In The Uses of Anger by Audre Lorde, the anger of African American women is the main focus. Lorde speaks widely about the topic of women holding in their anger instead of letting it be heard by others. Anger should never be held in because in the long run it is not helping you in any way. Lorde explains it more thoroughly in this quote: “My fear of that anger taught me nothing. Your fear of that anger will teach you nothing, also.” (287). Lorde is trying to explain that if you keep everything in and aren’t able to let it out and share with others, you will not accomplish, learn, or make a change in anything. Her story is an alternative, another way of teaching people how to deal with racism/sexism in different situations and circumstances.
Lorde speaks out, not only on African American women dealing with racism but also the way white women react to it. She tells a story about a time when a white child saw an African American child in a stroller and said “Oh look, Mommy, a baby maid!” the mother continued to shush the child but did not correct her in any way. This is one of the reasons why racism still goes on today. When the children are not reprimanded or educated on racism at a young age, they will still think it is not a problem when they grow up. “We have been raised to view any difference other than sex as a reason for destruction…” (282). This quote is true in the fact that people were raised racist and violent looking for differences to scrutinize people for, but I do not agree with how she says “other than sex”. I think plenty of people see the difference in sexes and use it to downplay women and many people have been raised to think so. I think its interesting how the narrator says this even though most of this excerpt is about black women being oppressed and holding in all of their anger because of it.
Lastly, Lorde speaks on how women were raised to deal with this anger. Basically they were raised and taught to not standup to people because of how they were treated back then. Shutting up and holding your anger in does not help anyone in any way. Lorde states “No tools were developed to deal with other women’s anger except to avoid it, deflect it, or flee from it under a blanket of guilt.” (283). Like stated earlier, women back then were told to just listen to the man, who was known as the higher up because of sexism, which still exists today but not to the same extent. Lorde is speaking on that in saying they never knew anything else besides to avoid their anger and keep it in because it would not help if they let it out. I agree with her statement in the fact that, this is how it was back in her day. Women today have become independent and are now able to stick up for themselves in any situation, especially a racist situation.
Questions:
- What do you think Lorde would have comprehended differently if she was living in the world today while writing this piece?
- Lorde emphasizes a huge point that holding in your anger and frustrations will get you nowhere. Do you believe that you should always speak out about your anger and frustrations, or is it sometimes better to keep it to yourself?
If Lorde lived in the world we lived in today while writing this piece, I would hope she would come to the conclusions that although our society for women with them feeling free to open their minds and say how they feel isn’t perfect, it should be considered a lot better than it was in the past. Lorde states, ” …and for Black women and white women to face each other’s angers without denial or immobilization or silence or guilt is in itself a heretical and generative idea.” (282), seemed useful as a quote because it is talking about how women need to stand up and say how they feel no matter what the topic is that they need to speak of, which is something that needs to be known but I found this quote interesting because I feel as though we do of course still have people with issues because of race but as a woman, I notice more often than not that it is more now just women fighting for their equality and their ways to be open rather than African American women fighting for the Equality with White Women.
I like to think that as a culture, we’ve progressed over time. I think that if Lorde was writing this in 2018 she wouldn’t have as many negative anecdotes. A quote that really caught my attention was when Lorde said “Mainstream communication does not want women, particularly white women, responding to racism. It wants racism to be accepted as an immutable given in the fabric of existence, like evening time or the common cold.” (281) As a white male I cant really speak for white women, but i disagree with this statement. I know when I hear something thats racist it makes me uncomfortable and makes me want to say something about it. That leads into your second question, is it good to hold in anger? The answer is no. If something bothers you enough to make you angry you should let it be known. Its hard to change something if you don’t know its an issue. This is applicable in all aspects of life. Communication is key.
I believe that if Lorde was writing this essay in today’s society, she would have changed her perspective on the need to turn anger into frustration and change. Lorde states, “My fear of that anger taught me nothing. Your fear of that anger will teach you nothing, also.” (287). This quote is not exactly transferrable to today’s society because women have more liberties now. There are not as many restrictions and striving for change is encouraged. I think that she still would’ve wanted women to find what they are angry about and strive for equality, but with less intensity. I believe that it is important to speak out about anger and frustrations, however it is sometimes better to hold them in. It is good to let out anger about unjust rules, but in certain situations it should be let out in a civil way. The only way to bring about change is to speak up and make a difference. In order to be effective, this should be done in situations where others can understand and agree with the problems being debated.
If Lorde was writing this piece in present day, she would have comprehended many ideas differently. Since 1997, many things have changed and I like to think that our society has also progressed. Lorde mentions how growing up, she was taught not to standup for herself. ” I have seen situations where white women hear a racist remark,
resent what has been said, become filled with fury, and remain silent,
because they are afraid.” (Lorde 280) I was born in 1998 and growing up, I was always taught to stand up for myself no matter the situation. Women are empowered from the feminist movement and I believe Lorde would also mention this if she was writing in present day.
Michael,
I thought your analysis of this essay was very thorough, and examined many of the key aspects the essay chose to focus on, one of which being society’s discomfort in dealing with a black women’s anger. This essay was written almost forty years ago and this point still remains true, evidenced by the media’s portrayal of Serena Williams’ loss to Naomi Osaka a few weeks ago. Williams’ defeat came after she was issued a code violation for receiving supposed coaching from the sidelines. She then was docked another point for breaking her racket, and then forfeited a game because she accused the chair umpire of lying (CBS). By the time the match was over, Williams, who has rarely, if ever, cried on the court, had tears in her eyes. The penalties being called against her were ones that would’ve never been uttered against some of her male counterparts. Last year, against the same ump, male tennis players swore at him, told him he was insane, that he didn’t know what he was talking about. One even said he refused to listen to what the umpire had to say (CBS). None of them received even half the penalties that Williams was given when defending herself.
After the game, media sources called her ‘outbursts’ ’embarrassing’ and ‘Unsportsmanlike’ (Atlantic). They made cartoons of her, depicted as a baby and drawn with Jim Crow style features. Earlier in your analysis, you brought up the quote, “No tools were developed to deal with other women’s anger except to avoid it, deflect it, or flee from it under a blanket of guilt.” (283). I think this explains why the media reacted in the way that they did, and proves why Lorde’s point is still relevant today. Instead of focusing on the unfair reasons that she lost, many outlets instead focused on her reactions to these reasons, the effect rather than the cause, choosing to avoid the root cause of her anger in favor of calling her a baby.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/serena-williams-u-s-open-loss-may-be-the-grossest-example-of-sports-sexism-yet/
https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2018/09/a-heart-breaking-grand-slam/569704/
You bring up a very interesting and perplexing topic, due to the controversy behind it. I believe if Lorde was writing this piece today, it would still have that same “anger” behind it, the anger would just be conveyed in a different manner depending on the similar, but different unfair treatment of women today. For example the wage gap or facing scrutiny for coming out about a sexual assault. I believe the more passionate time period of today would lead to Lorde becoming even more angry, being that Lorde was as spirited as she was even believing that, “anger is an appropriate reaction to racist attitudes, as is fury when the actions arising from those attitudes do not change” (6). Fury incites riots, which are very prominent today. I don’t necessarily believe Lorde herself would participate in those riots, but would justify them. I do believe that holding in your anger is needed at particular times. It shows true strength being able to control your emotions and sometimes when talking about problems with others it can just lead to frustration due to disagreement with someone’s anger or misinterpretation of someone’s situation.
I especially found your question of “What do you think Lorde would have comprehended differently if she was living in the world today while writing this piece?” interesting taking into account the current situation of our supreme court. I agree with most people, Lorde wouldn’t have as many negative feelings towards the oppression that continues in modern day. As a society, we’ve progressed from our racist background. A perfect example of this is when Lorde states, “I have seen situations where white women hear a racist remark, resent what has been said, become filled with fury, and remain silent, because they are afraid.” (280). In today’s world, racists remarks aren’t tolerated. I’ve seen multiple people–women or men–stick up for the minorities when they are under attack.
Addressing your last question, I’d like to bring up the situation currently happening with our supreme court. I completely agree that people should always speak up to what upsets them. However, as the news has portrayed it, society does not agree with me. Rather than addressing the issue of sexual assault, the issue of false allegations was brought up instead.
I do agree that all women, but specifically women of color, have made great strides. They now have the ability to speak up for themselves and no longer have to hold there anger in. I think if Lorde had written this piece now she may notice that this is the case. However, I also believe that she would notice the reactions to women’s anger. Although women can now express their anger, people don’t always know how to react. There is a tendency for people to look the other way one a woman is angry, blaming it on hormones or typical dramatic tendencies. It is a rare occasion when a woman’s anger is considered equally justified as a man’s. I believe this is all the more reason that women continue to express their anger, and to let it be known that their anger is justified.
In Lorde’s “The Uses of Anger” she defines racism as “The belief in the inherent superiority of one race over all others and thereby the right to dominance, manifest and implied.” This definition is shown in every day life here in the U.S and it is shown in these articles. The fact that women, and especially women of color have to overcome many more obstacles, and different ones than white women, is just the norm. But it is not a norm that should be accepted in a way that we can just become complacent with it. Education on these topics is key to changing the way things are. To answer your second question, I would say that it is better to speak out and educate yourself as best as you can in order to inform others as well.
I believe so much has changed since Lorde had first written these pieces. She goes into depth discussing how, during that time period, women of color were looked down upon and afraid to express their anger on racism and sexism. I feel as though if she were writing this piece in this time period, all of her claims would be proven true. Women today are always standing up for themselves, especially women of color. This goes into the second question. Lorde states, “it is not the anger of other women that will destroy us but our refusals to stand still, to listen to its rhythms, to learn within it, to move beyond the manner of presentation to the substance, to tap that anger as an important source of empowerment.” She is trying to show the power and uses of anger; hence the title. Lorde wants her readers to see that our refusal to use the anger as fuel to make accomplishments and obtain empowerment. I believe one should always stand up for themselves. Just because not everyone agrees with your opinion or claim, doesn’t mean that one should give up. Anger can be used to drive you to get you to where you want to be.
If Lorde were to live in this world today, it would be similar but also different. There is still racism, but at least not like how it was in her day. Today, I don’t think she would encounter a white child calling a black child a baby-maid. She would probably just see that white child stare at a black child constantly while looking amazed. Racism is still alive. It might not be as strong as it was back then, but it is still here. In terms of holding in anger for Black Women like myself, we kind of have to. Us holding in that anger we may have is unhealthy but I guess we are trying to protect our image. Most Black Women do not want to be looked as that “Angry Black Women”. When expressing our anger, we’re mostly like to be called “Ratchet”, “The B Word”, or even “Disrespectful” and other uncalled for things. So even though it is unhealthy to keep that anger in, it is also unhealthy to let it out.