<![CDATA[Audre Lorde's "master's tools" speech was not about tech platforms.]]>Audre Lorde's "master's tools" speech was not about tech platforms. So why does tech discourse keep citing it as if it were? I write about what happens when a Black feminist theorist's words get borrowed, stripped of context, and made to do work they were never meant to do.

https://tarakiyee.com/on-the-enshittification-of-audre-lorde-the-masters-tools-in-tech-discourse/

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/topic/ccd7a25f-c27b-410c-9858-922c65171736/audre-lorde-s-master-s-tools-speech-was-not-about-tech-platforms.RSS for NodeMon, 06 Apr 2026 04:40:22 GMTSat, 28 Mar 2026 14:18:37 GMT60<![CDATA[Reply to Audre Lorde's "master's tools" speech was not about tech platforms. on Tue, 31 Mar 2026 10:21:13 GMT]]>@tarakiyee thank you. i particularly appreciated this example

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]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://fosstodon.org/users/hjwp/statuses/116323285304658776https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://fosstodon.org/users/hjwp/statuses/116323285304658776Tue, 31 Mar 2026 10:21:13 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Audre Lorde's "master's tools" speech was not about tech platforms. on Mon, 30 Mar 2026 21:57:05 GMT]]>@JakobJakob thanks for letting me know, I decided to remove the reference and add a note it was removed.

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mastodon.online/users/tarakiyee/statuses/116320359229430444https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mastodon.online/users/tarakiyee/statuses/116320359229430444Mon, 30 Mar 2026 21:57:05 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Audre Lorde's "master's tools" speech was not about tech platforms. on Mon, 30 Mar 2026 21:43:55 GMT]]>@tarakiyee really great article. The point about invitation over rejection is so powerful in her work and decolonial feminism more broadly. I feel this cannot be stressed enough and often changes a room.

Since you are citing Boaventura de Sousa Santos, i was wondering if you would mind to add a disclaimer about the harrassment charges against him. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boaventura_de_Sousa_Santos
Also while his work really is well publicised there are also claims that he did not credit properly where he took his ideas from.
An alternative reading might be found in this amazing collection: https://openlibrary.org/books/OL37689453M/Decolonial_Feminism_in_Abya_Yala

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://climatejustice.social/users/JakobJakob/statuses/116320307495979430https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://climatejustice.social/users/JakobJakob/statuses/116320307495979430Mon, 30 Mar 2026 21:43:55 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Audre Lorde's "master's tools" speech was not about tech platforms. on Mon, 30 Mar 2026 20:54:29 GMT]]>@tarakiyee Thanks for that 🙏

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mamot.fr/users/Khrys/statuses/116320113128824157https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mamot.fr/users/Khrys/statuses/116320113128824157Mon, 30 Mar 2026 20:54:29 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Audre Lorde's "master's tools" speech was not about tech platforms. on Mon, 30 Mar 2026 19:57:38 GMT]]>@thiswomanswerk Thank you, I don't think I've come across afropessmism before and I can already hear the rabbit hole beckoning. I need to find a job where I can read more literature than emails.

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mastodon.online/users/tarakiyee/statuses/116319889546822561https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mastodon.online/users/tarakiyee/statuses/116319889546822561Mon, 30 Mar 2026 19:57:38 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Audre Lorde's "master's tools" speech was not about tech platforms. on Mon, 30 Mar 2026 17:56:23 GMT]]>@tarakiyee As someone who loves this quote, I'm very thankful to you for writing this and giving context to it.

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://yiff.life/users/tael/statuses/116319412771689273https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://yiff.life/users/tael/statuses/116319412771689273Mon, 30 Mar 2026 17:56:23 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Audre Lorde's "master's tools" speech was not about tech platforms. on Mon, 30 Mar 2026 17:41:02 GMT]]>@tarakiyee Ah! Then you might be interested in this article engaging C. Riley Snorton and Saidiya Hartman. It has a nice breakdown of how they each talk about fungibility in the context the other article I shared uses it, and I think what you wrote resonates.

https://philarchive.org/archive/EWAARF-2

Black feminism is one of my special interests sooo, yeah lol

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://blacktwitter.io/users/thiswomanswerk/statuses/116319352440029437https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://blacktwitter.io/users/thiswomanswerk/statuses/116319352440029437Mon, 30 Mar 2026 17:41:02 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Audre Lorde's "master's tools" speech was not about tech platforms. on Mon, 30 Mar 2026 14:30:57 GMT]]>@thiswomanswerk Oooh, I only read the abstract so far, but thank you for sharing, I want to find the time to read it. It's good to finally have an actual good reason to understand what fungability is, I've opted to avoid the term so far.

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mastodon.online/users/tarakiyee/statuses/116318604967672686https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mastodon.online/users/tarakiyee/statuses/116318604967672686Mon, 30 Mar 2026 14:30:57 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Audre Lorde's "master's tools" speech was not about tech platforms. on Mon, 30 Mar 2026 07:16:48 GMT]]>@tarakiyee I am not well equipped to make a definitive judgment of it but I learned a lot and I'm thankful

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://birb.site/users/charlag/statuses/116316897818829675https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://birb.site/users/charlag/statuses/116316897818829675Mon, 30 Mar 2026 07:16:48 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Audre Lorde's "master's tools" speech was not about tech platforms. on Mon, 30 Mar 2026 06:19:16 GMT]]>@tarakiyee This is great analysis. Thank you. Also, I had no idea tech bros were doing that with Lorde and that is so very irritating...

Reading your essay reminded me of this article: "The Fungibility of Intersectionality: An Afropessimist Reading" by Silma Burge. It takes up a different term, but it highlights, similar to you, how a Black feminist theorist's term is flattened, stripped of context, and retooled.

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://blacktwitter.io/users/thiswomanswerk/statuses/116316671582838018https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://blacktwitter.io/users/thiswomanswerk/statuses/116316671582838018Mon, 30 Mar 2026 06:19:16 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Audre Lorde's "master's tools" speech was not about tech platforms. on Sun, 29 Mar 2026 13:04:55 GMT]]>@dgold I disagree on both counts. I think the entshitification analysis does something important and needed. I also wouldn't single him out, I'm afraid this an issue within the wider mainstream tech discourse.

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mastodon.online/users/tarakiyee/statuses/116312604398957131https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mastodon.online/users/tarakiyee/statuses/116312604398957131Sun, 29 Mar 2026 13:04:55 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Audre Lorde's "master's tools" speech was not about tech platforms. on Sun, 29 Mar 2026 13:00:13 GMT]]>@theodoraward I was surprised by how much I found on this phenomenom in my research for the article! Not only other cases, but good analsyis and discussion dissecting it. Helped a lot in formulating this to the tech example.

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mastodon.online/users/tarakiyee/statuses/116312585903090582https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mastodon.online/users/tarakiyee/statuses/116312585903090582Sun, 29 Mar 2026 13:00:13 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Audre Lorde's "master's tools" speech was not about tech platforms. on Sun, 29 Mar 2026 11:39:20 GMT]]>@tarakiyee extremely good post that articulates something i've had trouble formulating throughout like a decade of hearing this quote "rebutted" in probably half a dozen completely distinct institutional/theoretical contexts

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mastodon.social/ap/users/116154244044092665/statuses/116312267828660438https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mastodon.social/ap/users/116154244044092665/statuses/116312267828660438Sun, 29 Mar 2026 11:39:20 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Audre Lorde's "master's tools" speech was not about tech platforms. on Sun, 29 Mar 2026 09:43:17 GMT]]>@tarakiyee outstanding piece.

I've always felt that Doctorow's 'enshittification' concept merely acts in service of bad actors in the tech sphere. He really is living proof of Lorde's statement.

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://goblin.technology/users/dgold/statuses/01KMWFKWDFHP8W9DBKSRV96WS0https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://goblin.technology/users/dgold/statuses/01KMWFKWDFHP8W9DBKSRV96WS0Sun, 29 Mar 2026 09:43:17 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Audre Lorde's "master's tools" speech was not about tech platforms. on Sun, 29 Mar 2026 07:12:27 GMT]]>@tarakiyee
Sometimes I think Doctorow is leading the enshitification by example.

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mastodon.coffee/users/xinit/statuses/116311218448133129https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mastodon.coffee/users/xinit/statuses/116311218448133129Sun, 29 Mar 2026 07:12:27 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Audre Lorde's "master's tools" speech was not about tech platforms. on Sun, 29 Mar 2026 02:10:05 GMT]]>@inquiline @tarakiyee

This is excellent! Thank you @inquiline for sharing.

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://tldr.nettime.org/users/jeremiah/statuses/116310029487413252https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://tldr.nettime.org/users/jeremiah/statuses/116310029487413252Sun, 29 Mar 2026 02:10:05 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Audre Lorde's "master's tools" speech was not about tech platforms. on Sat, 28 Mar 2026 23:34:30 GMT]]>@tarakiyee

@tante might be interested in this as well.

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://fnordon.de/users/OskarImKeller/statuses/116309417686828589https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://fnordon.de/users/OskarImKeller/statuses/116309417686828589Sat, 28 Mar 2026 23:34:30 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Audre Lorde's "master's tools" speech was not about tech platforms. on Sat, 28 Mar 2026 22:06:58 GMT]]>@tarakiyee fuck, imagine having a take so bad about such a beloved figure, that the word you are most famous for is used to deride that very take.
I would simply delete everything and move to the woods if that were me.

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://spore.social/users/foundseed/statuses/116309073515961250https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://spore.social/users/foundseed/statuses/116309073515961250Sat, 28 Mar 2026 22:06:58 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Audre Lorde's "master's tools" speech was not about tech platforms. on Sat, 28 Mar 2026 21:04:45 GMT]]>@tarakiyee

great piece! cc @jeremiah if you've not seen

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://assemblag.es/users/inquiline/statuses/116308828865602426https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://assemblag.es/users/inquiline/statuses/116308828865602426Sat, 28 Mar 2026 21:04:45 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Audre Lorde's "master's tools" speech was not about tech platforms. on Sat, 28 Mar 2026 19:37:39 GMT]]>@tarakiyee
thanks for this post i saw already boosted here, it tells bare and perfectly what's about.
when i first read the quote of Cory i was feeling exactly this, and was "woa"..
thanks again.

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://pouet.chapril.org/users/bituur_esztreym/statuses/116308486327135039https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://pouet.chapril.org/users/bituur_esztreym/statuses/116308486327135039Sat, 28 Mar 2026 19:37:39 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Audre Lorde's "master's tools" speech was not about tech platforms. on Sat, 28 Mar 2026 19:37:22 GMT]]>@tarakiyee I love how the text doesn't aim to tear down an imperfect argument, but add to and improve it!

A discursive world with more principledness, but less tearing down would be nice 😃

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://floss.social/users/hko/statuses/116308485240607681https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://floss.social/users/hko/statuses/116308485240607681Sat, 28 Mar 2026 19:37:22 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Audre Lorde's "master's tools" speech was not about tech platforms. on Sat, 28 Mar 2026 19:28:42 GMT]]>@tarakiyee I understand, of course. It's just this perception of the machine eating up anything you serve it like that. And I sometimes think the barriers of the mind and the convenience of the conventional are the hardest to overcome. Like, the alternatives are there, and I happily support anyone who's interested. For me the tools just can't be separated from the politics, not when the toolmaker you want to oppose sees everything you do with their tools. Unless of course I'm on some 'poison the algorithm' kind of track, it's just never a good idea to me.

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://social.vivaldi.net/users/endolexi/statuses/116308451190042097https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://social.vivaldi.net/users/endolexi/statuses/116308451190042097Sat, 28 Mar 2026 19:28:42 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Audre Lorde's "master's tools" speech was not about tech platforms. on Sat, 28 Mar 2026 19:20:42 GMT]]>@tarakiyee outstanding post!

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://neuromatch.social/users/jdp23/statuses/116308419702819337https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://neuromatch.social/users/jdp23/statuses/116308419702819337Sat, 28 Mar 2026 19:20:42 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Audre Lorde's "master's tools" speech was not about tech platforms. on Sat, 28 Mar 2026 18:19:49 GMT]]>@endolexi I don't totally disagree with you, I'm actively trying to move away from big tech for all the reasons. However we both have technical capital, we can make choices other people can't. When the tool choice becomes the politics then we can't see that anymore. We need to understand the conditions behind tool choice or lack thereof, make those visible and political, and then change those conditions. Its hard and some of that work can happen on Google docs, they can't do shit about it.

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mastodon.online/users/tarakiyee/statuses/116308180278376344https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mastodon.online/users/tarakiyee/statuses/116308180278376344Sat, 28 Mar 2026 18:19:49 GMT