“The Legacy of ‘Uses of the Erotic’” thoroughly delves into a conversation format between Page and Brown on Audre Lorde’s “Uses of the Erotic.” This chapter has captivated the attention of both women who question and answer each other by bouncing back and forth ideas and experiences. Brown and Page strongly believe through sex (pleasure and erotic) women are able to feel empowered and are able to identify themselves. Sex isn’t just carnal, sex carries powerful emotions and identification. “But Audre Lorde talks about how we are providing energy for change. And considering the erotic as a source of power and information (50).”
Through the erotic Lorde focuses on finding the truth of oneself through empowerment and vulnerability, “Our erotic knowledge empowers us. Becomes a lens through which we scrutinize all aspects of our existence, forcing us to evaluate these aspects honestly, in terms of their relative meaning within our lives (42).” To evaluate aspects honestly individuals should be able to search and find answers through vulnerability. Acknowledging one’s own erotica can be eyeopening and breaking many boundaries that have been labeled as taboo through societal norms. In regards to lesbianism, the norm in our society has been heterosexuality, and it is still considered taboo to explore one’s identity in many spaces. But taking the step to explore what is considered taboo is breaching towards vulnerability and then finding empowerment along with happiness through reassurance in one’s self.
A similar pattern can be exercised through racism with erotica. There has been a constant hypersexualization for Black women in society that has belittled the community. Cara makes an interesting comment about self-love that she was taught as a child by one of her aunts, “I used to say, “I don’t know if I love myself.” And one of my aunts put me in front of the mirror at age six and seven, and she said, “You are going to look at yourself in the mirror and say ‘I love myself.’ And then you’re going to say ‘I love Black people.’”And at first, I resisted, but then I was like, “OK, let’s do this.” And she was committed to that practice every time I saw her. Until it rolled off the tongue and there was no pause and she could say, “Ok, go to the mirror, and love yourself.” And I would, knowingly, lovingly. You feel me?” This practice was put to use at a young age in Cara’s life and it had established the power of feminism and being a person of color. This is a form of claiming one’s identity at a young age which flows into a powerful form of establishing one’s identity through the erotic and sexual experience once they are of age and ready (if applied-asexuality). Overall, sex can be more than physical, sex can hold many emotions and open identities that could be waiting to become unlocked. Between Page and Brown, both women have explored and reclaimed their sexuality and identities through Audre Lorde’s literature. Lorde view’s many things differently conjuring ideas that some people would have never thought to ponder.
Questions:
- “What are other ideas between Page and Brown that have caught your attention based on erotica?”
- Do you think erotica has been tabooed for long and how can we normalize it in the present-day?
- How do you think racism and unacceptance work to misconstrue the idea of erotica?
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Hi Claudia! I really liked your blog post and the very interesting points you made about the conversation between Brown and Page and Audre Lorde’s chapter. The moment about looking at yourself in the mirror and loving yourself is just so powerful, I thought it was really important that you emphasized on that point. This use of the word “erotic” can stand for many different ideas and ways to show self-love, how to share our love, and have honest opinions about life as a whole. One quote from Cara Page is, “Let us honor what is happening to our bodies, the histories of trauma we are holding in our bodies that block us from desire”(45). I believe this example is crucial for allowing the acceptance of ourselves, our feelings and emotions. Women should feel comfortable using this power, this erotic sense of not fear, but confidence and desire. The importance of this desire is wanting something, anything, and going after it. Taking that chance to be with whomever and do whatever one’s erotic desires may be.
Hey Claudia!
So while reading I felt that the text was more focused on Cara Page and the influence that Audre Lorde’s work had on her rather than Audre Lorde’s own view of erotica. I believe that Page truly looked up to Lorde because Lorde opened her to a world that she was otherwise unaware existed and was allowed to be delved into as Page states, “It’s the first thing I read and heard that was like, “Holy shit! You can talk about that?” (38). Although Lorde’s work is quoted frequently, Page is bouncing off of that work and explaining how it influenced and even helped her understand sex, love, pleasure, erotica and relationships in general and how to liberate oneself. Page goes so far as to claim Lorde’s work was her “medicine”. Page is explaining the influence of Lorde and how it helped her and how it can help others transform “fear into erotic power” (39), that sexual experience and liberation is not something that should bring fear and insecurity to a woman – specifically a black queer woman, but should empower her and make her feel beautiful. I found the way she spoke of desire and destiny to be quite beautiful as well as most of the text. Though I must reiterate, the two discuss Page more than Lorde, but do mention Lorde’s influence, at least that was my take on the text.
Hey Claudia,
I love your blog post and I think you highlighted many important ideas in both texts. I also love how you talk about the connection between brown and Page. Erotica is still very much tabooed in today society. We are unable of the power we have within us but through erotic will are granted some of that power. In the “Use of the Erotic” Lorde said that erotic is a resource within each of us female, but different societal oppressions prevents us from using these powers. According to Lorde “As women, we have come to distrust that power which rises from our deepest and non-rational knowledge”. We as woman are being taught to ignore erotic except in the service of men, when it can be “psychically milked” (p. 54) for their benefit. Erotic can be used to better understand a person’s experience and it’s the most self-responsible source of a woman’s power. We as women has to first recognize the power that erotic possesses and embrace that power, then the world will begin to normalize it.