The Erotic as Power, Notes on Audre Lorde by Janet Maika’i Rudolph

I’ve long kept a tract of Audre Lorde’s seminal piece The Uses of the Erotic near my computer. “The Erotic as Power” is her subtitle. If you haven’t read it, please do.  It is in her book Sister Outsider. And you can find it as a stand-alone here. It was written in 1978.

Lorde points out how the erotic is the opposite of pornography, in fact pornography is ultimately a denial of the erotic because it emphasizes sensation without feeling. “The erotic is a resource within each of us that lies in a deeply female and spiritual plane . . .” She goes on to note how it is through our bodies that we recognize and access this power. But she goes on, “We have been taught to suspect this resource, vilified, abused and devalued within Western society.”  In the hands of patriarchy this amazing and important resource often lies out of reach because it has become a source of shame and a sense of inferiority for women.[1]

I would add to the definition of patriarchy that one of its main goals is to damp down, even destroy, the erotic. We have seen this play out over thousands of years of history. Women are often viewed as either saints or sinners. Saints are denuded of this deep earthy power and sinners are those who flaunt it, or at least in the eyes of patriarchy.

It’s hard to pull out a few quotes from her piece because every sentence is filled with power and flows from one idea to the next. Erotic in our world has come to be associated solely with sex. Not just any sex but lewd and ugly sex (of the sinner variety). And although the erotic can be related to the sexual act in particular, it is far larger and grander at its core. It encompasses the passionate energy of an artist, a soul in the act of creativity, a person fully in their bodies and flowing with power.

Our own Carol Christ wrote about Lorde’s piece as well. I love Carol’s post as she recounts the impact Lorde’s article has had on young feminists including herself when she was young. I recommend reading it.  There is one note I would like to respond to however. Christ discusses Kathleen Sands who wrote in relation to the aspect of using our bodies as a source of power that, as Carol writes it, “bodies and feelings of bodies are complexly shaped by culture and experience. She said that all of the feelings of the body are not ‘good’; if they were, we would have to affirm rapists and pedophiles.”

In my view this is the patriarchy talking and not a true representation of Lord’s writing.  The “shaping” Sands is discussing is pure patriarchy

Here is one of the benefits of a true erotic experience according to Lorde, “The sharing of joy, whether physical, emotional, psychic, or intellectual, forms a bridge between the sharers which can be the basis for understanding much of what is not shared between them., and lessens the threat of their difference.” This is the opposite of the acts of a rapist and a pedophile. I speak from a distinct vantage point as I am a survivor of both. Remember emphasizing sensation over deep seated feelings is the definition of pornography and is the root of abuse.  Feeling “good” is not the goal, although it can be a valued side effect.  It feels good when we stand in our power.  And the “goodness” we feel is rooted in the joy that Lorde discusses.

As Lorde writes, “The erotic is the nurturer or nursemaid of all our deepest knowledge.” And then she goes on, “Recognizing the power of the erotic within our lives can give us the energy to pursue genuine change within out world, rather than merely settling for a shift of characters in the same weary drama.”

This is why patriarchy needs to destroy the erotic; it is a danger to the system. Lorde notes this as well, “Of course, women so empowered are dangerous.”

And each of us have paid and continue to pay this price. There was a recent article in the NY Times about how the issue of transgender rights was one reason that democrats lost votes. It is an issue we have struggled with here at FAR as well.

This following is my own note about transgender rights. Transgender people have existed as long as humanity has. In Indigenous populations they are called two-spirits. Their presence is important for many reasons. I will note two right now. 1) They stand in for what is possible for the creative spirit of breaking boundaries. They refuse to be placed in society’s box of approval. They show all of us the way of living an authentic life to who we each are, even if it goes against the popular sentiments; and 2) in order to fully know the fullness of life and to be whole, we need to experience all the elements of life. In the world of shamanism, we need to not only experience all forms of human life but also from those of the animal kingdom. This is exhibited most pointedly in the story of Taliesin, the British poet and mystic whose origin story includes turning into many different forms from a rabbit to a fish to a bird to a seed while being pursued by Cerridwen.  My friend, Rachel Pollack, transgender herself, used to tell the story of the Greek Tiresias who had been turned into a woman as punishment by Hera. After eight years he was turned back into a male and become known as a wisdom-keeper. 

So, if the Dems did lose voters over this issue it speaks to a much larger societal issue. Are people so afraid of people who break boundaries that they choose fascism and misogyny instead? I would argue that yes, because patriarchy has encoded that fear within us throughout millennia. It lies so deep inside us that many don’t even recognize it for what it is. I believe, it is that fear that needs to be addressed, not an abandonment of the trans community. 

Rosie O’Donnell did an excellent job of speaking to this fear. She is currently living in Ireland and seeking Irish citizenship through her grandparents’ roots. She has long been at odds with Trump and after his latest threats to her of stripping her citizenship, she responded, “I’m everything you fear. A loud woman, a queer woman, a mother who tells the truth, an American who got out of the country before you set it ablaze. You are everything that is wrong with America—and I’m everything you hate about what’s still right with it.”

Rosie O’Donnell exhibits the erotic in action.  Go Rosie! And yes, it feels good! 

I have a lot more thoughts on this topic and anticipate writing more in the coming months.

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[1] Lorde’s line that this is a female aspect has been a flashpoint in feminist thinking. I would argue that men are able to access this same energy by recognizing the female aspects of themselves.  But this has also been blocked by what we usually call toxic masculinity.