This chapter examines theories of the erotic put forth by Plato and Audre Lorde, L.H. Stallings, Ariana Cruz, and Amia Srinivasan. Plato’s Socrates suggests that we can tame the erotic and use it to achieve the greatest philosophical wisdom. Lorde argues that proper use of the erotic can lead us to ourselves and empower us. Stallings highlights how eros can empower, among others, trans and queer people to live out their “perverse” desires. Cruz suggests that carefully studying porn and BDSM allows us to “speak the unspeakable in black female sexuality.” She sees her work as continuing what Hortense Spiller calls “the retrieval of mutilated bodies.” Srinivasan seems to turn back the clock. She is careful not to suggest disciplining erotic desire—as any reader of Foucault would be, but like Plato, Srinivasan suggests we consider trying to reshape our desires. Transforming our desires could be an emancipatory project. Do we really want to desire what Tinder tells us is desirable? My goal is not to come to a definitive understanding of the erotic. My hope is that this survey of several different takes on the erotic will allow readers to come up with their own understanding.