In our conversations around Joy and Pleasure, we found ourselves considering what sort of conditions we need in order to experience these states. Given the current context of CV19 mental health is variable given the community and embodied experience of this challenging moment, but most are experiencing some level of increased anxiety, which is entirely normal. For some however it can become debilitating and within those psychic states an ability to feel pleasure or joy are impinged. 

In Brown's book she declares 'pleasure is a feeling of happy satisfaction and enjoyment' (Brown, A. M. 2019) to feel this sense of satisfaction and enjoyment we might say we need to feel free from fear to feel a sense of safety in ourselves and in our environment, even momentarily.  Fear is a natural emotion, it keeps us safe to threats, the fight / flight / freeze response kicks in, but when we experience trauma or increased stress for a duration, fear can take hold in our psyche and each problem becomes a threat to ones experience, uncertainties become intolerable.  Thus understanding how we can be free from fear becomes a key question in the plight for pleasure.

'Activism consists of efforts to promote, impede, or direct social, political, economic, or environmental reform or statis with the desire to make improvements in society' (Brown, A. M. 2019). In activism we need to different type of kind freedom from the psychic freedom discussed above. In activism we need freedom from oppression in order to access and perform our agency. Thus it is therefore important to note here our privilege. In many countries this capacity to have voices heard is not possible, some are willing to die for it, for others the capacity to demonstrate choice in day to day life is not possible.

Operating from the London College of Fashion, and in particular The School of Media and Communications we are however in such a privileged position to co-investigate ideas within our teaching and learning community and engage our agency into the heart of such discussions. As pleasure activists we seek to critically interrogate what the prerequisites are in order to experience this happy satisfaction and enjoyment in all our affairs, "in all sates" I hear you cry, but why not!? To reclaim our lives and consider the human potential of a joyful state is what we advocate. Our mindset grew from the Anti-fragile, we see damage as a catalyst and wish heal and learn towards joy, we recognise action and more action is necessary here.... As Brown states: 'Pleasure activists seek to understand and learn from the politics and power dynamics inside of everything that makes us feel good' (Brown, A. M. 2019)

So how might we feel a sense of freedom became relevant to us in our understanding of pleasure. Freedom and liberation are always pleasurable experiences and are productive in essence, they present as a furthering of our potential, liberation is an act.