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The Erotic As Power By Andre Lorde Summary

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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 …show more content…

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

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“And there are so many silences to be broken.” This powerful final line of “The Transformations of Silence into Language and Action” by black, female, lesbian, poet, Audre Lorde is used to conclude her speech to the Modern Language Association’s “Lesbian and Literature Panel.” In this speech Audre Lorde is speaking to a panel of women on how to actively communicate with one another after reflecting on her life due to a near death experience. She claims that they should be putting aside their differences as women and realizing that they need to communicate and “speak up” to thrive. Audre throughout her speech prioritizes this message and attempts to instill this desire to speak up amongst, not just the women in the panel, but rather to more

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Audre Lorde's essay lacks explicit references to qualitative or quantitative research but establishes credibility through personal experiences and critical analysis of feminism's treatment of difference. She uses rhetorical questions and personal anecdotes to challenge biases and highlight limitations in feminist discourse. Lorde's logic points out the narrow scope of systems and calls for recognizing diversity as crucial for practical feminism. She challenges the audience to recognize the independence and mutual support that can arise from acknowledging differences, which is a logical step towards a more inclusive and effective feminist. Her essay has a significant emotional impact, as she urges the audience to confront their biases and the "terror and loathing of any difference" within themselves.

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1351 Words | 6 Pages

In the beginning she talks about how throughout the centuries women have been slaves to men’s desires and philosophies. She evens relates men’s hold of women as the “shackles of slavery”. “We now know that there never can be a free humanity until woman is freed from ignorance, and we know, too, that woman can never call herself free until she is mistress of her own body. Just so long as man dictates and controls the standards of sex morality, just so long will man control the world” (pg.2).

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She exhibits pathos in this quote by saying, “The absence of any consideration of lesbian consciousness or the consciousness of Third World women leaves a serious gap within this conference and within the papers presented here. ”(Lorde 1979) In this quote she does two different things. One she asserts the claim that the thoughts of lesbians and women are under considered. The second thing she does is that she addresses the audience directly claiming that the conference has a considerable gap in said understanding.

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994 Words | 4 Pages

Anne McClintock wrote her essay “Gonad the Barbarian and the Venus Flytrap: Portraying the female and male orgasm” to examine pornography and how it has changed throughout history and its effects on how women perform as sexual beings. McClintock focuses on the various roles of pornography such as its emphasis on voyeurism, pleasure, and the male ego. She wants her readers to know that women are still not represented in pornography to satisfy their own desires, but they are there to cater to men and their subconscious. I will analyze how McClintock argues that due to the history of sexism towards women, the roles that men and women have in pornography are inherently different because of the societal belief that women are only seen as objects of sexual desire and are solely there to satisfy the male audience.

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As with all theories, this feminist approach to Louise Halfe’s “Body Politics” does not come without its flaws. While it can be argued that this poem criticizes the performativity of feminine gender roles in a patriarchal society, this cannot be proven definitively without knowing the author’s original intentions. Furthermore, the poem does not give its readers enough information to conclude that the society the women live in is in fact a patriarchal society. This becomes evident, as there is no reference to any masculine figure – so any assumptions about the masculine-dominant culture are purely speculative. It is possible that Halfe wrote this poem in an attempt to challenge the gender binary, however one stands to question how successfully she is in doing so.

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SHORT RESPONSE 02 In this short response, I am going to talk about the poems called “Power” and “A woman speaks” by Audre Lorde. First, I am going to start with the poem “Power”. I have to say that this is a very interesting poem, and a good example to illustrate the problems that our society is going through. Since many years ago, injustice because of color, race, and religion have been common ground in our country.

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Traditionally, Indigenous women held the most power within their respective communities. Clan mothers were the heart and soul to Native civilizations, they were the creators of life and more often then not; men took important political orders from these groups of women because of their hierarchal roles. Lorde’s ideology connects with this Indigenous belief and way of life when she says; “For women, the need and desire to nurture each other is not pathological but redemptive, and it is within that knowledge that our real power is rediscovered. It is this real connection which is so feared by a patriarchal world” (Lorde, 341). Evidently there is a strong connection between Lorde and Martineau’s beliefs in regards to women because Martineau believed women’s intellect was oppressed by men in multiple social frameworks (politics, religion, education etc.) and Lorde believed that men are essentially fearful when women intellectually nurture in groups because power exists to be stronger with numbers.

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Inside and beyond the myth and the social impact of the subject as One or Substance. Alan H. Goldman’s essay ‘Plain Sex’ is a central contribution to the academic debate about sex within the analytic area, which has been developing since the second half of the ‘90s in Western countries. Goldman’s purpose is encouraging debate on the concept of sex without moral, social and cultural implications or superstitious superstructures. He attempts to define “sexual desire” and “sexual activity” in its simplest terms, by discovering the common factor of all sexual events, i.e. “the desire for physical contact with another person’s body and for the pleasure which such contact produces; sexual activity is activity which tends to fulfill such desire of the agent” (Goldman, A., 1977, p 40).

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Her break from BoyBoy signaled her own breakthrough where she experiences the liberty that comes with a choice for the first time. Even though her relationship with BoyBoy came to an end, Eva’s interest in men does not wane: “Eva, old as she was, and with one leg, had a regular flock of gentlemen callers, and although she did not participate in the act of love, there was a good deal of teasing and pecking and laughter” (41). Eva experiences her sexuality through various experimentations of intimacy free of sex. This way, Eva frees herself from any societal expectations placed on her to attain a new husband—Eva chooses what to do with her body and expresses her sexuality in whatever form she pleases without facing scrutiny. Choosing to protect herself from “routine vulnerabilities” (36), Eva does not engage in any sexual relationships with men, and instead, she embraces men for who they are, creating the concept of “manlove”; Eva bequeaths “man love” to her daughter, Hannah, and granddaughter, Sula, advising them that “manlove” regards to loving “maleness, for its own sake” (41).

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The Lottery Theme Analysis Rules are made to be followed. That is why they are set in place, but what happens when the rules cause unneeded harm? In Shirley Jackson’s short story The Lottery A village has a lottery, but it is not a typical one.

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Growing up, we were taught to look at the world in juxtaposition. This outlook forces us to order things such as race, sex, and socioeconomic status in categorical or hierarchical terms. In order to be on top, someone has to be beneath you, so those who are oppressors focus on maintaining their positions while still keeping the oppressed under their thumb. In the reading, Lorde speaking more on feminism but I feel like this is inclusive of men as well, but to me, this passage gives a sense of connectivity between various issues and how none of them can truly be addressed without acknowledging the others. This quote shows how oppression is largely universal while demonstrating how uncomfortable topics should not be avoided for fear of said discomfort.

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1226 Words | 5 Pages

She argues that men are innately vicious, but women can overcome through sexual freedom by becoming comfortable with one’s body and the power it holds. In making her points she establishes a rebellious and triumphant tone. Symbolism and repetition of the phrase “carnivore incarnate” (Carter 110) are also used to solidify her argument. The assertion made in “The Company of Wolves” is very important for young women in the world. Instead of shying away from one’s body and the power it posses, women should embrace it and acquire sexual freedom.

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136) Sexualized racism is also a limiting factor for sexual freedom due to it’s creation of societal sexual roles both in and out of porn. These types of sexualized racism can also allow for recreation and expansion of various roles but at the same time still limit a large part of developing freedom to explore one’s sexuality. Also, most of the time the actors in these productions have some say in what they want or don’t want portrayed so then the actors can determine how they want the situation to be interpreted. We can see this idea play out in “Latina Sexual Fantasies, The Remix.” where racist sexual roles can allow for physical enjoyment and at the same time reflection on what is being shown to the

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Adeline Yen Mah grew up in a wealthy family in the 1950’s. She lived in a family where she was neglected by her sisters, brothers and parents. In this autobiographical text, Yen Mah expresses the negative tension between her father and her. In this essay, I will be discussing how Yen Mah insinuates through the use of language about her relationship with her father. “During the short drive home, my heart was full of dread

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