Gloria E. Anzaldúa interview in Backtalk: women writers speak out by Donna Marie Perry (1993)
“

I'm using the word nos/otras. Otras means other and nos means us, we. We don't have to keep using the oppositional language of the fathers. We were taught to write and think like these theorists. It's complicitous for somebody who is an "other" to be using "their" terms and "their" styles all the time. It's like fighting them with their own language. Audre Lorde said it very succinctly: "You cannot use the master's tools to dismantle the master's house.

— Gloria E. Anzaldúa interview

What It Means

This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "I'm using the word nos/otras. Otras means other and nos means us, we. We don't have to keep using the oppositional language of the fathers. We were taught to write and think like these theorists. It's complicitous for somebody who is an "other" to be using "their" terms and "their" styles all the time. It's like fighting them with their own language. Audre Lorde said it very succinctly: "You cannot use the master's tools to dismantle the master's house." in the context of "Gloria E. Anzaldúa interview in Backtalk: women writers speak out by Donna Marie Perry (1993)" to mean that wisdom is timeless.

Source: Wikiquote: "Audre Lorde" (Quotes about Audre Lorde) The 'What it means' explanation text was generated by Google Gemini Flash (accessed January 18, 2026). https://gemini.google.com/app
Audre Lorde

About Audre Lorde

Audre Geraldine Lorde (18 February 1934 – 17 November 1992) was a black writer, feminist, womanist, lesbian, and civil rights activist. Her poems and prose largely deal with issues related to civil rights, feminism, and the exploration of black female identity.