Paper short abstract:

Black women's sexuality has been shaped by various narratives over time and space. Using examples from literature, history, anthropology and popular culture, this paper shows how various factors have mediated the formulation of a black women's sexuality that crosses time and space

Paper long abstract:

Sexuality serves as a key aspect of human identity and has been an area of much interest to many scholars. Attempts have been made to understand and categorize 'black sexuality' largely as 'other' from the Western perspective. Black women's sexuality in particular has been mystified, exoticized , silenced, and exploited. Several factors over time have also governed the sexuality of black women including slavery and colonialism.

This paper interrogates the narratives around black women's sexuality per research done by anthropologists and other scholars to tease out the recurrent themes and areas of diverging opinion. Data sources for this paper included ethnographic works, journal articles, websites and reports on popular culture. The paper highlights key areas that have been of interest to researchers of black women's sexuality and draws out the ways these narratives have shaped the black woman's identity.

Past and contemporary Western and Western-influenced researchers have depicted black sexualities in general and black women's sexualities in particular as primitive and posing a danger to civilized man. Additionally, the sexuality of the African woman is often portrayed as functional, a means to ensuring procreation, a key goal of many African societies. Black women's attempts to attain sexual liberation through creative means such as music is seen to be often met with bewildered criticism and awed fascination. Overall, there is a dearth of research on black female homosexualities and black women's sexual expression for its own sake, not as a societal function. There is therefore potential for further research in these areas.