QuoteProject
I know the anger lies inside of me like I know the beat of my heart and the taste of my spit. It is easier to be furious than to be yearning. Easier to crucify myself in you than to take on the threatening universe of whiteness by admitting that we are worth wanting each other.
Audre Lorde
ShareWTF𝕏

Interpretation

What this quote means

The quote explores the complexities of anger and love, emphasizing the difficulty of vulnerability.

Audre Lorde's quote delves into the internal struggle between anger and yearning. It highlights how anger can often serve as a defensive shield against the vulnerabilities of longing and desire. The speaker acknowledges that it is easier to express fury than to confront the deeper emotional truth of wanting connection and intimacy. The reference to a 'threatening universe of whiteness' points to societal pressures that complicate these feelings, suggesting that admitting love and the desire for connection can be fraught with challenges.

Themes

AngerYearningLoveVulnerabilityConnection

In practice

Example use cases

In a discussion about emotional challenges in relationships, this quote can highlight the difficulty of expressing true feelings.

More from Audre Lorde

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.
Audre LordeRead
There is no thing as a single-issue struggle because we do not live single-issue lives.
Audre LordeRead
There are no new ideas. There are only new ways of making them felt.
Audre LordeRead
I am not free while any woman is unfree, even when her shackles are very different from my own.
Audre LordeRead
I am deliberate and afraid of nothing.
Audre LordeRead
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.
Audre LordeRead

Similar quotes

Unless you are addressing the issues people are concerned about and contributing positive direction, they'll never support you. The first thing the enemy tries to do is isolate revolutionaries from the masses of people, making us horrible and hideous monsters so that our people will hate us
Assata ShakurRead
Much protective self-criticism stems from growing up around people who wouldn't or couldn't love you, and it's likely they still can't or won't. In general, however, the more you let go of the tedious delusion of your own unattractiveness, the easier it will be for others to connect with you, and the more accepted you'll feel.
Martha BeckRead
Too often, when Muslim women speak out, some in our 'community' accuse us of 'making our men look bad' and of giving ammunition to right-wing Islamophobes.
Mona EltahawyRead
A huge part of what animates homophobia among young people is paranoia and fear of their own capacity to be gay themselves.
Dan SavageRead
Live-tweeting your bikini wax is not vulnerability. Nor is posting a blow-by-blow of your divorce . That's an attempt to hot-wire connection. But you can't cheat real connection. It's built up slowly. It's about trust and time.
Brene BrownRead
But I'd rather help than watch. I'd rather have a heart than a mind. I'd rather expose too much than too little. I'd rather say hello to strangers than be afraid of them. I would rather know all this about myself than have more money than I need. I'd rather have something to love than a way to impress you.
Po BronsonRead

A little wisdom, now and then

Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.