In order to be utilized, our erotic feelings must be recognized. The need for sharing deep feeling is a human need. But within the European-American tradition, this need is satisfied by certain proscribed erotic comings-together. These occasions are almost always characterized by a simultaneous looking away, a pretense of calling them something else, whether a religion, a fit, mob violence, or even playing doctor. And this misnaming of the need and the deed give rise to that distortion which results in pornography and obscenity—the abuse of feeling.”
– Audre Lorde, “The Uses of the Erotic”
In this paragraph, Lorde emphasizes the power and importance of labeling and correctly placing our erotic feelings. However, she notes that in European-American culture, these feelings are misidentified which causes the true purpose of that feeling and the idea behind it to become warped which thus leads to people misusing that feeling through pornography and obscenity. I think through this paragraph Lorde is trying to highlight that we should have that awareness and presence of mind to really appreciate the beauty of our erotic feelings and to not take it for granted, or perceive them as something that can simply be used. In order to acknowledge that erotic feelings are a source of power, we need to be able to celebrate and share them by recognizing them correctly instead of trying to dissect and provide a rational explanation to them by “playing doctor” or using religion and other means to misidentify what those feelings truly represent. Sharing these feelings is a human need; but misinterpreting these feelings can cause people to abuse it.
So my “key” in this passage is definitely the association between using and sharing the erotic feelings. I think I understand even in the context of this entire piece that these emotions are meant to be shared and the joy that arises from these feelings becomes more special when shared with another, instead of using another person as a means to receive that joy. I understood this to mean that these feelings are therefore not transactional, rather they are meant to be experienced collectively to truly feel the power.
My “lock” then is what Lorde meant when she says “certain proscribed erotic comings-together”. I think I just generally struggle with Lorde’s word choice because sometimes she uses complex syntax to put forth ideas she’s trying to convey that makes it a little tricky for the reader to understand. Is this phrase referring to the “pornography and obscenity” mentioned later in that paragraph or something else?