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Uses of the Erotic: The Erotic as Power
"There are many kinds of power, used and unused, acknowledged or otherwise." Thus begins this powerful essay; Uses of the Erotic defines the power of the erotic, names the process by which women have been stripped of this power, and considers how women can reclaim it.
Uses of the Erotic shines among Audre Lorde's powerful legacy of speeches and essays, and has influenced feminist thinking for more than 15 years. The false dichotomies that Lorde debunks persist in our cultural imagination: the separation of the erotuc from the spiritual and political. Now, Kore Press brings this essay into stand-alone focus, reprinting it in a fine, handbound pamphlet illustrated with photographs by Tucson photographer Camille Bonzani. Designed by book artist Nancy Solomon, the essay is offset and letterpress printed in an edition of 1000.
Uses of the Erotic shines among Audre Lorde's powerful legacy of speeches and essays, and has influenced feminist thinking for more than 15 years. The false dichotomies that Lorde debunks persist in our cultural imagination: the separation of the erotuc from the spiritual and political. Now, Kore Press brings this essay into stand-alone focus, reprinting it in a fine, handbound pamphlet illustrated with photographs by Tucson photographer Camille Bonzani. Designed by book artist Nancy Solomon, the essay is offset and letterpress printed in an edition of 1000.
16 pages, Paperback
First published December 1, 1978
45 people are currently reading
11291 people want to read
About the author
Audre Lorde
112 books5,467 followersAudre Lorde was a revolutionary Black feminist. Lorde's poetry was published very regularly during the 1960s — in Langston Hughes' 1962 New Negro Poets, USA; in several foreign anthologies; and in black literary magazines. During this time, she was politically active in civil rights, anti-war, and feminist movements. Her first volume of poetry, The First Cities (1968), was published by the Poet's Press and edited by Diane di Prima, a former classmate and friend from Hunter College High School. Dudley Randall, a poet and critic, asserted in his review of the book that Lorde "does not wave a black flag, but her blackness is there, implicit, in the bone."
Her second volume, Cables to Rage (1970), which was mainly written during her tenure at Tougaloo College in Mississippi, addressed themes of love, betrayal, childbirth and the complexities of raising children. It is particularly noteworthy for the poem "Martha", in which Lorde poetically confirms her homosexuality: "[W]e shall love each other here if ever at all." Later books continued her political aims in lesbian and gay rights, and feminism. In 1980, together with Barbara Smith and Cherríe Moraga, she co-founded Kitchen Table: Women of Color Press, the first U.S. publisher for women of colour. Lorde was State Poet of New York from 1991 to 1992.
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Her second volume, Cables to Rage (1970), which was mainly written during her tenure at Tougaloo College in Mississippi, addressed themes of love, betrayal, childbirth and the complexities of raising children. It is particularly noteworthy for the poem "Martha", in which Lorde poetically confirms her homosexuality: "[W]e shall love each other here if ever at all." Later books continued her political aims in lesbian and gay rights, and feminism. In 1980, together with Barbara Smith and Cherríe Moraga, she co-founded Kitchen Table: Women of Color Press, the first U.S. publisher for women of colour. Lorde was State Poet of New York from 1991 to 1992.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 204 reviews
July 18, 2011
I was absolutely blown away by the ideas presented in what was, in fact, a brochure.
What really resounded with me were two things; the postulation that the erotic lives in all of us and cannot be tapped because of its reformative powers in regards to setting our goals and life purpose, thus getting co=-opted into something that's dirty, immoral, and to be avoided, and the notion that what we do and enjoy and can share is erotic.
The erotic, Lorde writes, has the potential to give us an idea of something bigger than mediocrity. If we find huge joy and fulfillment in doing something, then that starts to affect the rest of our lives because we want that feeling again. We WANT to stretch our limits, or to find them in the first place. If we're not encouraged to do so, and never really find our limits, we have lives of mediocrity ad settle for what life gives us instead of exploring what we can get out of life. The erotic is larger than just sex or what happens in the bedroom.
I really enjoyed the notion that, well, what I'm doing right now is erotic. I'm putting into words and sharing with you what the meant to me on an intellectual level. A new idea that I'm excited about. The erotic can be formed out of things I draw, things I do, places I go, things I see and can't wait to tell someone else about. It's a tribute to a culture that doesn't really want me stepping outside the box that views this with suspicion and, in terms of naming it, has sought to co-top "erotic" as sensuality of only the sexual kind.
So, yes. Read the book.
What really resounded with me were two things; the postulation that the erotic lives in all of us and cannot be tapped because of its reformative powers in regards to setting our goals and life purpose, thus getting co=-opted into something that's dirty, immoral, and to be avoided, and the notion that what we do and enjoy and can share is erotic.
The erotic, Lorde writes, has the potential to give us an idea of something bigger than mediocrity. If we find huge joy and fulfillment in doing something, then that starts to affect the rest of our lives because we want that feeling again. We WANT to stretch our limits, or to find them in the first place. If we're not encouraged to do so, and never really find our limits, we have lives of mediocrity ad settle for what life gives us instead of exploring what we can get out of life. The erotic is larger than just sex or what happens in the bedroom.
I really enjoyed the notion that, well, what I'm doing right now is erotic. I'm putting into words and sharing with you what the meant to me on an intellectual level. A new idea that I'm excited about. The erotic can be formed out of things I draw, things I do, places I go, things I see and can't wait to tell someone else about. It's a tribute to a culture that doesn't really want me stepping outside the box that views this with suspicion and, in terms of naming it, has sought to co-top "erotic" as sensuality of only the sexual kind.
So, yes. Read the book.
April 4, 2020
Yes! This essay is short and SO DAMN GOOD. Lorde argues that eroticism, which has been inappropriately relegated to the domain of sex only, should instead be understood as a basic life force of vitality and creative power that guides us truthfully in all interactions. It is a depth of feeling & engagement with ourselves and others. It relates to sexuality, but doesn't end there. It transcends all domains of life (that we've been instructed to keep in neat, separate boxes).
I especially love the distinction Lorde makes between eroticism and pornography - that they are actually diametrically opposed uses of the sexual because "pornography emphasizes sensation without feeling" and eroticism feels (and responds) deeply. (Not trying to do any shaming, just loving that her exploration asks us what lies beyond the "low-hanging fruit" of engagement with our sexual natures. She's like, 'what's beyond that, what's more creative, more liberatory, more powerful?').
I especially love the distinction Lorde makes between eroticism and pornography - that they are actually diametrically opposed uses of the sexual because "pornography emphasizes sensation without feeling" and eroticism feels (and responds) deeply. (Not trying to do any shaming, just loving that her exploration asks us what lies beyond the "low-hanging fruit" of engagement with our sexual natures. She's like, 'what's beyond that, what's more creative, more liberatory, more powerful?').
January 31, 2022
I read this essay because Sally Rooney mentioned it in her newest novel Beautiful world, where are you and was so impressed! So many interesting things to think about and read again. Will try to form some more developed thoughts on the actual things discussed once I’ve pondered over it a bit. Will definitely pick up a longer collection of hers soon.
February 14, 2021
there was my life before reading this and then there was my life after reading this ... hope to see you on the other side
July 20, 2016
"Beyond the superficial, the considered phrase, 'It feels right to me,' acknowledges the strength of the erotic into a true knowledge, for what that means is the first and most powerful guiding light toward any understanding."
Thank you, Audre, for being the most important philosopher in my life.
Thank you, Audre, for being the most important philosopher in my life.
February 10, 2022
should be a bible for all women
January 11, 2022
Really interesting passage that probably requires several readings. Lorde is exceptional in exploring a concept which has been flattened in modern society, as she says, to be synonymous to pornography, and expanding its definition to mean love as embodied in the sharing and experiencing of real feeling from others, as different from the current method of separating our feelings/emotional life from sex, work, etc. I really liked her discussion of the false dichotomy b/t the spiritual and erotic; reminded me of a comment from a previous English teacher that “ecstasy has two uses: in the Biblical and sexual sense”.
April 20, 2015
Definitely will have to re-read. Lorde has a lot of good stuff here. Uses of the erotic reminds me of bell hook's All About Love, but Lorde is compact and coming from a sort of different place. A more sensual and self-actualized place, if that makes any sense at all. I would recommend this essay to everyone everywhere especially those from marginalized communities.
June 4, 2007
porn vs. eroticism. try that on for size.
January 8, 2025
yes yes and yes
May 24, 2025
what is the erotic? a basis of love unhindered, spread throughout every experience and interaction. idk..
August 20, 2025
"understanding is a handmaiden which can only wait upon, or clarify, that knowledge, deeply born. The erotic is the nurturer or nursemaid of all our deepest knowledge."
"the erotic connection functions is the open and fearless underlining of my capacity for joy. In the way my body stretches to music and opens into response, hearkening to its deepest rhythms, so every level upon which I sense also opens to the erotically satisfying experience, whether it is dancing, building a bookcase, writing a poem, examining ai idea. That self-connection shared is a measure of the joy which know myself to be capable of feeling, a reminder of my capacity for feeling."
I thought this was brilliant, and it covers a lot of subjects in a way that I'd only found in my own mind, I really can't believe I hadn't read this before. The dichotomy between pornography and eroticism has been a key point in my personal philosophy, and Lorde does a spectacular job in bringing words to something that exists moreso in feeling.
"the erotic connection functions is the open and fearless underlining of my capacity for joy. In the way my body stretches to music and opens into response, hearkening to its deepest rhythms, so every level upon which I sense also opens to the erotically satisfying experience, whether it is dancing, building a bookcase, writing a poem, examining ai idea. That self-connection shared is a measure of the joy which know myself to be capable of feeling, a reminder of my capacity for feeling."
I thought this was brilliant, and it covers a lot of subjects in a way that I'd only found in my own mind, I really can't believe I hadn't read this before. The dichotomy between pornography and eroticism has been a key point in my personal philosophy, and Lorde does a spectacular job in bringing words to something that exists moreso in feeling.
January 17, 2024
Première chose essentielle à poser, qu'est-ce que l'érotique selon Audre Lorde ?
Le mot érotique vient du grec Eros, personnification de l’amour sous tous ses aspects – né du Chaos, incarnation de la puissance créatrice et de l’harmonie. Alors quand je parle de l’érotique, je parle de l’affirmation de la force vitale des femmes ; de cette puissante énergie créatrice, dont nous réclamons aujourd’hui la connaissance et l’usage dans notre langage, notre histoire, nos danses, nos amours, notre travail, nos existences.
Elle prend bien le temps de le différencier de la simple pornographie et de mettre en avant l'importance de s'autoriser à ressentir cet érotisme dans chaque aspect de notre vie. Elle utilise notamment l'expression " ressentir profondément la texture de notre existence" lorsqu'elle souligne la place que nous devons attribuer à nos sensations, à nos émotions.
Tout comme mon corps se tend au son de la musique et lui répond en s’ouvrant, attentif à ses rythmes les plus profonds, chaque niveau de sensation m’ouvre la porte d’une expérience érotique épanouissante, qu’il s’agisse de danser, de construire une bibliothèque, d’écrire un poème ou d’étudier une idée.
Pour Lorde, (ou du moins, de ce que j'ai compris), c'est presque un acte subversif et engagé que de se reconnecter à cet érotisme inhérent de l'existence et de l'autoriser à s'infiltrer dans chaque aspect de notre vie.
L'érotique a trait à la sensation, au savoir et c'est une forme de pouvoir face à l'oppression.
Je voulais lire cet essai depuis un moment, mais j'étais intimidé à l'idée de ne rien comprendre et de passer à côté du concept et de l'engagement son contenu. Mais ayant trouvé une VF satisfaisante (L'arrêt Inéditions 2020, relu et mis en page par Emma B.), je me suis enfin lancée ! C'est court et dense, je suis sûrement passée à côté de 70% des idées du texte, mais je suis curieuse d'en apprendre davantage sur la question.
Le mot érotique vient du grec Eros, personnification de l’amour sous tous ses aspects – né du Chaos, incarnation de la puissance créatrice et de l’harmonie. Alors quand je parle de l’érotique, je parle de l’affirmation de la force vitale des femmes ; de cette puissante énergie créatrice, dont nous réclamons aujourd’hui la connaissance et l’usage dans notre langage, notre histoire, nos danses, nos amours, notre travail, nos existences.
Elle prend bien le temps de le différencier de la simple pornographie et de mettre en avant l'importance de s'autoriser à ressentir cet érotisme dans chaque aspect de notre vie. Elle utilise notamment l'expression " ressentir profondément la texture de notre existence" lorsqu'elle souligne la place que nous devons attribuer à nos sensations, à nos émotions.
Tout comme mon corps se tend au son de la musique et lui répond en s’ouvrant, attentif à ses rythmes les plus profonds, chaque niveau de sensation m’ouvre la porte d’une expérience érotique épanouissante, qu’il s’agisse de danser, de construire une bibliothèque, d’écrire un poème ou d’étudier une idée.
Pour Lorde, (ou du moins, de ce que j'ai compris), c'est presque un acte subversif et engagé que de se reconnecter à cet érotisme inhérent de l'existence et de l'autoriser à s'infiltrer dans chaque aspect de notre vie.
L'érotique a trait à la sensation, au savoir et c'est une forme de pouvoir face à l'oppression.
Je voulais lire cet essai depuis un moment, mais j'étais intimidé à l'idée de ne rien comprendre et de passer à côté du concept et de l'engagement son contenu. Mais ayant trouvé une VF satisfaisante (L'arrêt Inéditions 2020, relu et mis en page par Emma B.), je me suis enfin lancée ! C'est court et dense, je suis sûrement passée à côté de 70% des idées du texte, mais je suis curieuse d'en apprendre davantage sur la question.
April 29, 2015
i wonder how this essay would be different in 2015, knowing how much pornography has changed. would she agree that the power of the erotic has been funneled into feminist art that operates as pornography?
February 9, 2017
"Tendemos a pensar que o erotismo é a excitação sexual como primariamente esta é conhecida. Eu falo do erótico como a força mais profunda da vida, aquela que nos move de uma maneira fundamental à existência."
November 15, 2024
"this is one reason why the erotic is so feared, and so often relegated to the bedroom alone, when it is recognized at all. for once we begin to feel deeply all the aspects of our lives, we beging to demand from ourselves and from our life-pursuits that they feel in accordance with that joy wich we know ourselves to be capable of. our erotic knowledge empowers us, becomes a lens through which we scrutinize all aspects of our existence, forcing us to evaluate those aspects honestly in terms of their relative meaning within our lives."
absolutely brilliant. a must-read and reread.
absolutely brilliant. a must-read and reread.
June 16, 2025
"And that deep and irreplaceable knowledge of my capacity for joy comes to demand from all of my life that it be lived within the knowledge that such satisfaction is possible, and does not have to be called marriage, nor god, nor an afterlife."
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January 28, 2022such a strong writing never heard her voice but somehow i know exactly how it sounds
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May 27, 2025It was referenced and I realized I had not read it, so here we are.
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March 23, 2022"Only now, I find more and more women-
identified women brave enough to risk sharing
the erotic’s electrical charge without having to
look away, and without distorting the enor-
mously powerful and creative nature of that
exchange. Recognizing the power of the erotic
within our lives can give us the energy to pur-
sue genuine change within our world, rather
than merely settling for a shift of characters in
the same weary drama.
For not only do we touch our most pro-
foundly creative source, but we do that which
is female and self-affirming in the face of a
racist, patriarchal, and anti-erotic society".
identified women brave enough to risk sharing
the erotic’s electrical charge without having to
look away, and without distorting the enor-
mously powerful and creative nature of that
exchange. Recognizing the power of the erotic
within our lives can give us the energy to pur-
sue genuine change within our world, rather
than merely settling for a shift of characters in
the same weary drama.
For not only do we touch our most pro-
foundly creative source, but we do that which
is female and self-affirming in the face of a
racist, patriarchal, and anti-erotic society".
August 28, 2024
And there is, for me, no difference between writing a good poem and moving into sunlight against the body of a woman I love.
January 17, 2025
new year new morning routine needs to be reading THIS
September 10, 2025
wow. as an adult and a graduate, this is the kind of education I am drawn to now. Dismantling the patriarchal, western led mindset I have been raised in one essay at a time.
December 31, 2022
A veure, tenia moltes ganes de llegir-lo i gràcies a ell i a la Greta (<333) he complert el meu reading challenge de 51 llibres, que el veia trontollar molt aquestes últimes setmanes.
Ara, l'article com a tal, de tantes ganes que en tenia, m'ha decepcionat una mica. Ha fet algun comentari sobre la feina que no m'agrada i en general crec que està tot escrit al voltant d'una idea molt essencialista pel que fa el gènere. Tot això que l'erotisme és una espècie de poder que tenim les dones, com si els homes no el poguessin tenir (d'on ens ve el poder aquest? és una cosa biològica i per tant sexual, o quelcom social i per tant del gènere i no del sexe? ª). No sé, per sort es curtet i en veritat com en tot alguna cosa xula he pogut trobar. Això sí, l'he acabat llegint en castellà perquè en anglès la meitat es quedava lost in translation.
Ara, l'article com a tal, de tantes ganes que en tenia, m'ha decepcionat una mica. Ha fet algun comentari sobre la feina que no m'agrada i en general crec que està tot escrit al voltant d'una idea molt essencialista pel que fa el gènere. Tot això que l'erotisme és una espècie de poder que tenim les dones, com si els homes no el poguessin tenir (d'on ens ve el poder aquest? és una cosa biològica i per tant sexual, o quelcom social i per tant del gènere i no del sexe? ª). No sé, per sort es curtet i en veritat com en tot alguna cosa xula he pogut trobar. Això sí, l'he acabat llegint en castellà perquè en anglès la meitat es quedava lost in translation.
August 3, 2020
This has very consequential ideas wrapped up within its few pages. That everything starts with the erotic, though she expands the term from merely a sexual connotation. That only the erotic encourages us to embrace the depth of our feelings. That the erotic is the opposite of the pornographic, which is objectifying instead of celebrating the sharing of feelings with the other. The erotic therefore should be a presence in all of our activities with others, because its like a compass that can inform us on the orientation of a relationship. Are we staying with the sensationalistic or moving towards an authentic relationship with the other (sexual or not..). Anyways, I'm reading it this morning and just beginning to digest the repercussions of this small pamphlet.
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December 23, 2021“When we look away from the importance of the erotic in the development and sustenance of our power, or when we look away from ourselves as we satisfy our erotic needs in concert with others, we use each other as objects of satisfaction rather than share our joy in the satisfying, rather than make connection with our similarities and our differences. To refuse to be conscious of what we are feeling at any time, however comfortable that might seem, is to deny a large part of the experience, and to allow ourselves to be reduced to the pornographic, the abused, and the absurd.”
February 7, 2024
“Of course, women so empowered are dangerous. So we are taught to separate the erotic demand from most vital areas of our lives other than sex. And the lack of concern for the erotic root and satisfactions of our work is felt in our disaffection from so much of what we do. For instance, how often do we truly love our work even at its most difficult?”
Literally speechless
Literally speechless
January 19, 2016
Completely and utterly life changing.
December 5, 2022
Interesting read. Discusses masculine eroticism vs feminine. Not necessarily sexual which i think is important. Shared some quotes below from what I liked from this. I found a PDF for this but Lorde also has a reading of it on YouTube.
"The very word erotic comes from the Greek word eros, the personification of love in all its aspects—born of Chaos, and personifying creative power and harmony. "
"For as we begin to recognize our deepest feelings, we begin to give up, of necessity, being satisfied with suffering and self-negation, and with the numbness which so often seems like their only alternative in our society"
This brings me to the last consideration of the erotic. To share the power of each other’s feelings is different from using another’s feelings as we would use a kleenex. When we look the other way from our experience, erotic or otherwise, we use rather than share the feelings of those others who participate in the experience with us. And use without consent of the used is abuse."
"The very word erotic comes from the Greek word eros, the personification of love in all its aspects—born of Chaos, and personifying creative power and harmony. "
"For as we begin to recognize our deepest feelings, we begin to give up, of necessity, being satisfied with suffering and self-negation, and with the numbness which so often seems like their only alternative in our society"
This brings me to the last consideration of the erotic. To share the power of each other’s feelings is different from using another’s feelings as we would use a kleenex. When we look the other way from our experience, erotic or otherwise, we use rather than share the feelings of those others who participate in the experience with us. And use without consent of the used is abuse."
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August 2, 2024This essay certainly warrants multiple readings, but here are my initial thoughts after just one 😉
In this essay, Audre Lorde explores the role and power of "the Erotic" across various contexts. Originally presented in 1978 at the Fourth Berkshire Conference on the History of Women, her insights remain remarkably relevant today. While I would have appreciated more specific examples of her concepts, it's possible that they might not resonate as much with a modern audience in 2024. If I were to summarize her message, it would be: embrace deep emotions in all aspects of life, from your work to your relationships.
However, I don't necessarily agree with Lorde placing the erotic on a strictly female plane. I think it would be interesting to look at the oppression of the power of the erotic within men as well.
In this essay, Audre Lorde explores the role and power of "the Erotic" across various contexts. Originally presented in 1978 at the Fourth Berkshire Conference on the History of Women, her insights remain remarkably relevant today. While I would have appreciated more specific examples of her concepts, it's possible that they might not resonate as much with a modern audience in 2024. If I were to summarize her message, it would be: embrace deep emotions in all aspects of life, from your work to your relationships.
However, I don't necessarily agree with Lorde placing the erotic on a strictly female plane. I think it would be interesting to look at the oppression of the power of the erotic within men as well.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 204 reviews