Week 5 Blog
I believe Lorde's gender indentification is always an indication of her being an oppressed woman because she believes that being a black lesbian sets her 'aside' from the norm of being a white female. Heterosexual black females also look down upon her because she is a lesbian, and they refer that that is a white woman's problem that led to black women deciding if they were lesbian or straight. This is an example of how she is showing that she is being oppressed, not only by white women, but also by women of her own color.
Yes, I do believe that Lorde thinks patriarchy is the primary form of oppression. People grow up living in patriarchy, learning to accept and identify it, and separate it from the typical 'norms.' In her essay, she describes how it is something we are taught from birth, whether it is deemed right or wrong, we choose a specific stance in it occording to what we are taught. In her case, she believes that people who were not 'used' to the fact that there are homosexual individuals out there, and those people were essentially taught to think that is the 'wrong' way from the time they are born. There is not a way we can escape it, if we keep performing it.
Once again, patriarchy comes into play for Lorde's analysis of how gender and power have an effect on her being a black lesbian. Individuals look at her differently, whether they are black or white, male or female, since she is a lesbian of color. They get this idea from the beginning of their lives where they are taught what is 'right' or 'wrong' in the sense of 'being' male or female, straight or gay. To her, people do not look at her the same if she tells them she is a lesbian married mother. In the opposers' eyes, this is not the atmosphere in which children should be raised, since they believe that is not the 'right' way. In turn, she has had to struggle with being accepted as a black lesbian married mother.