Politics of Pleasure

If there were ever an occasion to talk about Audre Lorde’s “Uses of the Erotic” it’s now. In a highly political episode, we address the recent leaked Supreme Court opinion that threatens to overturn Roe v. Wade. This moment in history reminds us that our access to pleasure is intimately linked to the way that the State regulates our bodies. Audre Lorde shows us that erotic power is a source for change, and at a time when we’re searching for the energy to fight for liberation, her wisdom is power.

Resources

Roe v. Wade explained: https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/what-is-roe-v-wade

Read Handbook for a Post-Roe America by Robin Marty

Donate to a local abortion fund in your state: https://www.thecut.com/article/donate-abortion-fund-roe-v-wade-how-to-help.html

Read Sister Outsider by Audre Lorde, which contains “Uses of the Erotic: The Erotic as Power”

Listen to Audre Lorde read “Uses of the Erotic”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aWmq9gw4Rq0

Follow @empressonyxx on TikTok

Follow @allie_202_ on TikTok

Pleasure Center: 1:38:11

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Support Desiree Jaha directly: https://www.desireejaha.com/

We continue our conversation on sex and talk about the foundation for our sexual selves: masturbation. We also discuss the first Amazon union, Elon Musk buying Twitter, and Tufts University’s new Black Maternal Health Research Center.

Resources

Interview with the organizers of the Amazon Union: https://jacobinmag.com/2022/04/amazon-union-staten-island-alu-chris-smalls-bernie-sanders-interview

Tufts Black Maternal Health Research Center: https://now.tufts.edu/2022/04/08/tufts-launches-center-black-maternal-health-and-reproductive-justice

Who to Follow: @kahlilgreene on TikTok

Pleasure Center

Starts: 1:21:07

Pleasure Mapping by Dr. Sakshi Tickoo:  https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.sexloveandot.com/amp/pleasure-mapping

Learn more about Niki Franco (@venusroots): https://www.venusroots.com/

Erotic Blue Print Quiz: https://missjaiya.com/

Pleasure Activism: https://www.akpress.org/pleasure-activism.html

Support Us

Support our show with a one-time payment or a small monthly donation to help us continue making impactful, transformative content.

https://linktr.ee/politicsofpleasurepod

Support Desiree Jaha directly: https://www.desireejaha.com/

Over here we don’t bump uglies, we bump energies. We’re breaking down how our culture defines sex. What is it? How do we name it? And how do our articulations of sex affect the type of sex we have? We also talk about the infamous Oscar slap, Jerrod Carmichael’s “Rothaniel” special, and the newest season of Atlanta.

Support Us

Support our show with a one-time payment or a small monthly donation to help us continue making impactful, transformative content.

https://linktr.ee/politicsofpleasurepod

Support Desiree Jaha directly: https://linktr.ee/desireejaha

Resources

Watch the Chris Rock, Ricky Gervais, Seinfield, Louis C.K. clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=il1sgQUtYs8

Follow along with the Gender Unicorn: https://www.transhealthsa.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/The-Gender-Unicorn.pdf

Follow Basit on IG: @basitcom

Follow Basit’s production collective Legacy on IG: @legacy.bqpc

Donate to Trans Student Educational Resources (TSER): ​​https://transstudent.org/donate/

Adrienne Maree Brown’s Spell Casting Exercise (Irresistible Podcast ): https://open.spotify.com/episode/2FTEtK7u98pRsQPc0FlSzd?si=2d10ab8c644142fd

Pleasure Center

Starts at: 1:27:55

It’s Spring Break! This mini-episode is a loving reminder to slow down. You are deserving of rest.

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Support our show with a one-time payment or a small monthly donation to help us continue making impactful, transformative content.

https://linktr.ee/politicsofpleasurepod

Support Desiree Jaha directly: https://linktr.ee/desireejaha

We’re talking about non-monogamy and polyamory this week! It’s time to decolonize our relationships and start thinking outside the box of monogamy created by Western imperialism. We reference the brilliant work of Indigenous scholar Dr. Kim TallBear to guide our conversation. There’s also a lot going on in the political world this week sooo…*sucks teeth, rolls eyes* we have to address the crusty white men that run our planet or whatever, but don’t worry we still get some good laughs in.

Pleasure Center Starts at 1:34:34

Support Us

Support our show with a one-time payment or a small monthly donation to help us continue making impactful, transformative content.

https://linktr.ee/politicsofpleasurepod

Support Desiree Jaha directly: https://linktr.ee/desireejaha

Resources

Listen to the Decolonizing Sex episode of the All My Relations podcast, found wherever you listen to podcasts.

Read more of Dr. Kim TallBear’s work: http://www.criticalpolyamorist.com/

Follow @bygabriellesmith on IG for more on ethical non-monogamy

Follow @chasestrangio on Twitter for updates on anti-trans legislation

Follow @abbiesr on IG for more on TikTok misinformation

Follow the creator of the iconic Earth is Ghetto theme song on IG @nikkialiah

Read Maslow’s Whitewashing of Indigenous Knowledge: https://shanesafir.com/2020/12/before-maslows-hierarchy-the-whitewashing-of-indigenous-knowledge/

We continue our conversation on misogynoir, this time delving into how it has impacted our sex and dating lives. May this episode be an offering of love and healing to each and every Black woman who has experienced misogyny and racism in their relationships. We deserve and will receive better. We also discuss the Super Bowl halftime show, Black capitalism, and Black futures as Black History Month comes to a close.

Enjoy!

Pleasure Center Starts at: 1:26:26

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Support our show with a one-time payment or a small monthly donation to help us continue making impactful, transformative content.

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Resources

Our resources this week are our personal experiences. Just a lovely reminder that living and feeling are valid ways of knowing.

Follow: @samorapinderhughes

Washington Post Article on High Functioning Depression: https://www.washingtonpost.com/wellness/2022/02/17/high-functioning-depression-meaning-symptoms/

If taking the red pill means waking up to a nightmare created by cishet Black men with podcasts, then we can stay sleep. Give us the blue pill.

In a long-overdue conversation, we trace a throughline of misogynoir from past to present. This week’s episode is about naming and understanding America’s long-held violence for Black women so that we can release it, and make space inside ourselves for something new. Tune in to our most vulnerable and cathartic episode yet.

Pleasure Center Starts at 1:42:26

Mental Health Hotlines:

Mental Health Resources:

Support Us

Support our show with a one-time payment or a small monthly donation to help us continue making impactful, transformative content.

https://linktr.ee/politicsofpleasurepod

Support Desiree Jaha directly: https://linktr.ee/desireejaha

Resources

Read Moya Bailey and Trudy’s conversation on misogynoir: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14680777.2018.1447395?casa_token=IQHQ7CLKekgAAAAA%3A36ait_jOOENaXpZ_uGt5ctKXKNRTfTgNQ9bg2ki-ohkcU96w8EHkbM-wizeEbnUGuMe-6J-rpeRN5w

Access academic articles for free on Sci-Hub https://sci-hubtw.hkvisa.net/

On Lauren Smith-Fields case: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/27/nyregion/lauren-smith-fields-bumble-date-investigation.html

Nicole Young’s article: https://www.elle.com/life-love/a38819237/black-manosphere-online-dating/

On Mammy, Jezebel, and Sapphire: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2teqoyPe3TU

We’re kicking off Aquarius szn with a conversation about compulsory heterosexuality and the chokehold it has on our society. We also discuss the limitations of comphet as a concept and how it excludes many Black, fat, trans, disabled folks in the queer community by centering those who occupy “default” womanhood.

Pleasure Center starts at 1:28:54

Support Us

Support our show with a one-time payment or a small monthly donation to help us continue making impactful, transformative content.

https://linktr.ee/politicsofpleasurepod

Support Desiree Jaha directly: https://linktr.ee/desireejaha

References and Resources

Adrienne Rich’s article that popularized the term compulsory heterosexuality: http://users.uoa.gr/~cdokou/RichCompulsoryHeterosexuality.pdf

Cosmo article on comphet: ​​https://www.cosmopolitan.com/sexopedia/a37224259/comphet/

American Survey Center on friendships in the pandemic: https://www.americansurveycenter.org/research/the-state-of-american-friendship-change-challenges-and-loss/

Follow @crutches_and_spice on TikTok

We’re going on a historical journey as we learn about the evolution of prison lesbians, and how this has shaped our modern perceptions of womanhood, lesbianism, sexuality, and race today.

Resources and Sources

Estelle B. Freedman’s “The Prison Lesbian: Race, Class, and the Construction of the Aggressive Female Homosexual, 1915-1965” https://www.jstor.org/stable/3178421?seq=1#metadata_info_tab_contents

WWII Call to Arms: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2DJWWKJ8tDM&t=56s

Rosie the Riveter Song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=55NCElsbjeQ

Cold War Propaganda: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ByvXINerE_k&t=50s

Lavender Scare Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZuIYssjmlv0

On Queer Villains @rainbowhistoryclass: https://www.tiktok.com/@rainbowhistoryclass/video/6955720749004885249?lang=en&is_copy_url=1&is_from_webapp=v1

You can find all academic articles for free on sci-hub.se

For a one-time donation to our show:

Venmo: @Nia-Abram

CashApp: $NiaAbram

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Episode Credits

Intro Music: Princess by Ramzoid

Transition Music: Easy Sunday by Bad Snacks and June by Bobby Richards

Editing, Creative Direction, and Production  by Nia Abram

Why can’t we have friendships that blur the lines of sex, love, and romance? We’re talking about romantic friendships this week. We also chime in on the racial disputes within the lesbian community, with a much-needed conversation on problematic white queerness. Tune in for a juicy listen.

Support Us

Support our show with a one-time payment or a small monthly donation to help us continue making impactful, transformative content.

https://linktr.ee/politicsofpleasurepod

Support Desiree Jaha directly: https://linktr.ee/desireejaha

References and Resources

Listen to NPR’s Invisbilia podcast, find it wherever you listen to podcasts

Stepping Off the Relationship Escalator: Uncommon Love and Life by Amy Gahran

https://offescalator.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/OffEsc-book-1-PREVIEW.pdf

Listen to Esther Perel’s therapy conversation with two friends: https://www.estherperel.com/podcasts/wswb-s5-episode1

Follow @miikaa_96 on TikTok

Des's intention set exercise: 1:35:14 - 1:42:09

Cast a Spell is adrienne maree brown on Irresistible https://open.spotify.com/episode/4jz1nHBIdPBgeck9Jx4NLj?si=47a87b4af2fd4be5

Thank you to our dear friends Britt and Lou for lending their insights to this episode!