Zami, a biomythography written by Audre Lorde, examines Lorde’s sexuality, racial formation, and gender identity by discussing memories and experiences from her childhood and early adult life. In 2016, a drama film titled Moonlight was released. This film, written and directed by Barry Jenkins, touches on many of the same issues and concepts introduced in Zami. Both pieces of work exemplify Lorde’s theory of the erotic, which is presented in an article titled “Uses of the Erotic: The Erotic as Power.” The main character of Moonlight is a young, homosexual, African American male named Chiron. Similarly, Audre Lorde’s book tells the story of how she discovered herself to be a lesbian black woman. Many of the experiences Lorde and Chiron go through are similar because they share a common sexuality and race; however, due to their differing genders and the intersecting nature of all these identities, some aspects of their lives differ greatly. Audre Lorde and Chiron …show more content…
In “Uses of the Erotic: The Erotic as Power,” Lorde states: “the erotic functions for me in several ways, and the first is in providing the power which comes from sharing deeply any pursuit with another person” (Lorde 56). This is illustrated in Lorde’s relationship with Muriel. While this relationship was sexual, there were many other aspects to it that allowed the two women to bond deeply. Muriel and Lorde bonded emotionally and intellectually – they both loved poetry and writing. Writing, in general, is something that brought Lorde a large amount of joy. The love Lorde had for Muriel and writing are two examples of the erotic giving her power. For Chiron, the bond he shared with Kevin could be considered the erotic. Chiron trusted Kevin more than anyone else and opened up to him, emotionally and physically. This level of trust and vulnerability between Kevin and Chiron gives Chiron power and happiness, which shows this is the
In this paper, I plan to explore and gain some insight on Audre Lorde’s personal background and what motivated her to compose a number of empowering and highly respected literary works such as “Poetry is Not a Luxury”. In “Poetry is Not a Luxury”, Lorde not only gives voice to people especially women who are underrepresented, but also strongly encourages one to step out of their comfort zone and utilize writing or poetry to express and free oneself of repressed emotions. I am greatly interested in broadening my knowledge and understanding of the themes that are most prominent in Lorde’s works such as feminism, sexism and racism. It is my hope that after knowing more about her that I would also be inspired to translate my thoughts and feelings
Many powers that women possessed in the past, and that they posses today, are located in the most secure vault in the body, the brain. These powers are not consciously locked up, and at times many women do not even now that they exist, and this is mainly due to the “male world” (53) in which women live in. Audre Lorde presents this ideal that one of these powers that are being oppressed by society is that of the erotic. Lorde presents the argument that allowing the desires and feelings of the erotic to play a conscious role in the lives of women will allow women to live a different life, one filled with empowerment from both past and present endeavors.
"Sex without Love" is a poem by Sharon Old, who states in the opening line "How do they do it, the ones who make love without love?" It starts out with judging those, who have sex outside of having feeling for one another. It describes the sex in the third line as without feeling more as a techniques, which is describe "beautiful as dancers.. over each other like ice skaters." Sex without love to the author is described more as an act, which is performed instead of two people in love, who sex is in love not because of the act but instead of the love of the person. The author seems to climax in the literal sense at line nine : come to the Come to the … then God comes in picture after the act is done. Judgment and sin is the mood of this poem of how two people can commit an act of a heart and soul without disappointed God.
Sex is more than just a physical act. It's a beautiful way to express love. When people have sex just to fulfill a physical need, as the poet believes sex outside of love-based relationship only harms and cheapens sex. In the beginning of the poem, Olds brilliantly describe the beauty of sex, and then in the second half of the poem, she continues reference to the cold and aloneness which clearly shows her opinions about causal sex. Through this poem, Sharon Olds, has expressed her complete disrespect for those who would participate in casual sex.
One of the key aspects of the relationships portrayed in the novels is the idea of lust and sexual attraction. In "Birdsong", the key relationship is the relationship between Stephen and Madame Azaire, the wife of a wealthy businessman that Stephen is visiting. Though their relationship is full of lust and forbidden passion, "she began to arch herself up from him rhythmically as though her body, independent of her, implored his attention", there is also a mutual emotional love between the two, proven by Madame Azaire's reassurance that "you will be strong because you love me" and her later admittance of "I love you" during one of their secret liaisons. Almost immediately after their first sexual encounter, they know that they wish to continue seeing each other and begin making plans for how to make things work between them. This could well be reflective of the values of the time, as although what Stephen and Isabelle are doing is adulterous, they...
One of the most obvious examples of this intention is after the first blood transfusion for Lucy, given to her by her fiancé Arthur Holmwood. The transfusion goes successfully and once Lucy regains consciousness she rights in her diary about how "Arthur feels very, very close to me" and that she can "feel his presence warm about me." These simple descriptions of her feelings after the transfusion are very sensual in how she says he is "warm about" her and throughout her body. The similarities between Lucy's reaction after the transfusion and the way one reacts to being sexually involved with someone are nearly identical.
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, also known as PTSD, was recognized as a disorder with specific symptoms and was added to the Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders in 1980. However, prior to this acknowledgement, father of psychology, Sigmund Freud, had already developed a theory on it. Freud’s Seduction theory states: “both forgotten childhood trauma and a variety of adult stresses could cause neurosis”, such as we have seen in Euripides’s Medea; in which Medea acted irrationally after having gone through traumatic events. Whether it was Freud in the 1890s or Euripides in 430 BC the idea that PTSD is present in one’s daily live has always been a suggestion.
In My Dangerous Desires, Amber Hollibaugh addresses how sexual liberation cannot be separated from race, class and sexuality. Hollibaugh was raised in a biracial, working class family. She grew up trying to find a place in the world for her mixed race, poor, female, femme, and lesbian self. However, as Hollibaugh’s knowledge of herself and society grew, it became evident that her quest for sexual liberation can not be separated from her economic and class struggles.
A story listed in the Arts Section of the New York Times caught my eye most was the one regarding a discussion about three books that paint the big picture of the most commonly complicated thing we have to go through at certain points in our lives called finding true love, disappointment, and heartbreak. This story gave me instant physical and contextual appeal with a valid explanation of it simply being relevant in this point of my life, providing me with passion and thirst to apply myself to it, and expand on it. Beginning with its catchy title, “Date-Onomics,” “The Sex Myth” and “Modern Romance,”with its three unique and authentic book resources, and obviously being a
Vampires have been a popular figure in literary works for almost 200 years; from John Polidori’s The Vampyre (1819) to Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight (2005), the figure of the vampire has changed and developed over time but still remains popular and recognisable throughout literary history. The figure of the vampire is often used to represent ‘the other’, or as a manifestation of social anxieties at the time of writing. This is why it is interesting to study the how the tropes found within vampire fiction differ between texts, and the reasons behind these differences or transformations in the figure of the vampire. I will look at a range of texts to study how sexuality
Unlike sex, the history of sexuality is dependant upon society and limited by its language in order to be defined and understood.
As exemplified throughout history, literature and life, love and sex have often been linked to each other without being mutually exclusive. Through our work this past year with Freud and Baumeister, we’ve learned a lot about the relationship between love and sex and the psychological corresponding between the two. Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales provided a insight elaborating more on this relationship of love and sex through the tales of many characters in the series. Although both of these concepts are recurring events, one central theme seems to have connected the two in many of the stories. In the Canterbury Tales, manipulation is a key component in attaining both love and sex. This is demonstrated in the Wife of Bath’s Prologue and Tale, as
Charlotte Bunch created the theory of lesbianism, which destroys the male structured world that defines every woman’s life. “He For She” is a social movement created to benefit the entire world’s population in the push for equality. Using the work of Charlotte Bunch, this paper analyzes the campaign of “He For She.”
From birth, one's sexuality is shaped by society. Cultures institute behaviors that are to be seen as the societal norms, which work to constantly reinforce societal expectations of how genders should act in relation to one another. Although some may argue that one's sexuality is an innate characteristic resulting from genetic makeup, there is a large amount of evidence pointing to its social construction instead. Through the power differences between males and females, established gender roles, and drastic economic shifts, society establishes sexuality and reinforces the behaviors that are expected of its citizens.
In today’s society things are being expressed and experienced at younger ages, than ever before in our time. Children and teenagers are discovering their sexuality at very early ages. Sexuality is the discovering of who you are and what makes you different from everybody else.