Q0548
“A borderland is a vague and undetermined place created by the emotional…” — Gloria Anzaldúa (Borderlands/La Frontera (1987))
Verified English quotation. Primary source: Borderlands/La Frontera (1987). Theme: otherness.
English
A borderland is a vague and undetermined place created by the emotional residue of an unnatural boundary.
Source and attribution
The archive attributes this English wording to Borderlands/La Frontera (1987) and files it under Feminist Philosophy. That locator distinguishes the passage from loose internet attributions: readers can return to the named work or section to check translation, surrounding argument, and edition-specific wording.
About Gloria Anzaldúa
Gloria Anzaldúa (1942–2004) was a Chicana feminist theorist and poet whose Borderlands/La Frontera mixed autobiography, myth, and political analysis of the U.S.–Mexico border. She wrote across English and Spanish to describe hybrid identity under colonial and patriarchal pressure.
How to read this passage
Across 4 recurring voices here (notably Frantz Fanon and Kwame Anthony Appiah), otherness is framed through Africana Philosophy and Platonic Moral Philosophy. Some passages define otherness; others warn how it fails; still others relocate it inside habit, community, or language. This passage enters that discussion through otherness, self.
Concepts in this quote
- Otherness
- Otherness appears in this archive as a live philosophical concern—not a slogan. These verified English passages show how thinkers treat otherness as a problem of judgment, practice, or explanation.
- Self
- Philosophy quotes about self explore identity, responsibility, and the examined life—from Socrates’ unexamined life to modern phenomenology and existential authenticity.
How to cite this quotation
APA: Gloria Anzaldúa. (n.d.). A borderland is a vague and undetermined place created by the emotional residue of an unnatural boundary. In Philosophy Blind Box. https://www.philosophydef.com/quotes/q0548
MLA: Gloria Anzaldúa. “A borderland is a vague and undetermined place….” Philosophy Blind Box, https://www.philosophydef.com/quotes/q0548.
Chicago: Gloria Anzaldúa. “A borderland is a vague and undetermined place….” Philosophy Blind Box. Accessed 2026. https://www.philosophydef.com/quotes/q0548.
Frequently asked questions
What is the source of the quotation “A borderland is a vague and undetermined place…”?
The passage is attributed to Gloria Anzaldúa, Borderlands/La Frontera (1987). The archive attributes this English wording to Borderlands/La Frontera (1987) and files it under Feminist Philosophy. That locator distinguishes the passage from loose internet attributions: readers can return to the named work or section to check translation, surrounding argument, and edition-specific wording.
What does Gloria Anzaldúa mean by otherness?
Across 4 recurring voices here (notably Frantz Fanon and Kwame Anthony Appiah), otherness is framed through Africana Philosophy and Platonic Moral Philosophy. Some passages define otherness; others warn how it fails; still others relocate it inside habit, community, or language. This passage enters that discussion through otherness, self.