Why Pleasure Activism?

If you’re not familiar with the term, adrienne maree brown, in her book by the same name, defines pleasure activism as “the work we do to reclaim our whole, happy, and satisfiable selves from the impacts, delusions and limitations of oppression and/or supremacy.”  This mission resonates for me more and more after the global pandemic lifted the veil further on social justice issues, income inequality, the ecological crisis, and the vulnerability of systems that we rely on such as energy and other supply chains. 

A recent Gallup poll revealed that there has been a steady trend towards unhappiness in people throughout the world over the past decade, and much of it stems from a belief that systems are rigged against them.  This year the CEO of Gallup published a book called Blind Spot which calls out the grave error that leaders have made in focusing on GDP and employment rates over people’s wellbeing.  That seems like a massive blind spot, doesn’t it?  It turns out that driving Uber on your days off from your minimum wage job may qualify as “employment” but doesn’t result in either a sense of financial wellness or emotional wellbeing.  

It may seem backward to suggest that the way to a more equitable and sustainable future is through greater levels of joy.  I mean, shouldn’t an end to suffering begin with world leaders coming to their senses and restructuring the system to be fairer?  (Crickets…)  Or if that doesn’t happen, then through a violent revolution?  

It is totally understandable that people are mad as hell, but what brown talks about is revolutionary.  When we are miserable, the oppressors win.  When we are fighting amongst ourselves, the oppressors win.  When we find joy within ourselves, we have power.  As Audre Lorde famously said, “Caring for myself is not self-indulgence, it is self-preservation, and that is an act of political warfare.”  

And by the way, feeling good is good for you – physically, mentally, and spiritually.  Research shows how damaging chronic stress and negative emotions can be for the body.  And who wants to live in a mental state of upset all the time?  And then there is the spiritual depletion that many of us have felt over the past couple of years.  It is time to reclaim and restore our innate joy. 

If societal change is going to happen, it is going to be from the ground up, not the top down; from the inside out, not outside in.  There may be times when an angry revolt is called for.  But for those of us in a freer part of the world, when we find joy within ourselves and in the company of others, when we cultivate abundance in our lives, not only do we have a higher quality of life, but we are helping to change the world.  Brown says, “When I’m happy, it’s good for the world.”

The misunderstanding is that we need to be angry to create change.  Anger can be a catalyst for change, yes, sometimes a necessary one, but it is not the only way.  Another misunderstanding is that if we let go of anger or let ourselves be happy, we will become complacent.  On the contrary, when I am living in joy, I feel powerful and effectual.  I come up with creative solutions.  I am not fighting an unjust future; I am creating a future of hope and possibility. 

It is time for a joy revolution.  It is time to stop giving others the power to make you miserable.  It is time to embrace the things that make you feel good.  And when I say good, I mean alive, filled up, and whole. 

Are you with me?