Biography of Audre Lorde

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Lifespan Adult Biography of Audre Lorde
The paper gives light to the life of Audre Lorde. She is a poet who is known for being a warrior. She has faced battles in life, career, and society. She has had a long and exhausting journey, but it did not stop her from excelling in her field. Thus, this paper aims to recount the life of Audre Lord. Additionally, the paper seeks to identify her coping style and the analysis of Erikson’s developmental stage and Vaillant’s mechanism defense of ego in her life.
Introduction
Audrey Geraldine Lorde, more commonly known as "Audre Lorde," was born on February 8, 1934. Audre finds her first and last names parallel if they both end with the letter ‘e.’ Also, Audre does not like the shape of the letter ‘y’ in her name. Thus, she modified her name. She is the third child born to Frederick Byron and Linda Gertrude. Her father is in the real estate field, while her mother is different from them. Both of her parents are distant from them because of several reasons. Furthermore, her siblings are Helen and Phyllis, who are also distant from her. Audre is a peculiar child since she only started speaking at five. Also, she is already fascinated with poems and learning at a young age. She is also beginning to be attracted to her female classmates and teachers. As she grows old, she continues to thrive to finish her education and acquire more knowledge that she can use in writing poems. With regards to her relationships, Audre has different lovers, both male and female. Audre married Edward Rollins and bore two children named Elizabeth and Jonathon. However, Edward and Audre ended up separating ways. Despite her failed relationships, Audre still established her name in literature. She produced several exemplary works. She also identifies herself as a black person who fights against oppression and injustices, a lesbian who fights against sexism and discrimination, a mother who fights for her children’s future, a warrior who battles cancer, and a poet who uses words to conquer the world. Audre died of breast cancer in 1992. She adopted the name ‘Gamba Adisa,’ a warrior who creates her purpose (Audre Lorde, n.d.; Oishi & Bowen, 2021).
Impact of Audre’s childhood on adult development
Sibling relationships
In the family, a child learns the alphabet, how to read, write, count, and different shapes and colors. The family influences a child’s behavior and values too. Furthermore, a child’s family experiences may impact them as they grow old. Hence, a child will remember an event, whether positive or negative. If children have a worthwhile and enjoyable experience, they will remember and imitate the good thing they learned from it, resulting in a positive outcome. However, if children have an unpleasant or traumatic experience, they may choose not to repeat it, or they may repeat it but cause harm to themselves and others. Therefore, the children’s experiences in their family will affect them even when they enter adulthood.
Audre Lorde mostly suffered in silence in her family. Audre’s parents are distant, and she lacks support and care from them. Audre is the youngest among three siblings. She has two sisters named Helen Lorde and Phyllis Lorde. Audre is different from her sisters. She has very poor eyesight that is almost close to blindness, and she has a problem with her speech. Hence, she could not get closer to her sisters because of her physiological deficiencies. Audre enjoys most of her time alone by indulging herself in poems. Audre has not enjoyed the company of her sisters. In conclusion, Audre had a hard time getting along with her siblings during her childhood.
Her relationship with her sisters may have caused her identity crisis. At a young age, she started getting attracted to females. However, she also had relationships with males. Audre does not have the chance to feel what it is like to have a sister – exchanging clothes with them, playing games such as cooking, hairdressing, and the likes, fixing each other’s hair, role-playing, and other activities. Therefore, she lacks experience as a young woman, leading to gender confusion as she grows old.
Cherished or Loveless
A child who is full of love will live a life that is full of love too. On the contrary, an undervalued and unloved child will live a life full of hatred and suffering. Therefore, a family is responsible for making a child feel loved and cared for. A family may show their love for a child in various ways. It can be through praises and affirmations, hugs and kisses, material things such as toys, clothes, and books, and allotting time for them. Thus, there are several ways in which families can show affection. However, a child may feel unloved if their family frequently nags and beats them, imposes too many restrictions, and is unaffectionate. The way the family acts and speaks is essential in shaping a child’s emotions. In addition, the parents should know specific ways to treat their children (LeVine & LeVine, 2016). Therefore, acting accordingly and allowing a child to feel loved is necessary. After all, a child has a right to feel loved by the family.
In her childhood, Audre can be considered a loveless child. Nobody in the family seems to love her, and no one gives her importance. Her father is busy and does not constantly interact with them, whereas her mother has a lighter skin complexion that allows her to act differently. Thus, there are reasons why parents are distant from their children Luepnitz (2002). According to Levine et al. (1994), the Africans’ way of parenting is based on cultural conditions; thus, their parenting style is typical. Her sisters are also distant from her because she always answers them back, and that makes her sisters hate her even more. Even in school, she is an outcast, and she is being discriminated against. The school has policies that are not just and fair, especially for black girls like her. It appears that the entire school is opposed to her existence. Her only friends were also the other outcasts.
Audre’s lack of love and belongingness made her explore into adulthood. Audre constantly finds the love in several people she bumps into. She finds love in both man and woman. However, there are still instances wherein she fails, but she continues to look for the perfect love for her.
Traumatized
According to Zarse et al. (2019), children who experience traumatic events may cause mental illnesses, addiction, or other illnesses when they age. Therefore, it is already considered a health issue when a child experiences abuse, traumatic events, or environmental stress. With this information, parents should be careful how they handle and raise their children. There will always be a proper way of praising their good deeds and correcting their undesirable behaviors. At their young age, they do not deserve to be in a position that will cause them harm and will be instilled in them for their entire life.
Audre has experienced trauma because of her disabilities. She has very poor eyesight, and her speech is affected as well. Her disabilities made her feel that she was lesser than other people. Her disabilities also hindered her in achieving greater heights. In addition, her gender has also added to her trauma. She is a lesbian who experienced sexism and discrimination. Lastly, her race has been a great contributor to the trauma she experienced. There are instances when people would belittle her because she is black. There are also instances when people would exclude her because she is black. These are some of the factors that added to the trauma that Audre felt when she was young.
Audre has proved herself by using her traumatic experiences as her strength and power. Her traumas are brought into a positive light. Audre has translated these experiences into art. In her work "Zami," she recounted her traumatic experiences. Her identity, race, disabilities, and gender did not stop her from shining on her own. Audre has proved herself through the use of literature.
Neglected
According to Wade et al. (2021), neglected children will have a chaotic and stressful life when they enter adulthood. Therefore, if a child is not adequately cared for, their experiences will be carried on until they reach adolescence (Nikulina et al., 2011). Hence, parents should properly care for their children. The parents must provide them shelter, food, clothing, education, and love. These are the parents’ primary roles; they must give these to their children to help them develop and grow successfully.
The people around her have neglected Audre. She does not receive the privileges and rights of a child. At a young age, she does not feel loved and cared for. Her parents and siblings were aloof, and most of the time, they showed hatred toward Audre. Audre’s teachers and classmates have also neglected her. She was treated as an outcast, and all the rules were against her. Her parents’ neglect led her to live her life independently when she accumulated ample money. These are some of the instances that show how people neglected Audre.
The feeling of being neglected affected Audre when she got older. Audre had two children, ...