the erotic
For the erotic is not a question only of what we do; it is a question of how acutely and fully we can feel in the doing. Once we know the extent to which we are capable of feeling that sense of satisfaction and completion, we can then observe which of our various life endeavours bring us closest to that fullness.
Audre Lorde. • Uses of the Erotic: The Erotic as Power
he erotic is a resource within each of us that lies in a deeply female and spiritual plane, firmly rooted in the power of our unexpressed or unrecognized feeling. In order to perpetuate itself, every oppression must corrupt or distort those various sources of power within the culture of the oppressed that can provide energy for change. For women,... See more
Audre Lorde. • Uses of the Erotic: The Erotic as Power
“when we begin to live from within outward, in touch with the power of the erotic within ourselves … then we begin to be responsible for ourselves in the deepest sense.”
Melissa Febos • Girlhood
Audre Lorde defines the erotic as “a resource within each of us that lies in a deeply female and spiritual plane, firmly rooted in the power of our unexpressed or unrecognized feeling.”
Melissa Febos • Girlhood
The fear that we cannot grow beyond whatever distortions we may find within ourselves keeps us docile and loyal and obedient, externally defined, and leads us to accept many facets of our oppression as women
Audre Lorde. • Uses of the Erotic: The Erotic as Power
The erotic is a measure between the beginnings of our sense of self and the chaos of our strongest feelings.
Audre Lorde. • Uses of the Erotic: The Erotic as Power
When we live outside ourselves, and by that I mean on external directives only rather than from our internal knowledge and needs, when we live away from those erotic guides from within ourselves, then our lives are limited by external and alien forms, and we conform to the needs of a structure that is not based on human need, let alone an... See more