I have always wanted to be both man and woman, to incorporate the strongest and richest parts of my mother and father within/into me - to share valleys and mountains upon my body the way the earth does in hills and peaks.
Interpretation
The quote expresses the desire to embrace both masculine and feminine qualities, reflecting a holistic view of identity.
Audre Lorde's quote highlights the aspiration to integrate the strengths and richness of both parental figures, symbolizing a deep appreciation for the complexities of gender and identity. By referencing the earth's valleys and mountains, Lorde conveys the idea that true identity encompasses a balance of diverse traits and experiences, encouraging a more inclusive understanding of self that honors both masculine and feminine aspects.
In practice
In a discussion about the importance of diversity within gender identities.
The fact that we are here and that I speak these words is an attempt to break that silence and bridge some of those differences between us, for it is not difference which immobilizes us, but silence. And there are so many silences to be broken.
There is no thing as a single-issue struggle because we do not live single-issue lives.
There are no new ideas. There are only new ways of making them felt.
I am not free while any woman is unfree, even when her shackles are very different from my own.
I am deliberate and afraid of nothing.
There's always someone asking you to underline one piece of yourself - whether it's Black, woman, mother, dyke, teacher, etc. - because that's the piece that they need to key in to. They want to dismiss everything else.
I now realize that I am a gay man before anything else. Other gays may think they're a Jew first, or black, or a banker, but I'm gay.
American? Indian? I don't know what these words mean. In Italy, it is all about blood, family, where you come from. I'm asked where I am from. I'm from nowhere; I always was, but now I am happy knowing it.
Im Jamaican, man. Im Jamaican first. You gotta understand thats where Im from. Thats home. That you can never take away from me. Im a Jamaican-born Canadian sprinter.
Even though I'm a hairdresser and I love doing hair, I feel like I don't look like a groomer. When I think of how a groomer would look in relation to the first version of 'Queer Eye,' I feel like I don't fit in that box.
I want people to see my color and my culture written all over me, because I am proud of the skin I'm in. It is an important part of my identity. What I don't want them to do is mistreat me because of it.
I live half the year in Nigeria, the other half in the U.S. But home is Nigeria - it always will be. I consider myself a Nigerian who is comfortable in the world. I look at it through Nigerian eyes.
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