The Erotic As Power By Andre Lorde Summary

The Erotic Ever since the word “erotic” was coined, it has been used in a rather negative way. However, Andre Lorde successfully addressed the true positive meaning of the erotic in her article of “The Erotic as power”, contradicting our common view. While most people view the erotic as pornography, and associate the term “erotic” to the exclusive meaning of sensual, Lorde brings to us a deeper and more inspiring meaning of the erotic: the erotic as passion and as motivation to initiate positive transformation. In the article, Lorde suggests that we always have the false belief that only by the suppression of the erotic in women’s lives can women be strong, but in reality, women should really embrace the erotic as a source of power in order to gain strength. Lorde describes herself as a black lesbian in order to emphasize the connection between she and other women who are

One of the main points she made in the article is that women have been emotionally oppressed as they are told not to embrace the erotic: not to be passionate about work or other feelings; for the male-ruling system to perpetuate itself. Women have been warned by men that the erotic is wrong because the erotic is a power so strong that is capable of providing energy for revolutionary changes such as the overthrow of the men-ruled society: men don’t want that change because they want to maintain women there to exercise in service of men. However, as Lorde emphasizes in the article, only by embracing the erotic within themselves can women be able to gain strength and pursue true happiness for themselves to break the chains inflicted to them by the “racist, patriarchal, and anti-erotic society”. She argues that in order for the society to change and humanity needs to be achieved, women should trust the erotic inside of