Audre Lorde's Erotic as Epistemic and Political Practice

In: Hypatia: a journal of feminist philosophy, Band 38, Heft 4, S. 896-917

Open Access

Abstract

AbstractAudre Lorde's account of the erotic is one of her most widely celebrated contributions to political theory and feminist activism, but her explanation of the term in her brief essay "Uses of the Erotic" is famously oblique and ambiguous. This article develops a detailed, textually grounded interpretation of Lorde's erotic, based on an analysis of how Lorde's essay brings together commitments expressed across her work. I describe four integral elements of Lorde's erotic: feeling, knowledge, power, and concerted action. The erotic is a way offeelingin the work a person does, which makes possible newknowledgeabout the self and the social environment—particularly to counteract epistemic oppression imposed by an unjust society. The erotic is a source ofpowerby providing vision and energy for actions integrating a person's multiple commitments and political interests. It facilitatesconcerted action and coalitionby enhancing a person's appreciation of their interests and values, while fostering embodied, personal connections that build trust based on shared vulnerability. Thus, the erotic helps build coalitions where genuine differences of perspective and experience can be examined, in resistance against an oppressive society's epistemic distortions.