Pink Matter is an approach to sexuality and embodiment for those who, at some significant period in their lives, have identified with the lived experiences typically associated with Black girls and womxn*. Through this lens, these experiences become immaterial—the lived, felt, and remembered— and form the material—the bodily, enacted, and visible.

It is within this liminal space between the immaterial and material, that Pink Matter emerges, alchemizing Black womxn's lived experiences into a creative realm for self-discovery and recovery. Within this generative space, creativity moves beyond mere expression, becoming a vital force for re-membering, re-defining, and reclaiming black womxn’s bodies and sexualities.

* the x in womxn represents the expansive many genders who have the lived experience of being a Black womxn or girl. From Black trans womxn, femmes, studs, gender non-conforming people, nonbinary people, cis womxn, and beyond, the x represents the many who are confronting and living in the constraints of the gender binary. (Adapted from Black Feminist Futures)

SYLLABUS OVERVIEW

As an arts-integrated syllabus, Pink Matter explores the internal dimensions—the emotional, psychological, and spiritual domains—of sexuality and embodiment. Grounded in the belief that Black womxn’s personal narratives are not only valid, but vital sites of knowledge, this “course” values personal experience as a foundation for learning.   

Creative expression—through dance, movement, play and other artistic practices—is not simply a medium for expression, but a central mode of learning. These practices invite learners to engage with content knowledge personally and meaningfully, bridging theory with lived experience. By engaging the body, memory, and imagination, learners access deeper forms of understanding that traditional methods often overlook. 

Pink Matter takes an interpretive approach, integrating a variety of teaching and learning methods. Some strategies include high-order thinking and reflective question stems, self-directed learning guides, interpretive texts, revelatory quotes, storytelling, art, and multi-sensory stimulation. 

Ultimately, this syllabus is about bringing a sense of "aliveness" to academic work and making "higher" learning more attractive, fun, and accessible to all kinds of learners.

OBJECTIVES

1. Explore the erotic as a source of power, creativity, and self-knowledge, drawing from Audre Lorde and other theorists to redefine the body and sexuality as a site of agency and self-authorship.

2. Use creative expression (e.g., movement, play, visual art, storytelling) as a mode of inquiry into the emotional, psychological, and spiritual dimensions of the sexual self

3. Expand bodily awareness through somatic practices (e.g., dance, movement, play) and cultivate a more integrated relationship with one’s sexual self.

4. Critically examine how social constructions of race, gender, and sexuality are inscribed onto the body, and develop language to reframe, resist, or reimagine those inscriptions.