Come join us virtually for a series of online sex positive book club discussions. The book we will be exploring every other Tuesday evening is “Pleasure Activism” by adrienne maree brown. All are welcome, whether you’ve read the book or not, please join us for the discussion!

About the book:

How do we make social justice the most pleasurable human experience? How can we awaken desires within ourselves that make it impossible to settle for anything less than a fulfilling life? Author and editor adrienne maree brown finds the answer in something she calls “pleasure activism,” a politics of healing and happiness that explodes the dour myth that changing the world is just another form of work.

Drawing on the black feminist tradition, she challenges us to rethink the ground rules of activism. Her mindset-altering essays are interwoven with conversations and insights from other feminist thinkers, including Audre Lorde, Joan Morgan, Cara Page, Sonya Renee Taylor, and Alexis Pauline Gumbs. Together they cover a wide array of subjects—from sex work to climate change, from race and gender to sex and drugs—building new narratives about how politics can feel good and how what feels good always has a complex politics of its own.

What we’ll do each week:

Every other Tuesday night we’ll take two hours to discuss each section over zoom. Please feel free to talk, share, or just listen!

March 23rd

Introduction & Section One: Who Taught You to Feel Good? (Pt 1)

Pages 1 – 36

April 6th

Section One: Who Taught You to Feel Good? (Pt 2)

Pages 37 – 80

April 20th

Section One: Who Taught You to Feel Good? (Pt 3) &

Section Two: The Politics of Radical Sex

Pages 81 – 126

May 4th

Section Three: A Circle of Sex (Pt 1)

Pages 127 – 150

May 18th

Section Three: A Circle of Sex (Pt 2)

Pages 151 – 189

June 1st

Section Three: A Circle of Sex (Pt 3)

Sub Section: Skills for Sex in the #MeToo Era

Pages 190 – 238

June 15th

Section Four: The Politics of Radical Drug Use

Pages 239 – 270

June 29th

Section Five: Pleasure as Political Practice (Pt 1)

Sub Section: The Politics of Healing Towards Pleasure

Pages 271 – 316

July 13th

Section Five: Pleasure as Political Practice (Pt 2)

Sub Section: The Politics of Wholeness in Movements (Pt 1)

Pages 317 – 344

July 27th

Section Five: Pleasure as Political Practice (Pt 3)

Sub Section: The Politics of Wholeness in Movements (Pt 2)

Pages 345 – 368

August 10th

Section Five: Pleasure as Political Practice (Pt 4)

Sub Section: The Politics of Wholeness in Movements (Pt 3)

Pages 369 – 398

August 24th

Section Five: Pleasure as Political Practice (Pt 5)

Sub Section: The Politics of Liberated Relationships

Section Six: Outros, Thank Yous

Pages 399 – 444

Schedule:

7:30pm – Zoom room opens

7:35pm – Opening Circle and introductions

8:00pm – Open discussion (Jamie will moderate)

9:15pm – Closing remarks and announcements 9:30pm – End of book club

FAQs:

Do I need to read the book and show up *every* week to join?

NO! Jump in and out at your own pace! This is an OPEN GROUP, please just show up!

Will this group meet in person or offline?

This group will only meet online

Do I need to keep my camera on and talk a lot?

No! We like to see and hear everyone introduce themselves at the start, but all participation is optional.

How can I be an activist today?

Buy your copy from small, Black-owned retailers like this one: https://www.esowonbookstore.com/book/9781849353267

About the Author:

adrienne maree brown is the writer-in-residence at the Emergent Strategy Ideation Institute, and author of We Will Not Cancel Us and Other Dreams of Transformative Justice, Pleasure Activism: The Politics of Feeling Good, Emergent Strategy: Shaping Change, Changing Worlds and the co-editor of Octavia’s Brood: Science Fiction from Social Justice Movements and How to Get Stupid White Men Out of Office. She is the cohost of the How to Survive the End of the World and Octavia’s Parables podcasts. adrienne is rooted in Detroit.

http://adriennemareebrown.net