Audre Lorde's Cancer Journals: in-class Group Analysis by Professor Diana Paulin

Fariba and Angela

agomez2_139 — 2024-10-24 15:41:47 UTC

Challenging the Idea of Prosthetics: There is no functional need for breast prosthetics.
She talks about how cancer is an industry in healthcare, profiting off patients. Profit comes from treatment rather than prevention.
Devaluation of women: sexualization and only value for their physical appearance and femininity.
Funds raised for cancer are usually for treatment rather than fighting the root causes.
Breast cancer is common between the ages women are "desexualized."
Women think about how their bodies are perceived by others rather than how they feel about themselves.
Breast prosthetics are imposed to continue to profit off women.
She is giving important and well-rounded information to help other women.
It is important to have awareness and education for women to be able to make decisions.
Putting the blame on victim women for the things that happen to them

Prudence And Tina.

ankunika — 2024-10-24 15:51:15 UTC

Based on the first two chapters, Lorde bases her discussions on fear and Despair.

Lorde talks about how fear completely changes a person's reality, and how

the physical and emotional toll of cancer created a sense of dread apprehension, (fear of worry often about the future).

She talks about the importance of acknowledging and accepting her fears, and by confronting her emotions she was able to find strength and resilience.

Lorde also speaks about adding a voice and embracing her fears.

"What is there possibly left for us to be afraid of, after we have dealt with the face of death and not embraced it?"

Fear and pain do not disappear entirely, they just become less important, fears are most powerful when they are given a voice.

Another theme that ties to fear and despair was identity In The Cancer Journals. Lorde explores how her identity as a Black woman, lesbian, and poet shaped her experience with breast cancer and the medical system. She highlights the intersectional oppression Black women face, being marginalised both for their race and gender, which leads to depersonalisation in medical care.

Lorde's reflection on feeling cold after her biopsy illustrates the emotional detachment and lack of empathy she experienced. An example of how racism in healthcare treats marginalised individuals as objects rather than whole persons. This depersonalisation, tied to both racism and sexism, and her critique of a system that dehumanises women of colour.

MICHELLE & KAORI

mwilson8_21 — 2024-10-24 15:51:22 UTC

Theme: Women Empowerment

Third paragraph of 58:

She uses a lot of outside resources in this chapter to analyze her point of staying true to yourself, although the survival rate for cancer is low, women still persevere. She speak about the points out the male gaze. Then she also includes finiacial burden.

Third chapter: 2th Paragraph, first 2 sentence: (58) encompasses the theme of empowerment in this chapter. Women should not be silence and be confined by societal expectations. Instead they should embrace their experiences.

66 first sentence: She also reflects on how she must follow what she tries to tell to her audience. However, this is difficult for her has she navigates her life with her illness.

Kat & Hailey Lordes Cancer Journals Response

2024-10-24 15:51:50 UTC

Based on our assigned chapters (One and Two), two themes that stuck out to us were stigma and femininity. In terms of stigma, Lorde believes she will not be desired if she loses her breasts, she asks herself "I thought what will it be like making love to me, will she still find my body delicious?", this also relates to femininity because she beloveds to be physically desirable to her partner, she needs to have both breasts. This deeply rooted expectation of women to have that aspect of their body to appeal to others pushes her into a state of sadness for the first time. Another example is when the nurse asks her partner, "Does she have her form on?" and when she says she doesn't have it on because she does not want to wear it, the nurse tells her she just has to push a little more. This again, relates to how society wants women to conform to the "norm", even if it is not what they want.