Sister Outsider: Essays and Speeches Lesson Plan

According to Lorde, what is the erotic? How does her definition go beyond typical definitions and conceptions of erotic/eroticism?

Student responses should be centered around a discussion of "Uses of the Erotic: The Erotic as Power"

In response to the first part of the question, students should make clear that Lorde's definition of the erotic is not limited to sexual interaction or pornography. Lorde believes that the erotic is a deeply female "spiritual plane" and a power of unrecognized feeling, an intense feeling of self.

Students should also highlight that by removing the erotic from the confines of sex, Lorde is trying to illustrate how the erotic is not simply a...