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Pleasure Activism argues that prioritizing feeling good and cultivating pleasure, especially for those most impacted by oppression, is essential to creating a more just and liberated world. The book explores how to tap into the natural abundance of pleasure and joy to fuel social transformation.

The book is structured as an anthology, with essays, interviews, poetry and artwork gathered and curated by adrienne maree brown. The pieces address a wide range of topics related to pleasure activism, including:

• Lineages of Black feminist thinkers like Audre Lorde, Toni Cade Bambara and Octavia Butler who centered the erotic and pleasure
• The sensuality of somatics and embodiment practices
• Pleasure in parenting and raising liberated children
• Reclaiming and decolonizing sex and desire
• Queer sex, kink, BDSM and sex work from a liberatory lens
• The pleasures of friendship, chosen family and woeships
• Harm reduction approaches to drugs, alcohol and other substances
• Fashion, adornment and feeling fly
• Humor and laughter in social movements
• Aging and pleasure over 60

Throughout, brown interweaves her own experiences and reflections on unlearning sexual shame, reclaiming the body, navigating nonmonogamy, and finding joy within oppressive structures. The pieces affirm that embodied, connected pleasure is vital, especially for Black women and other oppressed groups whose bodies and humanity are often denied.

Ultimately, Pleasure Activism asserts that tapping into the power of feeling good is key to healing from trauma, building sustainable movements, and ushering in the more pleasurable futures we imagine. The book aims to spread the pleasure revolution to make justice and liberation the most joyful experiences we can have.