Transcript
Lex Hesperus: Hello and welcome to The Slut's Guide to Fate. the podcast. This is a little experiment I'm doing while I am too concussed to write.
Lex Hesperus: For the slut's guide to fate. blog. And here we will be exploring fate... And... what
Lex Hesperus: Finding and embracing your freak has to do. with finding your fate.
Lex Hesperus: I'm your host Lex Hesperus. And... today we're going to start talking about What? is a slut. Because if we're curious about...
Lex Hesperus: The Slut's guide to fate, How does the slut approach? Fate and embodying their fate We need to talk about what a slut. is.
Lex Hesperus: The slut is... and archetype of the present moment. It's an archetype of the here and now. It's not one that is rooted in mythic context that a lot of us will associate with the concept of an archetype.
Lex Hesperus: In the future, I might talk a little bit more about archetypes and how I'm i use them in my practice, how I find them to be useful, and how I find them to be. their own distraction.
Lex Hesperus: from the real work. but We'll get that that to that another day. Today we're going to talk talk just about. the slut. what this archetype helps you do. is connected to the power of the erotic to create change in your life and in your world.
Lex Hesperus: And if you're familiar with that, with the concept of a slut as a pejorative or to be exclusively about The sex you're having in the kind of sex the amount of sex you're having That might sound kind of ridiculous. It might sound like it doesn't have anything to do with claiming your fate.
Lex Hesperus: but the power to claim your fate. comes from the ability to state to know and state your desires And that's what the slut is all about. If we think about the slut in the larger context of the present moment and in history.
Lex Hesperus: If you look it up in the dictionary, The... definitions you get. are a little bit like this one from Merriam -Webster.
Lex Hesperus: A promiscuous person. Someone who has many sexual partners. Usually. a woman.
Lex Hesperus: Likewise, Wikipedia notes that Slut is a term for a person. usually a woman who is sexually promiscuous or is considered to have loose morals.
Lex Hesperus: and then Cambridge English Dictionary gives a person who has sexual relationships with a lot of other people without any emotional involvement All of this involves sex. It does note that this is usually used of a woman.
Lex Hesperus: And that is. sex in a way that is not generally approved of in society. the word itself
Lex Hesperus: If you look at the etymology of it. it develops as a primarily derogatory used word for primarily women. It's used in a lot of ways throughout its history, but it isn't until the 1960s that it comes into its modern definition of woman who Enjoy sex to a degree considered.
Lex Hesperus: shameful and excessive. and so in the 20th century it develops as the pejorative that we now know it as today. And of course, there have also been feminist efforts to reclaim the word slut.
Lex Hesperus: the slut's guide to fate is no different. you can look up history of things like slut walks and feminist reclamation of the concept of slut. And for many of us, particularly. queer folks.
Lex Hesperus: slut has entirely lost its pejorative sense. You can see this online through... Folks embracing their slut era. And this can include a shedding of mononormativity, exploring non -monogamy, pursuing... relationships on one's own terms.
Lex Hesperus: and generally just embracing pleasure. That embrace of pleasure is at the... central crux of what it means to be a slut. The Slut and Bleat embraces pleasure.
Lex Hesperus: the Contemporary understanding of slut. Signals. that. an embrace of pleasure including sexual pleasure and desire along with a willingness to act on that desire and to experience its satisfaction.
Lex Hesperus: is ultimately That is the sense of slut that I'm exploring and the sluts guide to fate.
Lex Hesperus: These notions, right? Sex, pleasure, satisfaction, and desire. These are all things that we are discouraged from pursuing.
Lex Hesperus: the dominant systems under which we live. demonize pleasure and demonize desire.
Lex Hesperus: There are a lot of reasons for this. I don't want to go over them. This is a podcast for sluts and bimbos. And also, being a podcast for sluts and bimbos, I know y 'all are smart. I know you're well versed in the history of this and you know if you're not reach out, let me know. Maybe I'll do a podcast episode on it.
Lex Hesperus: if you would like a little historical rundown. of. The historical. and cultural systems that find us in this system where pleasure is demonized.
Lex Hesperus: Because while this history is important, It doesn't actually tell us. Why? This thing. is demonized, just that it is. demonized and The system we live in has a story about why it's demonized and why it's bad.
Lex Hesperus: But that is... The world the culture that we live in that's their story I'm more interested in... The root cause. What?
Lex Hesperus: initially attracted the ire. the system's ire. four. pleasure and desire.
Lex Hesperus: And so... in my understanding. my the way I have. Kind of answered this question of like ultimately why? Why is it? that.
Lex Hesperus: in a certain understanding to enjoy sex pleasure. and the satisfaction of your desires And... The understanding I've come to. is that we live in.
Lex Hesperus: a system. that is designed to hoard power. So to take power from individuals and to store it in institutions.
Lex Hesperus: Pleasure. desire. satisfaction.
Lex Hesperus: These are all sources of power. They are. a motivating force.
Lex Hesperus: And... We can even understand these erotic forces as some of our most basic and fundamental sources of power as individuals, as embodied beings in this world.
Lex Hesperus: So now I want to turn to Audre Lorde's classic essay The Uses of the Erotic. which I'll link to because it's short and there are free PDFs available online. It's a really Wonderful essay.
Lex Hesperus: And in this essay... Audrey Lorde notes. that in order to perpetuate itself. Every oppression must corrupt or distort. those various sources of power within the culture of the oppressed. that can provide energy for change.
Lex Hesperus: The erotic?
Lex Hesperus: Sex, desire, pleasure, and satisfaction. These are creative sources that. are sources of power. sources of power. that fuel change.
Lex Hesperus: If a system wants to hoard power, if it wants its hoarding of power to not be threatened, to not change. then.
Lex Hesperus: These. erotic powers. need to be. Siloed. demonized, and suppressed.
Lex Hesperus: In. this essay, the uses of the the erotic. Lorde does not provide a full definition of the erotic. However, She does tie it to creativity, expression and feeling.
Lex Hesperus: She even pulls back from labeling it sexual, claiming that the erotic has been misnamed. as explicitly sexual. and in that way used against women. to quote from the essay.
Lex Hesperus: It has been made into the confused, the trivial, the psychotic. the plasticized sensation. End quote. And Lorde also notes that women, quote,
Lex Hesperus: are taught to so separate. the erotic demand. from most vital areas of our lives other than sex. And... I deeply agree with these things.
Lex Hesperus: However... I think it's a mistake to separate. The erotic from the sexual.
Lex Hesperus: The erotic is a spectrum encompassing all of the non -rational intuitive and feeling experiences that we have, all of those creative sensations. The erotic is a realm of sensation.
Lex Hesperus: and creative. impetus. It is both. those sexual sensations and impetuses. and the central ones.
Lex Hesperus: Ultimately, it's creative power. So it's the... creative. Like, artistic creative. the creative, like... the things you do to create and maintain your life daily.
Lex Hesperus: And that's also the pro -creative and sexual. and the non -procreative that imitates the procreative. All of this? is the realm of the slut.
Lex Hesperus: to make art. is slutty. To fuck? as you want to in a way that deeply satisfies. and brings meaning and creative power to your life.
Lex Hesperus: It's really slutty. It is all equally slutty.
Lex Hesperus: And so... The slot, then. is an archetype of sovereign will. oriented towards pleasure.
Lex Hesperus: The slot claims. Her erotic power.
Lex Hesperus: Using... her pleasure and desire as a compass. and creates change in her life and her world. because of it because of pursuing. the object of that desire.
Lex Hesperus: that pursuit becomes. the mechanism of change. The slot has an intimate knowledge of her pleasures and feels no guilt in pursuing those pleasures.
Lex Hesperus: She seeks what she wants consciously and with intention. And more than that. The slut states her desires, regardless of what anyone - things.
Lex Hesperus: and she will attain it. not through hard work and labor. but because she wants it. and proclaims it. because the slut knows that sometimes finding the way to satisfy a desire is as simple as speaking the desire.
Lex Hesperus: And while I use she, her pronouns for the archetype of the slut, it's not because the slut has any restriction or affinity to people of a certain gender. Instead, when I speak of the slut, I choose to use she, her pronouns for the slut because of the way that patriarchal And...
Lex Hesperus: systems of empire, the patriarchal systems of empire has tied. Sexuality. and the pursuit and expression of sexuality to its oppression to women.
Lex Hesperus: But regardless of your gender expression, you have an inner slot that you can connect to.
Lex Hesperus: connecting to your inner slot.
Lex Hesperus: means claiming your erotic power. By seeking, finding and embracing. the power of inner feeling inner sensation within the realms of the sexual and the sensual You can use this power to find your creativity.
Lex Hesperus: your generative capacity to shape your life. and your capacity to experience desire and desire satisfaction.
Lex Hesperus: The slut isn't just a woman. The slut isn't just someone who has as much sex as they desire The slut is somebody. who pursues their deepest. and non -rational knowledge who pursues these suppressed sources of power.
Lex Hesperus: with deep love, desire, and joy. The slut is the explorer and the connoisseur of the erotic.
Lex Hesperus: The slut gets what they want. because they know what they want.
Lex Hesperus: and in a world that is always asking us to compromise our dreams. to suppress our desire and accept the status quo. The slut invites you to stand up and say no.
Lex Hesperus: to move. from the knowledge. that satisfaction and a sense of purpose comes from following your desires. that your desires lead not. to a path of evil.
Lex Hesperus: But. to your purpose. Your. creative and generative power in this life.
Lex Hesperus: This is the path and the work of finding your fate. And it is. an erotic act that creates lasting change.
Lex Hesperus: That's what we're doing here on the Slots Guide to Fate.
Lex Hesperus: I am going to be recording short. ish little podcasts like this about the sluts about the sluts path. to finding feet.
Lex Hesperus: how you can embrace your... Freak. and find your fate. and I hope that you will join me. You can like and review this. You can follow me on Instagram, TheLexHesperus, and you can also subscribe to my mailing list.
Lex Hesperus: And I... I'm so excited to share more of this with you. Thank you so much.
