they argue about white privilege in today’s society, and how it is ignored because of ignorance or otherwise. In Audre Lorde’s article, she argues this idea by stating that, “ignoring the differences of race between women and the implications of those differences presents the most serious threat to the mobilization of women’s joint power,” (Lorde 117). Ignoring the differences in women when dealing with white privilege is detrimental to women and their fight for equality. In the article, White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Backpack, McIntosh argues the idea of white privilege being prominent in our society today by stating that, “I think whites are carefully taught not to recognize white privilege, as males are taught not to recognize male privilege,” (McIntosh 1). White privilege is not something that is taught and understood, rather it is something that is ignored. In both articles, the argument is made that White privilege is something that is not talked about, it is not something that some people in society do not recognize.
While the articles by Audre Lorde and Peggy McIntosh have some similarities in their discussion of White privilege, they also have some differences.

Audre Lorde’s article did not primarily focus on White privilege, it focused on other topics as well, such as oppression, age, race, sex, and class differences in women. On the other hand, Peggy McIntosh’s article primarily focused on White privilege in today’s society, and what privileges she has as a White women. Another difference in these articles is that Age, Race, Class, and Sex: Women Redefining Difference was written Audre Lorde who is a Black women, and White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Backpack was written by Peggy McIntosh who is a White

women.
In my opinion, both of these articles were beautifully written. They possessed strong arguments that provoked my emotions. I felt strongly about each argument being made in each of these articles. However, I believe that Peggy McIntosh’s White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Backpack possessed a slightly stronger argument. I believe this because I think that in order for White privilege to disappear from society, White people need to acknowledge that White privilege exists, and it is a problem. I think this article sends a powerful message regarding this topic because the author is White and acknowledging that White privilege exists in our society. The first step to change is admitting that there is a problem, and change will only be seen if everyone comes together to distinguish this privilege, and fight for equality.
As for myself, I do believe that I possess some privileges in relation to race and class, but not gender. A privilege that I possess in regards to race is that I am a White. Because of my race, I automatically have privilege in my society, even though I do not agree with it. In regards to class, I would identify myself as middle class, and I have more privilege than those who are not as fortunate as I am. I do not think I have privilege in regards to gender because I am a female and we live in a patriarchal society.
Part II:
Throughout the course of this semester, this class, Intro to Women and Gender Studies, has helped me grow has an individual, but mostly importantly, as a strong, independent women. I considered myself a feminist before coming into this class in the Fall, but this class has helped me strengthen my views and extend my knowledge of what being a feminist truly means. In this class, I have gotten the opportunity to learn and grow by hearing my classmates’ views, ideas, and opinions on what we discussed in class. I got the chance to know them and see them grow as people too.
Through our classroom discussions, I was able to be open-minded to other people’s ideas and apply them to my own life and what we were learning in class. These discussions gave an opportunity for me to broaden my philosophies and beliefs. I was given the chance to hear new ideas that I had never heard before.
In this class, I have further learned about the inequalities in our country. In the past two years, I have become aware of the inequalities that are present in our country, however, in this class we have further discussed these inequalities. Before this class I did not realize how bad the inequalities in this country are not only in men and women, but with white people and people of color, in heterosexuals and homosexuals, etc.
If given the opportunity, I would like to discuss some of the ideas that we learned about in class, to people that I surround myself with. I think this class is very important for people to take because many people have the wrong idea of what feminism means and what it stands for. I think people need to be educated on this topic because feminism is still something that we need today, the fight for equality is not over, and we need every one to help fight for change.
Part III:
“Work of Artifice” is a poem written by Marge Piercy. At a first glance, the poem appears to be about a Bonsai tree that grew throughout its course of life in a pot. Taking a closer look at the poem, the Bonsai tree was ruined by the gardener. It was ruined by the gardener because he was trying to “fix” the tree to fit to his own idea of beauty. To go into a more in depth meaning to this poem, it can be related to society as well, seeing as our society is constantly nitpicking at people for how they look and constantly trying to change them to fit their own idea and standard of beauty.
In Piercy’s poem, the gardener is trying to mold the tree into something that the tree is not, and something that they gardener perceives as beautiful. The beginning of the poem represents the potential that they Bonsai tree could have had, just as the potential that women have to grow into their own person and grow to love themselves, before society takes that away from them. The potential is represented by the lines in which Piercy writes, “The Bonsai tree/in the attractive pot/could have grown eighty feet tall/on the side of the mountain/till split by lightning/but a gardener/carefully pruned it” (1-7). By these lines, the gardener did not allow the tree to reach its full potential, just as society does to women at a very young age. Society does not give young girls and women the chance to blossom into who they are and who they want to be. Society is constantly putting pressure on women to change and conform to society’s standards of what is perceived as beautiful.
In the next lines of the poem, I interrupted that the gardener was putting down the tree and being condescending towards it, just as society does to women. I interrupted it this way because Piercy writes, “every day as he/whittles back the branches/the gardener croons/it is your nature/to be small and cozy/domestic and weak/how lucky, little tree/to have a pot to grow in” (9-16). This is demonstrating how the gardener is tearing down the confidence that the tree has and belittling the tree, just as society does to girls at a young age. Society tells us that we are not pretty, thin, or smart enough, and that we need a man to support us in life. Society tells us that we cannot be successful on our own and we should be “lucky” and “thankful” to have a man take care of us, when this is not anywhere near the truth. Women are capable of being strong, independent, and successful in anything that they pursue.
The final, and perhaps, most striking lines of the Piercy’s poem are the last lines. To me, the last lines convey the idea that from a young age, society is constantly trying to influence and change girls to mold them into what they believe is “beautiful.” Piercy expresses this idea by writing, “with living creatures/one must begin very early/to dwarf their growth:/to bound feet,/the crippled brain,/the hair in curlers,/the hands you/love to touch/” (17-24). This shows that from a young age, society is constantly trying to change us from who we are and what we look like. They want to mold us into something that we are not, something that they believe is good enough, pretty enough, and smart enough. To me, these lines speak volumes because it shows how much of an impact society has on a girl’s confidence and self-esteem. When someone is constantly trying to change you because you are not good enough, most people eventually conform to that change.
Overall, I interrupted “A Work of Artifice” as a poem with a very strong and powerful message. It is not only about a Bonsai tree that is changed by the gardener, but it extends further than that, there is a deeper meaning. Taking a closer look, I believe that this poem relates to how society is constantly trying to change young girls and women to make them what they want them to be. They take away what little confidence they have from a young age, and eventually mold them to be what society perceives as beautiful, successful, and smart.

Works Cited
Lorde, Audre. Age, Race, Class, and Sex: Women Redefining Difference. Freedom, California: Crossing Press, 1984. Print.
Gowri, Kelly., and McIntosh, Peggy. “White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Backpack.” Women: Images and Realities, A Multicultural Anthology. Ed. Michael Ryan. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2011. Print.