# Chapter Notes: Power and Politics

This document provides a comprehensive analysis of the key concepts, vocabulary, and themes presented in the chapter "Power and Politics," with a focus on Audre Lorde's "An Open Letter to Mary Daly."

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## Working with Words

### A. Vocabulary Definitions

* **reluctance**: Unwillingness or disinclination to do something.
* **repressive**: Preventing the expression or awareness of thoughts or desires.
* **mutilation**: The infliction of serious damage on something.
* **ghettoized**: Restricted to an isolated or segregated place, group, or situation.
* **herstory**: History viewed from a female or specifically feminist perspective.
* **genital**: Relating to the human or animal reproductive organs.
* **hysterectomies**: Surgical operations to remove all or part of the uterus.
* **paranoid**: Unreasonably or obsessively anxious, suspicious, or mistrustful.
* **eventuation**: A final outcome or result.

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### B. Word Formation Chart

| Verb | Noun | Adjective |
| :--- | :--- | :--- |
| commit | commitment | committed |
| nurture | nurturance | nurturable |
| **legitimize** | **legitimization** | **legitimate** |
| oppress | oppression | oppressive |
| **defend** | **defense** | **defensive** |
| victimize | victimization | victimized |

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### C. Definitions of Key Terms

* **Racism**: The belief that different races possess distinct characteristics, abilities, or qualities, especially so as to distinguish them as inferior or superior to one another, often institutionalized into a system of prejudice and discrimination.
* **Lesbian**: A woman who is homosexual; a gay woman.
* **Radical**: Advocating for thorough or complete political or social change; representing a fundamental part of the nature of someone or something.
* **Feminist**: Relating to or supporting feminism, the advocacy of women's rights on the basis of the equality of the sexes.
* **Patriarchy**: A system of society or government in which men hold primary power and predominate in roles of political leadership, moral authority, social privilege, and control of property.

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### D. Consonant Clusters

*a.* **Fl**u**ff**y we**nt** **fl**i**p**-**fl**o**p** a**ll** over the **fl**oor.
*b.* The whi**tes** **s**i**ng** a **s**o**ng** abou**t** the **str**iki**ng** **st**a**rs**.
*c.* Here are some **fl**owe**rs** a**nd** a **fl**a**sk** of tea of your favouri**t**e **fl**avou**r**.
*d.* **Sm**i**t**a **f**e**ll** i**ll** wi**th** **fl**u.
*e.* My **fr**ie**nd** is **fr**igh**t**e**n**e**d** of **fr**o**gs**.
*f.* **Th**u**mb**elina **st**u**mb**le**d** ou**t** of the **gr**ee**n** bu**sh**.
*g.* She hea**rd** a ru**mb**le a**nd** a **cr**y.
*h.* ‘**Cl**i**mb** u**p**’, sai**d** **T**o**m**.
*i.* **Fr**eedo**m** nee**ds** to be **str**ive**d** fo**r**.
*j.* **Ch**i**ldr**e**n** were mu**nch**i**ng** **cr**u**nch**y **Fr**e**nch** **fr**ie**s**.

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## Comprehension

### Answer the Following Questions

**a. Why does Audre Lorde think that Mary Daly got a sort of victory in the University of Boston?**
Lorde refers to a "speak-out" Daly was attending, suggesting that the presence of so many women represented a potential victory—a "show of joined power." However, Lorde's point is critical: she believes this potential is undermined by Daly's exclusionary work, which prevents true solidarity among all women.

**b. Why is Lorde thankful to Mary Daly?**
Lorde is thankful because Daly's book, *Gyn/Ecology*, was "full of import, useful, generative, and provoking." Despite her profound disagreements with it, Lorde found the book strengthening and important enough to engage with on a deep, critical level.

**c. What impression has the writer had about the way white women looked upon black women?**
Lorde's impression is that white feminists, as represented by Daly, have historically been unable or unwilling to hear Black women's words or engage in meaningful dialogue. She describes this as a "long and discouraging" history of white women failing to acknowledge the unique experiences and theoretical contributions of Black women.

**d. Why did Mary Daly not cast black women as goddesses in her book, according to Lorde?**
Lorde states that Daly made a conscious decision to limit her book's scope to the mythology of Western European women. However, Lorde critically questions this decision, arguing that it results in a narrow and exclusionary portrayal of female power.

**e. Why did Lorde think that she was misused by Mary Daly?**
Lorde felt misused because she believed Daly took her words out of their original context and used them to support arguments against other women of color. Lorde felt her own work was being used as a weapon against the very communities she sought to empower.

**f. For Lorde, how were women, especially from the black community, undervalued?**
For Lorde, Black women were undervalued by being "ghettoized" and treated as peripheral within a feminist framework that centered on a patriarchal Western European perspective. Their rich histories and mythologies were ignored or used merely as decorative examples of female victimization, rather than as sources of power and theory.

**g. How does Mary Daly take white women as? Does Lorde agree with Mary’s view?**
Lorde argues that Mary Daly's work implicitly positions the history and mythology of white European women as the universal and sole "herstory" for all women. It assumes that non-white women's experiences are only noteworthy as decorative examples or as instances of suffering. No, Lorde vehemently disagrees with this view, critiquing it as a form of racist supremacy that ignores the power, pain, and unique traditions of Black women and other women of color.

**h. What is Afrekete? How does it connect to this lesson?**
Afrekete is an African goddess, a figure of strength and power from the Dahomeyan tradition. Lorde invokes her name to symbolize the rich, non-European mythologies and sources of female power that Daly's Eurocentric work completely ignores. Afrekete represents the heritage that Black women can and should draw upon, connecting the lesson to the urgent need for a more inclusive and non-racist feminism.

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## Critical Thinking

### a. "The oppression of women knows no ethnic or racial boundaries." Do you agree or not?

I completely agree with the statement. While the specific forms and intensity of oppression may vary across cultures, the fundamental system of patriarchy and the resulting subjugation of women are a near-universal phenomenon. This reality transcends ethnic, racial, and national boundaries, creating a shared, global experience of gender-based inequality.

For instance, women in Western corporate environments may fight for equal pay and against glass ceilings, while women in other parts of the world may be fighting for the basic right to education or to be free from forced marriage. A woman in one country might face street harassment, while another faces the threat of "honor killings." Despite these differences in context, the underlying cause is the same: a societal structure that devalues women and systematically grants more power and privilege to men. Gender-based violence, economic disparity, political underrepresentation, and the burden of domestic labor are challenges faced by women everywhere. This is not to say that all women's experiences are identical—race and class create different layers of oppression—but to acknowledge that the foundational struggle against patriarchy is a common thread that unites women across the globe.

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### b. Why is it important to question our beliefs and values? How are they formed?

Questioning our own beliefs and values is a fundamental requirement for intellectual honesty, personal growth, and a tolerant society. Beliefs are often formed not through rigorous logical deduction, but through cultural osmosis—absorbed from our family, community, education, and media. They become the mental framework through which we interpret the world, often operating at a subconscious level. To never question them is to risk living an unexamined life, guided by unverified assumptions and potential prejudices.

The process of questioning our beliefs forces us to move from passive acceptance to active understanding. It compels us to seek evidence, consider alternative perspectives, and identify inconsistencies in our own logic. This can be an uncomfortable process, as it may reveal that some of our most cherished beliefs are unfounded. However, it is also empowering. If a belief withstands scrutiny, it becomes stronger and more authentically our own. If it does not, we are given the opportunity to discard it and adopt a more accurate and compassionate worldview. This fosters intellectual humility, strengthens character, and is the very engine of both individual and societal progress.

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## Writing

### B. Article: "The Status of Women in Nepali Society"

**The Unfinished Journey: Examining the Status of Women in Nepali Society**

Nepal, a nation of remarkable geographic and cultural diversity, remains a society largely governed by patriarchal norms. For generations, a woman's life has been traditionally defined by her relationship to men—first her father, then her husband, and finally her son. While recent legal and social reforms have challenged this structure, the journey towards genuine gender equality is far from complete.

Significant disparities persist in key areas of life. In health, Nepal's indicators for women are among the lowest in South Asia. The prevalence of child marriage, particularly in rural areas, leads to premature pregnancies and a high maternal mortality rate. Access to healthcare remains a challenge for many women, whose well-being is often considered secondary to that of male family members.

In education, despite progress, a substantial gender gap remains. The national female literacy rate continues to lag significantly behind that of males, and female enrollment in higher and technical education is disproportionately low. This disparity is fueled by the cultural view of daughters as "paraya dhan" (someone else's property), leading many families to prioritize their sons' education over their daughters'.

Economically, the contribution of women is immense but largely invisible. A vast portion of their work in agriculture and household management is unpaid and not classified as an "economic activity." Consequently, their participation in the formal workforce is much lower than men's, and they are severely underrepresented in professional and leadership roles.

While constitutional guarantees for women's rights are a vital step forward, deep-seated patriarchal values continue to hinder progress. Achieving true gender equality in Nepal will require not only legal enforcement but a profound cultural shift that recognizes and values women as equal and indispensable contributors to the nation's future.

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## Grammar: Adjective Order

### B. Choose the Correct Alternative

a. **an old foreign** car
b. **a beautiful white** dress
c. **a nice tall young** man
d. **a big black wooden** desk
e. **a delicious Italian** pizza
f. **a huge brown** bear
g. **a purple cotton sleeping** bag
h. **a beautiful old Indian** village
i. **a cute little** kitten
j. **an expensive antique** table

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### C. Put the Adjectives in the Correct Order

a. I bought **a comfortable new red** scooter.
b. She reached home and sat on **her relaxing old wooden** chair.
c. We ate **some delicious Chinese** food.
d. I need **some delicious round golden** apples.
e. We like to live in **a calm, remote, unmediated** place for some time.
f. She is wearing **a beautiful old silver** ring.
g. I am looking for **a stylish golden Japanese** watch.
h. She dropped **an attractive old China** cup and smashed it.
i. He wants to marry **a pretty, young, educated, rustic** girl.
j. We stayed in **a new, luxurious, five-star** hotel in Dubai.