In this episode, I read and discuss with reverence the introduction from adrienne maree brown’s (she/they) book Pleasure Activism: The Politics of Feeling Good. All credit for the words I read goes to adrienne maree brown. I’m sharing these excerpts for commentary and educational purposes, as a way of unpacking and engaging with her ideas.

Side note: Dear adrienne (and/or her publishers), if for some reason you’re not down with this, let me know and I’ll take this episode down in a heartbeat. A literal heartbeat.

In Episode 08 of this unhinged gospel to the unknown, we explore why adrienne maree brown says that feeling good is a political act. I planned to read just a few pieces of her introduction, but it was so good I couldn’t stop. Think feral riffing, with adrienne’s opening chapter as the bones and flesh of it. Thanks to her writing, we unpack how capitalism and scarcity mindsets drain our aliveness, and why reclaiming pleasure—real, embodied, non-performative pleasure—is an act of resistance.

As adrienne reminds us, “When you’re happy, it’s good for the world.” I hope you never forget that—and that you take time to wade in the gray area of it, because she also talks about “excess” and how that’s not what this is about.

Listeners, if you resonate with what you hear, I hope you’ll buy her book and support her work because it’s fucking amazing. Here’s a direct link for purchase and description of the book from her website:

“Pleasure Activism: The Politics of Feeling Good — adrienne’s first NY Times Bestseller, adrienne wrote and gathered these essays and interviews as a way to continue studying Audre Lorde’s luminous text The Uses of the Erotic as Power, and includes a lot of very practical texts on navigating sex and connection in the #MeToo era.”

Thanks for tuning in—and as always, take what works and leave the rest.

x Sylvia