I was struck by how Lorde describes the spirituality of the erotic. Lorde makes sure to explain that the erotic is spiritual in a different way than what is deemed traditionally spiritual. While discussing the spirituality of the erotic, Lorde relates the knowledge of her “capacity for feeling” that comes from the recognition of the erotic, and the satisfaction she derives from that knowledge (190). She also describes the process of realizing that that satisfaction “does not have to be called marriage, nor god, nor an afterlife” (190). The erotic is spiritual in a way that transcends ideas of god and marriage, as both those ideas have been informed, if not created, by a patriarchal society that endeavors to oppress and disenfranchise women, and women of color especially.
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She discusses the double-entendre when discussing the gender roles that are expected of women and she uses the bildungsroman, and specifically Caribbean coming-of-age stories, the illustrate the “force-ripe” concept. When discussing trans experiences she focuses heavily on literary tropes that illustrate society’s views of trans people. She looks specifically at the trope of trans characters “as tortured but benevolent angels” and people who need deliverance (25). In Agard-Jones’s piece, she uses sand in much the same way as previous pieces we read sued water. Agard-Jones recognizes this, and argues for sand as an additional metaphor that must be used in order to understand the Caribbean. I was moved by the way she argues that sand suggests a “lineage” and can account for “place and emplacement” better than watery metaphors can (326). Sand is appropriate because it is what it is because of this trauma, this erosion, that it has undergone. Despite the “ruination” of the sand, it still has “its own integrity and retains its own history”
She discusses the double-entendre when discussing the gender roles that are expected of women and she uses the bildungsroman, and specifically Caribbean coming-of-age stories, the illustrate the “force-ripe” concept. When discussing trans experiences she focuses heavily on literary tropes that illustrate society’s views of trans people. She looks specifically at the trope of trans characters “as tortured but benevolent angels” and people who need deliverance (25). In Agard-Jones’s piece, she uses sand in much the same way as previous pieces we read sued water. Agard-Jones recognizes this, and argues for sand as an additional metaphor that must be used in order to understand the Caribbean. I was moved by the way she argues that sand suggests a “lineage” and can account for “place and emplacement” better than watery metaphors can (326). Sand is appropriate because it is what it is because of this trauma, this erosion, that it has undergone. Despite the “ruination” of the sand, it still has “its own integrity and retains its own history”