---
title: "Audre Lorde — AP African American Studies Definition"
description: "Audre Lorde was a Black lesbian feminist poet whose work shows how race, gender, class, and sexuality interlock. Key to Topic 4.14 and Black feminist thought."
canonical: "https://fiveable.me/ap-african-american-studies/key-terms/audre-lorde"
type: "key-term"
subject: "AP African American Studies"
unit: "Unit 4"
---

# Audre Lorde — AP African American Studies Definition

## Definition

Audre Lorde was an African American poet and essayist, self-described as a 'Black, lesbian, mother, warrior, poet,' whose writing illustrates interlocking systems of oppression by showing how race, gender, class, and sexuality combine to shape Black women's lives (AP African American Studies, Topic 4.14).

## What It Is

Audre Lorde was a Black feminist writer and poet who refused to pick just one [identity](/ap-african-american-studies/unit-4/14-interlocking-systems-of-oppression/study-guide/CZielrxhDkY9k8KM "fv-autolink"). She named all of them at once, calling herself a 'Black, lesbian, mother, warrior, poet.' That move is the whole point for AP purposes. Lorde's work argues that you cannot understand a Black woman's experience by looking at [racism](/ap-african-american-studies/unit-4/1-the-ngritude-and-negrismo-movements/study-guide/eK9QyiGxxk1iteQm "fv-autolink") alone or sexism alone, because those systems hit her at the same time and reinforce each other.

In the CED, Lorde appears in Topic 4.14 alongside [Gwendolyn Brooks](/ap-african-american-studies/key-terms/gwendolyn-brooks "fv-autolink") as a writer who represents **interlocking systems of oppression** in literature (EK 4.14.B.1). Her works explore how race, gender, and social class affect how Black women and men are perceived, the roles they're pushed into, and the economic opportunities they get. In *Zami: A New Spelling of My Name*, she invented a form she called biomythography, blending autobiography, history, and myth to tell her story as a Black lesbian woman. Think of Lorde as the literary voice of a concept that scholars like Patricia Hill Collins would formally name. Collins built the theory; Lorde made you feel it.

## Why It Matters

Lorde lives in **[Unit 4](/ap-african-american-studies/unit-4 "fv-autolink"): Movements and Debates**, specifically Topic 4.14 (Interlocking Systems of Oppression). She directly supports LO 4.14.B, which asks you to explain how Black [writers](/ap-african-american-studies/unit-4/17-evolution-of-african-american-music/study-guide/6C9VmdCuTlY85vin "fv-autolink") have represented interlocking systems of oppression in their work. She also gives you concrete evidence for LO 4.14.A, since her writing connects the formal concept (articulated by Patricia Hill Collins and central to Black feminist activism) to lived experience. If an exam question asks how literature shows that social categories like race, gender, class, and sexuality interact to create unequal outcomes, Lorde is one of your two go-to authors. The other is Gwendolyn Brooks.

## Connections

### [Gwendolyn Brooks (Unit 4)](/ap-african-american-studies/key-terms/gwendolyn-brooks)

Brooks and Lorde are paired in EK 4.14.B.1 as the two writers who put interlocking oppression on the page. Brooks works through fiction like [Maud Martha](/ap-african-american-studies/key-terms/maud-martha "fv-autolink"); Lorde works through poetry, essays, and biomythography. Know both, and know which is which.

### [bell hooks (Unit 4)](/ap-african-american-studies/key-terms/bell-hooks)

hooks and Lorde are both Black feminist thinkers who insisted that race and [gender](/ap-african-american-studies/unit-2/14-freedom-womens-rights-and-education/study-guide/bp2sHi0HFb0u4pX4 "fv-autolink") can't be analyzed separately. hooks leans more theoretical and Lorde more literary, but they're making the same core argument from different angles.

### [Maud Martha (Unit 4)](/ap-african-american-studies/key-terms/maud-martha)

Brooks's novel shows a Black woman negotiating identity and class as she moves through spaces inside and beyond her community (EK 4.14.B.2). It's the prose counterpart to what Lorde does in Zami, and the exam treats them as parallel examples.

### [Systemic racism (Unit 4)](/ap-african-american-studies/key-terms/systemic-racism)

Interlocking systems of oppression takes the idea of [systemic racism](/ap-african-american-studies/key-terms/systemic-racism "fv-autolink") and widens the lens. Racism is one system; Lorde's work shows it operating alongside sexism, classism, and homophobia at the same time, in the same life.

## On the AP Exam

Lorde shows up in multiple-choice questions that test whether you can match the writer to the concept. Stems ask you to identify her identity (Black lesbian feminist poet), name the literary form of *Zami: A New Spelling of My Name* (biomythography), and explain the significance of her naming multiple identities at once, as in 'A Woman Speaks.' One classic trap question asks who first articulated 'interlocking systems of oppression.' The answer is Patricia Hill Collins, not Lorde. Lorde represented the concept in literature; Collins articulated it as theory. For short-answer and project work, be ready to use Lorde as evidence that Black writers depicted how race, gender, class, and sexuality together shape perception, social roles, and economic opportunity.

## Audre Lorde vs Patricia Hill Collins

Easy mix-up, and the exam tests it directly. Patricia Hill Collins is the scholar who first articulated the concept of 'interlocking systems of oppression' (EK 4.14.A.2). Audre Lorde is the writer who represented that reality in poetry and prose before and alongside the formal theory. If the question says 'first articulated,' the answer is Collins. If it says 'represented in literature,' think Lorde (or Brooks).

## Key Takeaways

- Audre Lorde was a Black lesbian feminist poet and essayist who described herself as a 'Black, lesbian, mother, warrior, poet,' deliberately naming all her identities at once.
- In Topic 4.14, Lorde and Gwendolyn Brooks are the two writers the CED names for representing interlocking systems of oppression in literature (LO 4.14.B).
- Lorde's Zami: A New Spelling of My Name uses a form she called biomythography, which blends autobiography, history, and myth.
- Lorde's work shows how race, gender, class, and sexuality interact to shape how people are perceived, the roles they occupy, and their economic opportunities.
- Patricia Hill Collins first articulated the concept of interlocking systems of oppression; Lorde illustrated it through creative writing, so don't swap their roles on the exam.

## FAQs

### Who was Audre Lorde in AP African American Studies?

Audre Lorde was a Black lesbian feminist poet and essayist featured in Topic 4.14 (Interlocking Systems of Oppression). The CED highlights her as a writer whose work shows how race, gender, and class shape Black people's perception, roles, and economic opportunities.

### Did Audre Lorde create the concept of interlocking systems of oppression?

No. The CED credits Patricia Hill Collins with first articulating the concept (EK 4.14.A.2). Lorde represented those interlocking systems in her poetry and prose, which is why she's tested under LO 4.14.B about writers, not LO 4.14.A about the concept's origin.

### How is Audre Lorde different from Gwendolyn Brooks?

Both appear in EK 4.14.B.1 as writers depicting interlocking oppression, but Brooks is known for fiction like the novel Maud Martha, while Lorde is known for poetry, essays, and the biomythography Zami: A New Spelling of My Name. Lorde also explicitly centers sexuality alongside race, gender, and class.

### What is biomythography and why does it matter for the exam?

Biomythography is the literary form Lorde invented for Zami: A New Spelling of My Name, mixing autobiography, history, and myth. Multiple-choice questions ask you to identify this form, so connect it directly to Lorde and Zami.

### Why did Audre Lorde call herself a 'Black, lesbian, mother, warrior, poet'?

By naming every identity at once, Lorde refused to let any single category define her, modeling the idea that social categories interact rather than operate separately. Exam questions on works like 'A Woman Speaks' test whether you can explain the significance of this explicit naming for audiences with multiple marginalized identities.

## Related Study Guides

- [4.14 Interlocking Systems of Oppression](/ap-african-american-studies/unit-4/14-interlocking-systems-of-oppression/study-guide/CZielrxhDkY9k8KM)

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