THE EROTIC AS A

POWER
AU D R E LO R D E , “ U S E S O F T H E E R OT I C : T H E E R OT I C A S P O W E R ” F R O M S I S T E R
O U T S I D E R : E S S AY S A N D S P E EC H E S , P P. 5 3 – 5 9

Isabel Rodrí guez Pastrana

AUDRE LORDE - OVERVIEW
• 1934 – 1992
• Black, lesbian, feminist, writer
• Addresses injustices of racism, sexism,
classism, and homophobia
• Intersectional and holistic approach
• Sister Outsider: essays from the 70s –
80s (2nd wave feminism)
• More info: Lesbian Herstory Archives
THE EROTIC VS THE
PORNOGRAPHIC
• The Erotic (eros): lifeforce / power of women, a creative energy rooted in a
spiritual plane
◦ Functions: empowerment, information. “Purple Glasses”
• The Pornographic: antithesis of the erotic

• Problem: the erotic has been confused with the pornographic

• Consequences:
◦ Women live outside themselves, on male demands -> women’s disaffection
◦ Male-dominated world
THE EROTIC AS A POWER
• Lorde’s thesis: women should recover their erotic power (the resilience in the
face of a racist, patriarchal, and homophobic society)
• Women should live from within outward: using the erotic to inform their
actions -> responsibility with others
• Warning: “to share the power of each other’s feelings is different from using
another’s feelings as we would use a Kleenex”

• Sum: women must empower themselves to create a non-male-dominated

world, but with responsibility, understanding the differences among themselves
(intersectionality)
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

1. In what ways is our world designed for men, where women live
outside themselves? Examples

2. Do you agree with Lorde’s opposition between the erotic and the
pornographic? Can porn be in some sense liberating?