Two or three things I know for sure, and one is that I'd rather go naked than wear the coat the world has made for me.
Interpretation
The quote expresses a desire for authenticity over societal expectations.
In this quote, Dorothy Allison emphasizes the importance of staying true to oneself rather than conforming to the expectations set by society. The use of the imagery of being 'naked' conveys a strong sense of vulnerability and freedom, highlighting that she would prefer to face the world without any pretense or societal constraints than to wear a metaphorical coat that does not reflect her true self.
In practice
A powerful statement at a self-acceptance workshop.
Hunger makes you restless. you dream about food - not just any food, but perfect food, the best food, magical meals, famous and awe-inspiring, the one piece of meat, the exact taste of buttery corn, tomatoes so ripe they split and sweeten the air, beans so crisp they snap between the teeth, gravy like mother's milk singing to your bloodstream.
Behind my carefully buttoned collar is my nakedness, the struggle to find clean clothes, food, meaning, and money. Behind sex is rage, behind anger is love, behind this moment is silence, years of silence.
I have wanted everything as a writer and a woman, but most of all a world changed utterly by my revelations.
I did things I did not understand for reasons I could not begin to explain just to be in motion, to be trying to do something, change something in a world I wanted desperately to make over but could not imagine for myself.
There is a place where we are always alone with our own mortality, where we must simply have something greater than ourselves to hold onto-God or history or politics or literature or a belief in the healing power of love, or even righteous anger.... A reason to believe, a way to take the world by the throat and insist that there is more to this life than we have ever imagined.
And of course these days I feel like there is a nation of us - displaced southerners and children of the working class. We listen to Steve Earle, Mary J. Blige, and k.d. lang. We devour paperback novels and tell evil mean stories, value stubbornness above patience and a sense of humor more than a college education. We claim our heritage with a full appreciation of how often it has been disdained. And let me promise you, you do not want to make us angry.
When you or your loved ones escape repression, you often find yourself committed to ensuring that freedom prevails.
As you move outside of your comfort zone, what was once the unknown and frightening becomes your new normal.
I'm not scared of many things in front of the camera. Everywhere else, yes, I'm terrified. But acting is just pretending, and you are exploring feelings in a safe environment.
Either life entails courage, or it ceases to be life.
you must never be fearful about what you are doing when it is right.
It would be very, very dangerous for a wire walker to experience fear while he is balancing on the wire. Fear has its place on earth, before and maybe after a high-wire walk, but not during for me.
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