Pleasure Activism: The Politics of Feeling Good [J0383]

2019 PB in nice clean condition. No more self-denial. Politics should be a resounding, erotic "yes," not another deadening "no." How do we make social justice the most pleasurable human experience? How can we awaken within ourselves desires that make it impossible to settle for anything less than a fulfilling life? Editor adrienne maree brown finds the answer in something she calls "pleasure activism," a politics of healing and happiness that explodes the dour myth that changing the world is just another form of work. Drawing on the black feminist tradition, including Audre Lourde's invitation to use the erotic as power and Toni Cade Bambara's exhortation that we make the revolution irresistible, the contributors to this volume take up the challenge to rethink the ground rules of activism. Writers including Cara Page of the Astraea Lesbian Foundation For Justice, Sonya Renee Taylor, founder of This Body Is Not an Apology, and author Alexis Pauline Gumbs cover a wide array of subjects- from sex work to climate change, from race and gender to sex and drugs-creating new narratives about how politics can feel good and how what feels good always has a complex politics of its own. Building on the success of her popular Emergent Strategy, brown launches a new series of the same name with this volume, bringing readers books that explore experimental, expansive, and innovative ways to meet the challenges that face our world today. Books that find the opportunity in every crisis!

From recent-ish Amazon/GoodReads reviews: "This is the most significantly impactful book that I have read in a while. It was informative but also required me to look at my own bias."; "Loved all these explorations of pleasure and the many fresh perspectives. Some parts felt very academic which I realized I find harder than I used to. Overall learned a lot!"; "Some chapters resonated more than others, particularly around parenting conversations and finding joy, even Eros in work rather than working from a place of common suffering."; "A friend recommended this book. I felt called out and challenged within the first chapter. Worth the read."