Blog Post #2 - Elizabeth Roberti

A Burst of Light: 

Living With Cancer

Audre Lorde

When I first read this piece A Burst of Light by Audre Lorde, I had to re-read it.  I couldn't believe that Lorde was treated like she was an idiot because she is a black female.  In particular, the beginning of the piece where Audre Lorde says to her doctor, "Wait a minute, I said.  I need to feel this thing out and see what's going on inside myself first, I said, needing some time to absorb the shock, time to assay the situation and not act out of panic."  I don't know a single other person in the world who knows my body better than me.  If i'm sick, sometimes it doesn't always show physically but I know i'm sick because I know myself and I know my body.  If my stomach hurts or my back feels off, how could anyone possibly know that unless I told them?  It's funny to me that Lorde was treated like she didn't know anything when she was the one going through pain.  For instance when the doctor said to her "If you do not do exactly what I tell you to do right now without questions you are going to die a horrible death."  Even if a doctor is in his profession for the money, he could have responded in a professional manner.  What he did was in more or less words tell her that she needs to do as he says...or else.  Doctor or not, there isn't anyone in the world who deserves the right to tell another person they need to do what they say exactly or they will die a horrible death?  Even when raising me my parents explained to me why I was being punished every single time.  They explained what I did wrong and why I was not allowed to act in the way I did.  Not once was there ever a because I said so moment and that's family, this is a man that should show respect from a paying customer.

The thing I think I find especially sad is that if the same situation had happened to a man the doctor would have been so sympathetic and explained everything to him over and over until he felt comfortable.  I know, maybe not when it comes to my doctor specifically like in this story but in life there are situations in which my mom isn't taken seriously however my dad is.  For instance when we went out one night there were tourists there and they needed directions, they immediately looked over at my dad for help and instead of my dad answering, my mom began to answer.  They were hesitant to look away from the male and toward the woman for guidance because they can't imagine she knows better than her husband.  To some people this may seem like it's not a big deal and to others it may be highly insulting.  Everyone feels differently about situations and every person responds to each situation differently.  However it just goes to show that Audre Lorde wasn't far off from where we are today, still treated lesser than men because of our gender when we have so much to offer.  Lorde may very well have understood exactly what the doctor was talking about but he didn't feel she needed an explanation simply because of who she was.