Audre Lorde Quotes

It is axiomatic that if we do not define ourselves for ourselves, we will be defined by others-for their use and to our detriment.

If I didn't define myself for myself, I would be crunched into other people's fantasies for me and eaten alive.

Carving out an identity for yourself is important so I'm trying to do that as well.

When you have a lot of people telling you what you are and perceiving you in a certain way, it's difficult to find your own identity.

The gender is irrelevant; the identity is the one you should try and create for yourself by yourself, and the narrative of your own life becomes your own book.

Now that I'm older, I understand that it's up to the individual to decide who they are or what they are.

Whether it’s your taste in clothing, your needs in a relationship, or what you do for a living—don’t let anyone else be at the controls. Define yourself.

Before tomorrow, make a list of your traits. Make YOUR list - who you are and why. Then ask yourself this question: where did it come from? Are you the way you are because it is what you want... or what they want? Are you a product of your imagination or someone else's? Think about it.

I make me. At 18, I decided I wasn't going to have an unconstructed self ever. I was going to be the composer, the designer, the architect of me. It's been really fun.

I want to be defined by my own essence.

I know who I am by now. And I am my own brand.

Don't let anyone try to tell you who you are. Define yourself.

My life choices are not supposed to be the gateway to somebody else's. That's my journey.

Others will always seek to define you based on what they think you represent or who they think you are. But you have to be the one to control what you do and what you say and how you present yourself.

You can't ever put your self-definition in the hands of somebody who meets you for 15 minutes.

Don't let others define you. You define yourself.

There's nothing harder than defining oneself.

I love tennis. But even if I become the greatest of all time, I still don't only want to be defined by tennis. I'm my own person. And I want to be remembered as I really am.

Some people want to define themselves, and they should, as it's part of their identity. For me personally, I've never really had a label for myself.

Nobody else can tell you what you are.

I might not ever fully know who I am, but I also believe that I could be whoever I want, whenever I want.

As a southern woman, we often define ourselves by who we are with. But I wanted my life to be built differently.

Selfness is an essential fact of life. The thought of nonselfness, precise sameness is terrifying.

My work is trying to at least define myself on my own terms, and then if other people enjoy things that's a lovely addition.

In order for you to be yourself, you have to be somebody first.