Women Culture and Society

Women, Culture & Society

9/21/05

In Lorde's essay "Age, Class, Race & Sex: Women Redefining Difference", she states, "The master's tools will never dismantle the master's house". I took this statement's message as having to do with racism being the "master's house" and the various ways we express racial feelings and actions as the "master's tools". Therefore, this statement implies that we as women will not use our own tools to destroy what we have created coincidentally perpetuating the cycle of racism against women of other races, sexual orientation, and ethnicities. In the book, A Multicultural Anthology by Estelle Disch she defines multiracial feminism as "An approach to feminism developed by women of color that incorporates the wide range of women's and men's experiences, acknowledges intersecting identities of privilege and oppression, explores the structural sources of diversity and oppression, and leads to multiple understandings of what it means to be a woman or a man in various racial, ethnic, and class contexts. Multiracial feminism assumes that generalizing from one cultural group to another is likely to be inaccurate".

Because of the definition I formed of Lorde's statement and the definition given above of multiracial feminism it leads me to believe that Lorde's statement may be incorrect that is to say if she indeed is saying that the tools of racism cannot be used to destroy it then what exactly can? In order to destroy the damage that has been done it needs to be broken down piece by piece from the beginning. "Generalizing from one cultural group to another is likely to be inaccurate", hence leading to racism or racist thoughts and notions. In conclusion, in order to stop misconceptions from going any farther the process needs to start at the beginning and needs to be stopped by the means (tools) of which it started.