--- title: "3 Oppression Women Quotes By Audre Lorde" description: "3 Oppression Women quotes by Audre Lorde. Plus more from Audre Lorde and more Oppression Women sayings from other authors." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4ba/audre-lorde-758_desire_we-have-been-raised-to-fear-the-yes-with_1259946.jpg" --- > [“We have been raised to fear the yes within ourselves, our deepest cravings. But, once recognized, those which do not enhance our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/we-have-been-raised-to-fear-the-yes-within-ourselves-our-deepest/) [Audre Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audre-lorde/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4ba/audre-lorde-758_desire_we-have-been-raised-to-fear-the-yes-with_1259946.jpg) > [The oppression of women knows no ethnic nor racial boundaries, true, but that does not mean it is identical within those boundaries.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/the-oppression-of-women-knows-no-ethnic-nor-racial-boundaries-true/) [Audre Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audre-lorde/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/619/audre-lorde-758_boundaries_the-oppression-of-women-knows-no-ethnic_1489454.jpg) > [The fear that we cannot grow beyond whatever distortions we may find within ourselves keeps us docile and loyal and obedient, externally…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/the-fear-that-we-cannot-grow-beyond-whatever-distortions-we-may-find/) [Audre Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audre-lorde/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e66/audre-lorde-758_accepting_the-fear-that-we-cannot-grow-beyond-what_2610844.jpg) ## More by Audre Lorde > [Every woman I have ever loved has left her print upon me, where I loved some invaluable piece of myself apart from me-so different…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/every-woman-i-have-ever-loved-has-left-her-print-upon-me-where-i/) [Audre Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audre-lorde/) > [There are many kinds of open. . . Love is a word, another kind of open. . . Take my word for jewel in your open light.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/there-are-many-kinds-of-open-love-is-a-word-another-kind-of-open-take/) [Audre Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audre-lorde/) > [Your silence will not protect you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/your-silence-will-not-protect-you/) [Audre Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audre-lorde/) > [I can't really define it in sexual terms alone although our sexuality is so energizing why not enjoy it too?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/i-can-t-really-define-it-in-sexual-terms-alone-although-our-sexuality/) [Audre Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audre-lorde/) > [“For once we begin to feel deeply all the aspects of our lives, we begin to demand from ourselves and from our life-pursuits that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/for-once-we-begin-to-feel-deeply-all-the-aspects-of-our-lives-we/) [Audre Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audre-lorde/) > [the fear of death is that you are dying too soon. Nobody wants to, but at the point that you die you can pray…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/the-fear-of-death-is-that-you-are-dying-too-soon-nobody-wants-to-but/) [Audre Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audre-lorde/) > [“There is an important difference between openness and naïveté. Not everyone has good intentions nor means me well. I remind myself I do not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/there-is-an-important-difference-between-openness-and-na-vet-not/) [Audre Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audre-lorde/) > [What are the words you do not yet have? What do you need to say? What are the tyrannies you swallow day by day…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/what-are-the-words-you-do-not-yet-have-what-do-you-need-to-say-what/) [Audre Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audre-lorde/) > [I learned to read from Mrs. Augusta Baker, the children's librarian. ... If that was the only good deed that lady ever did in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/i-learned-to-read-from-mrs-augusta-baker-the-children-s-librarian-if/) [Audre Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audre-lorde/) > [Poetry is not only dream and vision; it is the skeleton architecture of our lives. It lays the foundations for a future of change,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/poetry-is-not-only-dream-and-vision-it-is-the-skeleton-architecture/) [Audre Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audre-lorde/) > [“I think that in America there are certain kinds of problems and in Russia there are certain kinds of problems, but basically, when you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/i-think-that-in-america-there-are-certain-kinds-of-problems-and-in/) [Audre Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audre-lorde/) > [Institutionalized rejection of differences is an absolute necessity in a profit economy which needs outsiders as surplus people. As members of such an economy,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/institutionalized-rejection-of-differences-is-an-absolute-necessity/) [Audre Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audre-lorde/) > [The sharing of joy, whether physical, emotional, psychic, or intellectual, forms a bridge between the sharers which can be the basis for understanding much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/the-sharing-of-joy-whether-physical-emotional-psychic-or-intellectual/) [Audre Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audre-lorde/) > [“I forgot what we were celebrating. Because we were always celebrating something, a new job, a new poem, a new love, a new dream.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/i-forgot-what-we-were-celebrating-because-we-were-always-celebrating/) [Audre Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audre-lorde/) > [How a diamond comes into a knot of flame How a sound comes into a word, coloured By who pays what for speaking. Some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/how-a-diamond-comes-into-a-knot-of-flame-how-a-sound-comes-into-a/) [Audre Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audre-lorde/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "ItemList", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/oppression-women/audre-lorde/#itemlist", "name": "3 Oppression Women Quotes By Audre Lorde", "numberOfItems": 3, "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“We have been raised to fear the yes within ourselves, our deepest cravings. But, once recognized, those which do not enhance our future lose their power and can be altered. The fear of our desires keeps them suspect and indiscriminately powerful, for to suppress any truth is to give it strength beyond endurance. The fear that we cannot grow beyond whatever distortions we may find within ourselves keeps us docile and loyal and obedient, externally defined, and leads us to accept many facets of our oppression as women.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Audre Lorde" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/we-have-been-raised-to-fear-the-yes-within-ourselves-our-deepest/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4ba/audre-lorde-758_desire_we-have-been-raised-to-fear-the-yes-with_1259946.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4ba/audre-lorde-758_desire_we-have-been-raised-to-fear-the-yes-with_1259946.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4ba/audre-lorde-758_desire_we-have-been-raised-to-fear-the-yes-with_1259946.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“We have been raised to fear the yes within ourselves, our deepest cravings. But, once recognized, those…” — Audre Lorde", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The oppression of women knows no ethnic nor racial boundaries, true, but that does not mean it is identical within those boundaries.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Audre Lorde" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/the-oppression-of-women-knows-no-ethnic-nor-racial-boundaries-true/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/619/audre-lorde-758_boundaries_the-oppression-of-women-knows-no-ethnic_1489454.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/619/audre-lorde-758_boundaries_the-oppression-of-women-knows-no-ethnic_1489454.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/619/audre-lorde-758_boundaries_the-oppression-of-women-knows-no-ethnic_1489454.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The oppression of women knows no ethnic nor racial boundaries, true, but that does not mean it is identical…” — Audre Lorde", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The fear that we cannot grow beyond whatever distortions we may find within ourselves keeps us docile and loyal and obedient, externally defined, and leads us to accept many facets of our own oppression as women.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Audre Lorde" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/the-fear-that-we-cannot-grow-beyond-whatever-distortions-we-may-find/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e66/audre-lorde-758_accepting_the-fear-that-we-cannot-grow-beyond-what_2610844.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e66/audre-lorde-758_accepting_the-fear-that-we-cannot-grow-beyond-what_2610844.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e66/audre-lorde-758_accepting_the-fear-that-we-cannot-grow-beyond-what_2610844.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The fear that we cannot grow beyond whatever distortions we may find within ourselves keeps us docile and…” — Audre Lorde", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } } ] }, { "@type": "CollectionPage", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/oppression-women/audre-lorde/#webpage", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/oppression-women/audre-lorde/", "name": "Oppression Women Quotes by Audre Lorde", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "mainEntity": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/oppression-women/audre-lorde/#itemlist" }, "primaryImageOfPage": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4ba/audre-lorde-758_desire_we-have-been-raised-to-fear-the-yes-with_1259946.jpg" }, "description": "3 Oppression Women quotes by Audre Lorde. Plus more from Audre Lorde and more Oppression Women sayings from other authors.", "breadcrumb": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/oppression-women/audre-lorde/#breadcrumb" } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/oppression-women/audre-lorde/#breadcrumb", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Topics", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/categories/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Oppression Women", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/oppression-women/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 5, "name": "Audre Lorde", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/oppression-women/audre-lorde/" } ] }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```