12 books to help you fight the system

Audre Lorde (Image Credit: Dagmar Schultz)

1. Sister Outsider

Audre Lorde is rightfully considered to be a monumental figure. Not only was she a feminist, but she was an outspoken advocate for women of color, queer people, and activist communities. She was one of the most notable proponents of intersectional feminism in her time. She once said that “The master’s tools will never dismantle the master’s house. They may allow us temporarily to beat him at his own game, but they will never enable us to bring about genuine change. And this fact is only threatening to those women who still define the master’s house as their only source of support.”

All of this is to say that, if you at all consider yourself to be a feminist, or want to learn more about the movement, it is imperative that you read Audre Lorde. Not only is she a major figure whose ideas have stuck around for generations, but she is a masterful writer and poet.

Sister Outsider: Essays and Speeches is a good place to start diving into her work. The fifteen essays and speeches that make up the book date between 1976 and 1984. The book has been considered controversial not only for its discussion of feminism but for Lorde’s admitted anger at oppressive systems.