Will Never Dismantle The Master's House Lorde Analysis

In her address, “The Master’s Tools Will Never Dismantle the Master’s House (1979), Audre Lorde exposes racism and classism within the feminist movement. Lorde claims that as a result of feminists adopting the same method used by our patriarchal society of separating women by their differences, or ignoring them altogether, they were perpetuating oppression and failing to promote and accomplish change. While Lorde’s analysis was accurate at that time, and still permeates feminism to some degree, we have learned much from our mistakes. Our past shortfalls and the lessons we have learned from those deficiencies has shaped our progress toward unity and inclusion of all women. Although there is still much to work to be done, Lorde’s vision of unity for feminists when she says, “Define and conquer in our

That is, Feminists now strive to take into consideration how race, gender expression, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, religion, immigration status, and other axes of identity that impact women and inform their lived experiences. Intersectional feminism takes a detailed look at issues like income equality, gender equality, access to education, reproductive rights, oppression and violence affect all women differently. Trial and error has been a catalyst for change in the feminist movement. Adopting an intersectional framework is not an easy process. It involves looking to understand things that are difficult for you to understand, empathizing with people who are not like you, stepping back instead of speaking over others, and opening yourself up to a high level of accountability. However, it’s better to do all of that and fail than it is to avoid making an effort entirely. When we don’t make an effort to be intersectional, we are quick to dismiss other people’s lived experiences in favor of our own beliefs which is exactly the division Lorde experienced and spoke