"The sharing of joy, whether physical, emotional, psychic, or intellectual, forms a bridge between the sharers which can be the basis for understanding much of what is not shared between them, and lessens the threat of their difference"
About this Quote
The subtext is sharper: difference becomes “threat” when it’s only encountered as abstraction. Institutions train us to approach one another through categories that feel like liabilities or risks. Lorde proposes a shortcut around that fear, not by denying difference, but by giving people a reason to stay present long enough to face it. Shared joy doesn’t erase conflict; it lowers the reflex to treat the other as enemy, oddity, or problem to manage.
Context matters because Lorde is writing as a Black lesbian feminist poet who knew how quickly “difference” gets weaponized even inside movements that claim solidarity. Her bridge isn’t naive optimism; it’s strategy. Joy becomes evidence of common stakes, a mutual recognition that can survive disagreement. It’s also a rebuke to cultures that use pain as the primary proof of authenticity: Lorde argues that pleasure and delight can be just as rigorous, just as mobilizing, and far more dangerous to systems that depend on isolation.
Quote Details
| Topic | Friendship |
|---|---|
| Source | Evidence: The sharing of joy, whether physical, emotional, psychic, or intellectual, forms a bridge between the sharers which can be the basis for understanding much of what is not shared between them, and lessens the threat of their difference. (Page [1] (pamphlet pages are unnumbered in some copies)). This sentence appears in Audre Lorde’s text "Uses of the Erotic: The Erotic as Power." The earliest primary-source publication I could verify is the Out & Out Books pamphlet edition dated 1978. WorldCat’s record for this pamphlet also notes two key origin statements printed in the pamphlet: (1) "This paper was delivered at The Fourth Berkshire Conference on the History of Women, Mt. Holyoke College, August 25, 1978." and (2) "This pamphlet was first published in a private edition of 250 copies for distribution at the conference on Feminist Perspectives on Pornography, San Francisco, November 1978." Those notes strongly indicate the text was first delivered as a talk on August 25, 1978, and then first published (in print) in 1978 (private conference edition; then the Out & Out Books pamphlet). Later, the essay was reprinted in Lorde’s collection "Sister Outsider: Essays and Speeches" (Crossing Press, 1984). Other candidates (1) Sexuality and the Sacred (James B. Nelson, Sandra P. Longfellow, 1994) compilation97.4% ... The sharing of joy , whether physical , emotional , psychic or intellectual , forms a bridge between the sharers ... |
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Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
Lorde, Audre. (2026, February 26). The sharing of joy, whether physical, emotional, psychic, or intellectual, forms a bridge between the sharers which can be the basis for understanding much of what is not shared between them, and lessens the threat of their difference. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/the-sharing-of-joy-whether-physical-emotional-34476/
Chicago Style
Lorde, Audre. "The sharing of joy, whether physical, emotional, psychic, or intellectual, forms a bridge between the sharers which can be the basis for understanding much of what is not shared between them, and lessens the threat of their difference." FixQuotes. February 26, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/the-sharing-of-joy-whether-physical-emotional-34476/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"The sharing of joy, whether physical, emotional, psychic, or intellectual, forms a bridge between the sharers which can be the basis for understanding much of what is not shared between them, and lessens the threat of their difference." FixQuotes, 26 Feb. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/the-sharing-of-joy-whether-physical-emotional-34476/. Accessed 12 Mar. 2026.
