Narrator: What if the most radical political act was not a protest, but the pursuit of joy? What if the fight for justice was not defined by sacrifice and suffering, but by an abundance of pleasure? This provocative reframing lies at the heart of adrienne maree brown's groundbreaking work, Pleasure Activism: The Politics of Feeling Good. The book is a collection of essays, interviews, and tools that challenges the very foundation of modern activism. It argues that in a world built on oppression, which thrives on our burnout and misery, the act of feeling good is not a frivolous escape. Instead, it is a profound and necessary form of resistance. Brown proposes that our pleasure, when pursued with intention and awareness, can become the very measure of our freedom and the most powerful tool we have to build a more just and liberated world.

Narrator: At its core, Pleasure Activism introduces a revolutionary idea: our access to pleasure is a direct indicator of our freedom. The book defines pleasure activism as the work we do to reclaim our whole, happy, and satisfiable selves from the limitations of oppression. Brown argues that systems like white supremacy, patriarchy, and capitalism are designed to disconnect us from our bodies, our desires, and our joy. They profit from our sense of scarcity and our belief that we are not enough. Therefore, to intentionally cultivate pleasure is to directly challenge these systems.

This isn't about hedonism or unchecked indulgence. Instead, it’s about learning what it means to be satisfiable and to generate an abundance of well-being from within ourselves and our communities. Brown shares her own personal journey with this concept, from her exploration of relationships to her practice of harm reduction with drugs. For example, after a hospital stay where she realized the addictive potential of powerful painkillers, she made a conscious decision to avoid certain substances, not out of a sense of moral failure, but to protect her ability to achieve her life's goals. This illustrates a key principle: pleasure activism involves aligning our choices with our values, ensuring that what makes us feel good also contributes to our long-term well-being and liberation.

Narrator: To understand pleasure activism, one must understand the work of Audre Lorde, whose essay "Uses of the Erotic: The Erotic as Power" is reprinted in the book and serves as a foundational text. Lorde makes a critical distinction between the erotic and the pornographic. Pornography, she argues, is the suppression of true feeling, emphasizing sensation without connection. The erotic, however, is a deep, internal source of power, knowledge, and information rooted in our most profound feelings. It is a measure of our capacity for joy.

Lorde uses a powerful metaphor from her childhood to explain this. During World War II, margarine was sold as a pale, unappetizing block, with a small pellet of yellow food coloring in the bag. It was her job to knead the bag, slowly working the color through the fat until the entire block was transformed into a rich, vibrant yellow. The erotic, she explains, is like that pellet of color. When we allow it to flow through our lives, it doesn't just stay in one place; it enriches and heightens every aspect of our existence, from our work to our relationships to our spiritual lives. By embracing the erotic, we learn the true extent of our capacity for feeling, and we can no longer settle for suffering, self-negation, or anything less than our fullest, most vibrant selves.

Narrator: Brown argues that our fantasies and desires are not created in a vacuum. They are shaped by the culture we are immersed in—a culture often saturated with patriarchy, white supremacy, and rape culture. She shares a personal story of how, as a child, watching 1980s movies like Porky's and musicals like Grease trained her fantasy life. Her early fantasies centered on disempowering scenarios where women were objects of a male-centric world.

Recognizing this, brown embarked on a journey to decolonize her own desire. A key tool in this process was what she calls "self-pornography." Feeling excluded from mainstream pornography, which overwhelmingly centers thin, white bodies, she began taking photos and videos of herself for her own pleasure. This was not for public consumption, but an act of self-adoration. By creating her own erotic material, she was able to reprogram her desires, learning to find beauty and power in her own fat, Black body. This practice demonstrates that we have the agency to consciously cultivate new fantasies that align with our values of liberation and self-love, rather than passively consuming fantasies that reinforce our own oppression.

Narrator: In the wake of the #MeToo movement, which exposed the pervasiveness of sexual harm, brown argues for a cultural shift from focusing on punishment to cultivating enthusiastic consent. The goal is not to eliminate sexual energy between people, but to build the skills to navigate it with respect and clarity. This begins with the foundational belief that "no" is a complete sentence. Individuals do not need to justify their boundaries; the power to say "no" is what makes a "yes" truly meaningful.

Brown illustrates the dynamic nature of consent with a story about being at a party and grinding on a friend with whom she had a history of such interactions. The friend turned and said, "not right now." Brown immediately stopped, and they later had a conversation about the shift in their needs. This experience highlights a crucial lesson: consent is not a one-time agreement but a present-moment offering that can change at any time. Building a culture of consent requires constant communication, self-awareness of our own desires, and the courage to both ask for what we want and respect the boundaries of others.

Narrator: The book extends the politics of pleasure to drug use, advocating for a harm reduction approach. Brown critiques the "war on drugs" as a system rooted in racism that causes immense harm through incarceration and stigmatization. In contrast, harm reduction is a social justice movement that respects the rights and dignity of people who use drugs. It is a non-judgmental framework that seeks to minimize the negative consequences of drug use without demanding abstinence.

In a conversation with Monique Tula, the executive director of the Harm Reduction Coalition, this idea is brought to life. Tula shares her own family's multi-generational history with drug use, trauma, and poverty. For her, harm reduction is not an abstract policy but a lifeline. It is about treating people with unconditional love and kindness, providing them with the tools and support they need to stay safe, and restoring their sense of dignity. This compassionate approach, Tula argues, is in itself a source of pleasure. By creating conditions of possibility and reminding people they are worthy of love, harm reduction becomes a practice that increases our collective capacity for joy.

Narrator: For too long, activism has been associated with grim-faced seriousness and constant struggle. Brown, along with contributors like Dallas Goldtooth of the 1491s, argues that for movements to be sustainable, they must also be pleasurable and irresistible. Goldtooth, an Indigenous activist, explains that humor is not a distraction from the work; it is a vital survival strategy. In Native communities, humor has been essential for coping with historical trauma and critiquing the world.

He uses humor strategically in his organizing to make serious issues more accessible and to break down barriers. During the Standing Rock protests, for example, he would livestream himself sledding or show people having fun in the camp to complicate the media narrative of the "angry, serious protester." This approach makes the movement more human and inviting. By embracing joy, laughter, and even goofiness, activists can create a culture that is not only effective but also healing and life-affirming, ensuring that the work of liberation doesn't crush the people doing it.

Narrator: The single most important takeaway from Pleasure Activism is that pleasure is not a reward to be earned after the revolution is won; it is the very fuel and compass for that revolution. adrienne maree brown masterfully dismantles the puritanical and capitalist idea that our joy is frivolous or something to be purchased. Instead, she reveals it as our birthright, a deep wellspring of power, and a guide that tells us when we are truly free. The book teaches that our bodies are the practice ground for transformation, and by learning to listen to them, we can heal ourselves and our world.

The challenge this book leaves us with is both simple and profound: How can you, in your own life, begin to practice pleasure as a form of resistance? In your community, your work, and your relationships, how can you help make the fight for justice not just a necessary struggle, but an irresistible and deeply joyous experience?