--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I write for those women who do not speak…" description: "\"I write for those women who do not speak, for those who do not have a voice because they were so terrified, because we are taught to respect fear more ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/74f/audre-lorde-758_fear_i-write-for-those-women-who-do-not-speak_852066.jpg" --- # I write for those women who do not speak, for those who do… ![“I write for those women who do not speak, for those who do not have a voice because they were so terrified, because we are taught to respect fear more than ourselves. We've been taught that silence would save us, but it won't.” quote by Audre Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/74f/audre-lorde-758_fear_i-write-for-those-women-who-do-not-speak_852066.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/74f/audre-lorde-758_fear_i-write-for-those-women-who-do-not-speak_852066.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/74f/audre-lorde-758_fear_i-write-for-those-women-who-do-not-speak_852066.jpg) > “I write for those women who do not speak, for those who do not have a voice because they were so terrified, because we are taught to respect fear more than ourselves. We've been taught that silence would save us, but it won't.” [Audre Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audre-lorde/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Silencing oppressed voices perpetuates fear; speaking out empowers and challenges systemic oppression. **In simple terms:** Speak up despite fear. Key Takeaway Use your voice to resist oppression. Themes voice empowerment resistance Mood determined hopeful Type inspirational motivational When to use this quote - activism - writing - public speaking - education Key Concepts feminism social justice Questions to Reflect On - What fears silence you? - How can you support those whose voices are muted? A Different Perspective Risk of backlash or personal danger. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Fear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fear/) [Silence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/silence/) [Voice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/voice/) [Women](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/women/) ## Related quotes > [“I write for these women who do not speak, for those who do not have a voice because they were so terrified, because we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/i-write-for-these-women-who-do-not-speak-for-those-who-do-not-have-a/) [Audre Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audre-lorde/) > [For we have been socialized to respect fear more than our own needs for language and definition, and while we wait in silence for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/for-we-have-been-socialized-to-respect-fear-more-than-our-own-needs/) [Audre Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audre-lorde/) > [I have naturally formed the habit of restraining my thoughts. A thoughtless word hardly ever escaped my tongue or pen. Experience has taught me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/i-have-naturally-formed-the-habit-of-restraining-my-thoughts-a/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [Long ago, among other lies they were taught that silence was bravery.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/long-ago-among-other-lies-they-were-taught-that-silence-was-bravery/) [Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) > [My dad always taught me that silence is complicity, and that I must stand up for anyone who was being treated unfairly. That has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashley-biden/my-dad-always-taught-me-that-silence-is-complicity-and-that-i-must/) [Ashley Biden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashley-biden/) > [“Living with her taught me this: That silence is a thick and dark curtain, the kind that pulls down over a shop window; that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-ortiz-cofer/living-with-her-taught-me-this-that-silence-is-a-thick-and-dark/) [Judith Ortiz Cofer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-ortiz-cofer/) > [“when it came to listening my mother taught me silence if you are drowning their voice with yours how will you hear them she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rupi-kaur/when-it-came-to-listening-my-mother-taught-me-silence-if-you-are/) [Rupi Kaur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rupi-kaur/) > [Respect and fear are two different things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-smiley/respect-and-fear-are-two-different-things/) [Jane Smiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-smiley/) > [“It’s not respect but fear that motivates a man; that’s how empires are built and revolutions begin. It is the secret of great men.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-dobbs/it-s-not-respect-but-fear-that-motivates-a-man-that-s-how-empires-are/) [Michael Dobbs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-dobbs/) > [The horse needs to respect you, but sometimes people confuse respect & fear. And they're not the same at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/buck-brannaman/the-horse-needs-to-respect-you-but-sometimes-people-confuse-respect/) [Buck Brannaman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/buck-brannaman/) > [ Respect is not fear and awe; it...\[is\]the ability to see a person as he is, to be aware of his unique individuality. Respect, thus,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/respect-is-not-fear-and-awe-it-is-the-ability-to-see-a-person-as-he/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [“We can learn to work and speak when we are afraid in the same way we have learned to work and speak when we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/college-of-st-catherine-staff/we-can-learn-to-work-and-speak-when-we-are-afraid-in-the-same-way-we-2/) College of St. Catherine Staff > [When people do the cowardly thing, it's not about respect, it's about fear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/when-people-do-the-cowardly-thing-it-s-not-about-respect-it-s-about/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [Respect by fear of ruler is like heart without feelings, grow yourself such that you achieve respect by heart, thats the purest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/senoraroy/respect-by-fear-of-ruler-is-like-heart-without-feelings-grow-yourself/) Senoraroy > [Respect all. Fear none.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bum-phillips/respect-all-fear-none/) [Bum Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bum-phillips/) ## 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/) [Explore all 377 Audre Lorde quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audre-lorde/) ## More Fear quotes > [This may sound strange, but although I feel like I know everything about my characters, the brand of shampoo they use, how many cavities…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-honeyman/this-may-sound-strange-but-although-i-feel-like-i-know-everything/) [Gail Honeyman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-honeyman/) > [“That horrible stinging sensation returned, the muscles behind my eyes straining as the first tear began to fall. “I’m scared, too. For eighteen months…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/devon-ashley/that-horrible-stinging-sensation-returned-the-muscles-behind-my-eyes/) [Devon Ashley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/devon-ashley/) > [“...Often that which most we fear births the resolve that spurs us on to altitudes we could not have achieved, had we continued walking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-t-anderson/often-that-which-most-we-fear-births-the-resolve-that-spurs-us-on-to/) [M.T. Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-t-anderson/) > [What an incredible drug fear is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/what-an-incredible-drug-fear-is/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [“Anything that you find yourself worrying about regularly may find you suddenly wanting unrealistic changes.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nagisa-tatsumi/anything-that-you-find-yourself-worrying-about-regularly-may-find-you/) Nagisa Tatsumi > [“We all know how the thing we secretly fear is not a secret at all but the open and eternal thing that predicts its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/we-all-know-how-the-thing-we-secretly-fear-is-not-a-secret-at-all-but/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [When you're scared - and I mean really scared, not just hearing a noise in the night, or standing toe to toe with someone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-gordon-smith/when-you-re-scared-and-i-mean-really-scared-not-just-hearing-a-noise/) [Alexander Gordon Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-gordon-smith/) > [“I had nowhere to go and did not wish to be seen by anyone for fear they would recognize my sadness and so for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-dewitt/i-had-nowhere-to-go-and-did-not-wish-to-be-seen-by-anyone-for-fear/) [Patrick deWitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-dewitt/) > [It's easier to change a law than an age-old mentality. Deep down, many prejudices, many hostilities, many fears persist. But if we take a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dacia-maraini/it-s-easier-to-change-a-law-than-an-age-old-mentality-deep-down-many/) [Dacia Maraini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dacia-maraini/) > [“Snip off the little worries and expressions of worry” like little branches atop a tall tree.28 If you are truly worried, sharing your concerns…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-sanders/snip-off-the-little-worries-and-expressions-of-worry-like-little/) [Tim Sanders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-sanders/) > [“Fear and desire for pleasure. Aggressiveness comes out of fear, predominantly, and sexuality predominantly out of the other. But they mix in the middle.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilyn-french/fear-and-desire-for-pleasure-aggressiveness-comes-out-of-fear/) [Marilyn French](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilyn-french/) > [“Carrie Fisher. “Stay afraid, but do it anyway.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabrielle-union/carrie-fisher-stay-afraid-but-do-it-anyway/) [Gabrielle Union](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabrielle-union/) > [“Yes, the issue was courage. It always had been, even as a kid. Things scared him. He couldn't help it. Noise scared him, dark…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-o-brien/yes-the-issue-was-courage-it-always-had-been-even-as-a-kid-things/) [Tim O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-o-brien/) > [Don't be afraid of hard work. Nothing worthwhile comes easily. Don't let others discourage you or tell you that you can't do it. In…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gertrude-b-elion/don-t-be-afraid-of-hard-work-nothing-worthwhile-comes-easily-don-t/) [Gertrude B. 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