Roses for Hedone: On Queer Hedonism and World-Making Through Pleasure

404 Inklings #28

by Prishita Maheshwari-Aplin

When a society marginalises a people, their humanity is revolutionary - in all its hunger and joy. Although long demonised, hedonism in all its forms has played a central role in how queer people sought to organise as a symbiotic system. In fact, when viewed through a queer lens, hedonism undergoes a process of transformation and embodies the "power for change", as described by Audre Lorde in The Uses of the Erotic. Today, when the queer community worldwide faces rampant transphobia, rising hate crime, and unequal access to support services - all in the context of humanitarian crises, a climate crisis, and a destabilised political landscape - such hedonism is no less necessary or, indeed, present. As we face ongoing and new challenges to creating a more fair world, let us borrow from the Ancient Greeks' understanding of love's multiplicity to explore queer hedonism not as a momentary phenomenon, but rather a transformational route through which we can learn from our past, connect in the present, and look towards the future with hope - together.

Genres: Nonfiction, Queer, LGBT, Academic

112 pages, Paperback

First published April 17, 2025

Reviews

[Alwynne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Writer and campaigner Prishita Maheshwari-Aplin's framing of queer hedonism builds on aspects of queer theory and on their contributions to events like STOGGAF's Queer Hedonism exhibition. Poised somewhere between essay and manifesto, Maheshwari-Aplin draws on queer histories and activism through time and across continents: taking in circuit parties, kink, cruising, community organising, drag and other manifestations of queer identity, sensibilities and community. There's an emphasis on queer temporalities and links to radical anti-capitalist politics, the rejection of heteronormative notions of being in the world, from so-called adulting to the nuclear family. Instead Maheshwari-Aplin celebrates chosen family, fluidity and solidarity. Their arguments could feel a little rushed and breathless at times but could also be insightful, informative and gloriously affirmatory.

Rating: 3/3.5

[Sasi Moran · Rating 5 out of 5]

reading the first chapter i thought this was going to be about the liberating force of partying, which i personally don't find joyful at all. but i was pleasantly surprised that the author was also critical of this part of queer culture. i guess it is quite naïve to talk about the transformative character of queer love and joy, as nothing really feels revolutionary at this stage of capitalism. so what else is left other than doing our best and having some fun while we're at it?

[Eden · Rating 3 out of 5]

felt self indulgent (rather fitting for its title)

[Dena · Rating 2 out of 5]

I just feel like it didn't come away with any new information, or insights. Nearly dnf-ed despite it being less than 100 pages

[kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75

liked the idea of it but wasn’t necessarily convinced. each chapter’s argument of thesis was a bit muddled. could have used more clarification on hedonism vs queer hedonism. same with the futuro hedonism. felt like different words for similar theory already explored by other queer theorists. eg queer jouissance. but good introductory text i think and still did enjoy reading it. got good stuff for masters!

[Jemma · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really fascinating and enjoyable read. I thoroughly recommend to anyone interested in collective activism and community and how joy, love, pleasure and community activities can drive us towards collective liberation.

Should be a required read especially now when the media and global politics is driving massive divides in communities; especially the LGBTQIA+ community.

[effie allison · Rating 2 out of 5]

this book does discuss a very wide range of thinkers (lots that i'm a fan of, like lorde and halberstram) activists, and historical queer events, but to me doesn't make it to something more than its parts. the smorgasbord of groups/events/people/places was kind of fun and lots was new to me, but references were so rushed i didn't get much out of them. overall the ideas were nice but nothing new, i wanted this to go so much deeper

[James Law · Rating 5 out of 5]

An incredibly interesting idea executed in the most beautiful way I could imagine. This manifesto for pleasure and exploration of the different ways it manifests across communities and histories is full of righteous anger, queer joy, and - most importantly - hope. Hedono futurism forever 🫡

[Ronan Cloney · Rating 2 out of 5]

not pour moi

[Emi · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sweet but vapid — choosing to brush over big issues within our community in order to maintain the premise of ‘love letter’ disregards nuance. Refusal to delve into our communities problems — which are acknowledged but not dissected — gives the impression that the author is not truly confident in the strength of hedonisms validity as a core tenant beneficial to queer culture. I can imagine it’s even more apparent to non-members and allies who pick this up: it doesn’t read as educational, just self-affirming, despite references reaching the hundreds.

Was hoping for a lot more from this :(

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting small book covering an interesting array of topics using a structure of five of the eight Greek ideas of love, Eros, Philautia, Paidia, Agape and Pragma. The idea that hedonism, pursuit of pleasure, contains more things than the traditional knee jerk response to the term was welcome. The pleasure of a job well done is hedonistic in its own way. There are a lot of quotes with little interrogation of where those thought would then lead but I appreciated the overall concept of hedeno-futurism.

[Emory · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fine book. The structure works really well but the first two chapters just feel like exercises in name dropping. I really valued the author's perspectives in the last chapter and conclusion, which helped the book to feel less like a literature review. Overall, quotes needed unpacking more as there were a lot of them. I think the points could've been made with fewer quotes with more detailed explanations, without compromising on the conciseness.

[Jamie · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was an interesting perspective but I felt like it was jumping from argument to quote to example every other chapter in a train of thought that was way too hard to keep up with. Felt often self-indulgent. But mainly I wished that the chapters were more coherent within themselves, like take an example and stick with it instead of name dropping and jumping from example to example

[Mimi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Said a LOT without saying too much. My gosh the language in this was insanity. I get that this was probably just a phd thesis, however not sure each sentence needed to be synonymmed to heck. Felt a tad inaccessible to say the least.

I liked it though and I recommend the read - but maybe in conjunction with Pleasure Activism which is one of my most life-changing books

[Reader · Rating 1 out of 5]

Roses aren’t a social statement. They’re eternal human pleasure not meant for pollinators and natural selection. Bigger than politics, our treasury secretary is a beautiful gay man after all, they’re transcendent. Erase gayness from the human need for roses. Roses are eternal pleasure for all humans.

[emily ☆ · Rating 3 out of 5]

felt (maybe deliberately?) self-indulgent; more memoir/rant than philosophical examination of the revolutionary powers of pleasure/joy. would have liked more equal consideration of how the queer live-fast-die-young hedonist lifestyle often leads to misery more than revolution. interesting read nevertheless

[not_the_actual_frantisek_skala · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not sure about the other included cases, but the short bit mentioning Georgia is full of not exactly accurate statements. E.g. the 2018 protests are somewhat misleadingly characterised as "queers and allies", Fungus Gallery that is offered as an example of post-anti-LGBTQI+ laws resilience closed before they were enacted, etc. This doesn't inspire trust.

[izzy scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

the copy i have has been handed around our little group of dancers. very fitting. some beautiful points & put into words some of my own feelings. bits felt rushed/ unexqmined, but all the headlines were great. also loved the format. the only question is who to give it to next …

[Charlotte · Rating 5 out of 5]

very interesting

[Lois Hinder · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 ⭐️ nice little read, nothing revolutionary

[Aaron Downing · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5/5 likewise this just felt like a book of references without much expansion

[Abby Lewis · Rating 4 out of 5]

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

[Urja Gaurav · Rating 3 out of 5]

Meh…. Some interesting tidbits but felt a bit self indulgent. Didn’t rly get what the thesis was aside from queer people need to have fun

[anaya · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5
needed more pages and depth. jumped from idea to idea VERY quickly. could've given a stronger foundation of "pleasure" that would've better united the rather disparate subjects the reader is instead asked to do the work of relating