Sister Outsider By Audre Lorde: An Analysis

Among all the justice related issues both Audre Lorde, author of “Sister Outsider,” and Alike, the protagonist from the movie Pariah address issues regarding sexual discrimination and racism. Both of these women are black, lesbian, females who operate as every other person but are seen as different due to their sexual orientation. Lorde expresses herself as being classified by others as deviant, inferior, or just plain wrong because she is lesbian (Pg. 114). Alike, as well as Lorde, endured the same dehumanizing language used against her by not only strangers but her own mother. All of this to show how similar and prevalent these women’s experiences still occur in the 21st century. Whether it be recognizing the issues of racism against blacks,
Now, considering both Lorde and Alike are black, lesbian, women, it is important to correlate their standing with current LGBT issues in the world today. For instance, the most interesting one being Mississippi’s religious freedom bill. To explain, this bill states that any business owner may deny service to people due to their sexual orientation if it acts against their religious beliefs. And although gay marriage is legal and their rights are being taken into consideration more than ever before, there are still states in the U.S.A that try and pass anti-gay laws, this being one of them. Moreover, many LGBT rioters are protesting this bill and now the legality of it will be soon be determined by the U.S. supreme court. In acknowledging this justice issue, it depicts how society still has not come to full terms with people who are LGBT. This being said, more people need to stand up and “Yes, I am a black lesbian (pg.132), as both Lorde and Alike have said. The constant battle between women and the barriers society places on them is still being fought. And although the rights of women have drastically changed, it is still disproportionate to those
This observation is of women as a whole when assessing black women, Aude Lorde says it best: “We have cared for whites because we had to pay for our survival; we have cared for our children and our fathers and our lovers (Pg. 62). In regards to Aude Lordes statement about the financial and physical hardship of not just women as a whole, but black women especially, it was shown in Pariah with the mother attending to her cheating husband, providing a motherly environment for her children, although it was not the best. Sexism sadly has yet to be abolished in the United States, and it is evident through the movie, Audre Lorde’s perspective, and it is still a modern day issue for which many feminists continue to strive for equality. In describing all of the current issues the modern day world has pertaining to women, it shows that for every step forward comes right back. Women still suffer wage difference, put up with racism, and above all encounter sexism far worse than men ever have. The efforts of society to, as Aude Lorde would say, control and