Pleasure as Liberation (Part 1): Reclaiming Joy, Freedom & Self-Belonging
Photo Credit: @Goddusrising x Ms. Marisha
I don’t know about you, but I used to believe that pleasure was something to be earned. That joy was a reward for hard work, that rest required justification, that indulgence was a distraction from purpose. But what if pleasure isn’t a luxury but instead the pathway to freedom? What if allowing myself to enjoy, to feel, to lean into what brings me pleasure was the most radical act of self-liberation I could choose?
My Year of Kintsugi was the first time I truly explored these questions. This year of intentional disruption, while uncomfortable and came with many sacrifices, was my radical act of choosing pleasure. This was not as a fleeting escape, but as an intentional and restorative way of being. Like many of us, I spent my entire life pushing forward, hustling, striving for an ideal of success, but when I stepped away from the conventional way of life to disrupt my own patterns, I began to shatter the idea that fulfillment and impact comes solely from doing and achieving. I gave myself permission to redefine success: not as productivity, but as presence.
And in that presence, I found pleasure.
Camelback Mountain - Phoenix, AZ
Pleasure as a Disruption
When I stepped away from academia a year and a half after returning to in-person instruction (following the pandemic), I wasn’t just taking a break. I was disrupting a deeply ingrained cycle, one that glorified burnout and minimized rest, one that equated struggle with strength, a badge of honor, worthiness. I chose instead to explore what pleasure could look like when it wasn’t conditional.
How I’ve Integrated Pleasure as Liberation in My Life
I let my body move in ways that felt intuitive, whether that was dancing, hiking, or simply lying or playing in nature.
I indulged in creativity without agenda, writing, creative direction, designing sonic experiences, not for an audience, but for myself.
I sought intimacy in deep conversations, coffee shop encounters, first dates, and phone calls with [geographically] distant friends; not as a performance, but as a space where I could be fully seen and received.
I allowed slowness to be sacred, resting not because I was exhausted, but because I deserved to be well, replenished, and quite frankly this is how I become more creative and efficient.
Each of these acts became a reclamation, a reminder that pleasure is not an afterthought, but a birthright and a power source. In the poetic and wise words of activist, writer, and proponent of pleasure (the erotic) Audre Lorde shares, “When we live outside ourselves, and by that I mean on the external directive only, on what is expected of us rather from our internal knowledge and needs, when we live away from those erotic guides from within ourselves then our lives are limited by external and alien forms and we conform to the needs of a structure that is not based on human need, let alone any individuals.”
When we embrace pleasure, we remind the world (and ourselves) that we are more than what we do. We are beings worthy of joy, intimacy, creativity, and deep satisfaction.
The 4 Personas: Reimagining My Own Story
Photo Credit: Maria Joyner x Ms. Marisha
My journey into pleasure as liberation also meant stepping into self-expression in ways that once felt inaccessible or uncomfortable. My boudoir photo series, The 4 Personas, was a direct response to years of societal conditioning that told me who I should be and how I should exist in my body – what path my life should take.
Through this creative immersion, I didn’t just pose for a camera, I reclaimed ownership of my narrative. I depicted myself in ways that honored my softness, my sensuality, my strength. I illustrated not just my survival, but my thriving, my evolution. It was a visual manifesto: I am allowed to take up space. I am allowed to enjoy this moment, this body, this life.
Pleasure is the Path, Not the Prize
Lake Castiac - Los Angeles County
I used to think I had to achieve something before I could deserve pleasure. Now, I understand that pleasure itself is the achievement. It is the act of honoring oneself, of trusting oneself, of choosing joy without apology.
So I ask you:
How do you allow yourself to experience pleasure?
What does pleasure as liberation look like in your life?
How often do you let pleasure be the reason, not just the reward?
Drop your reflections in the comments.
