Audre Lorde writes in “The Uses of the Erotic,” that oppressive systems have created a “false belief” of the erotic with pornography, creating a “distrust” and “fear” in women of their erotic power. She explains, “For this reason we have often turned away from the exploration and consideration of the erotic as a source of power and information, confusing it with its opposite, the pornographic.” I’ve been thinking a lot about how censorship has limited expression and creativity due to fear of being judged, shamed, and miscategorized into the pornographic.
I think if the erotic was used as a “source of power that has the ability to create change,” like Lorde writes, then the female gaze would be more prevalent in society. Lorde writes, “[the] 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.” Women often see themselves as objects to be looked at by men in art, on film, and in society all the time, so using the erotic as power tears down the idea that the female body is controlled by men and would empower women further to explore and express their sexuality.
Lastly, I think one of the most powerful points of discussion in this piece is Lorde’s clarification that distancing ourselves from the power of the erotic is “not self-discipline, but self-abnegation.” Lorde’s encouragement of using the erotic as self-expression is pivotal especially in the society we currently live in. The power of the erotic is important not only because of the power it holds in itself, but also because of the energy it gives ut to “pursue genuine change within our world.” By using the erotic in this way, I now realize how it can possibly help empower us to go beyond and accomplish more things with this sense of self-liberation. Because ultimately, the power and beauty of self-liberation and self-love can take you almost anywhere.