42 Search results for "sexual autonomy"

Erotic Communion: Black Women’s Pleasure in ‘Sinners’
by Juahl Ganaway In a scene ripped from The Sugar Shack, the character Pearline (played by the stunning Jayme Lawson) stalks across the stage purring the lyrics to “Pale, Pale, Moon,” the Brittany Howard-penned song that feels more like an invocation than a performance. “I wanna sing Like I hear the crickets do I wanna […]
Reproductive justice advocacy requires more than being “pro-choice”
Editor’s Note: June is LGBTQ Pride Month. At BYP, we will be exploring gender, sexuality, transgender issues and queer theory, and we are interested in publishing works that address these topics and the things surrounding them. We want to hear from you! Send us your pitches at info@blackyouthproject.com By Jallicia Jolly Amidst the spate of […]
Juneteenth Reflections: Grief Work is Freedom Work
by Julia Mallory “…but in them days they wasn’t no time for mournin.’ ” —Mary Reynolds, Texas Slave Narratives Volume XVI Part III Juneteenth began as a day of celebration commemorating the emancipation of enslaved people in Galveston, Texas on June 19th, 1866. Since then, it has offered Black folks an opportunity to remember […]
I became a sex and consent educator with Black youth in mind
by Maya Williams This essay mentions r/pe. One day, in the fifth grade, I was playing outside and fell on my crotch. I ran inside crying to my mom, “I hurt my…my…” gesturing to my pelvic area, “bad part.” The one thing I can appreciate from my mother was how she immediately responded, “No, your […]
Fatphobia means fat people’s bodies—and even our weight loss—are never just our own
by Indigo In the final weeks of 2019, pop culture analysts (and regular enthusiasts like myself) have taken to the variety of digital mediums available, and some even to the rooftops of their homes, to tell anyone who will listen that 2019 was the year of Lizzo. After the infamous “HAVE YOU EVER SEEN A […]
How one online community has channeled their misogynoir into the “Save Yourself Black Men” movement
by Aaron Fountain This essay contains quotes with extremely hateful rhetoric against Black women Wearing a helmet that covers his face and talking over a compilation of photographs of Black men with mostly white women, Youtuber MadBusDriverX frequently tell his listeners “save yourself Black men.” Save themselves from what, one might ask. The answer is […]
Virginity and hymen myths must be challenged to protect Black teens like Deyjah Harris
This essay contains discussions of sexual coercion & violation, as well as invasion of sexual/medical privacy I used to go to church when I was in college. Not because I wanted to, but because I felt obligated to. I grew up in “the church”—of the Southern, Black Non-denominational Christian variety, and I hadn’t yet escaped […]
I don’t find PIV sex pleasurable, and that’s okay
by Joyline Maenzanise In my late teens, I became aware that there were some cis women who I tended to admire in a rather intense way. I never acted on this because I assumed the feelings were nothing more than fleeting admiration—albeit intense—and, frankly, I didn’t know that I could act on them. Growing up […]
‘Set It Off’ and the Black feminist lessons it still holds for us
This essay contains spoilers for Set It Off, and discusses sexual exploitation and state violence “Women respond to racism. My response to racism is anger. I have lived with that anger, ignoring it, feeding upon it, learning to use it before it laid my visions to waste, for most of my life. Once I […]
Reclaiming our bodies through Black erotica
by Donnie Moreland Literarily, the words Black and erotic are dissonent. A by product of what would become synonymous with talk about sex, in the public domain, for Black folk—sin, depravity, immorality, etc. Though canonically scattered, some Black folk do dabble in erotic fiction. A previous romantic partner of mine introduced me to Zane—the most […]
How Black cis het men’s relationship to our bodies contributes to our violence against Black transgender women
by Donnie Moreland This essay discusses transmisogyny and the murder of Black trans women It’s odd; where the mind of a young man goes in boredom. It’s often sexual—at least in my experience. It’s a lot of thinking about who you’d fuck and how. What’s even more telling is when we commune in boredom. […]
Coverage of sex work keeps making white women dangerous victims in the name of progress
By Adrie Rose When I was thirteen, my mum stopped talking to me for a week. I don’t remember what I did, but I’m sure I was being a right little shit and she wasn’t the type of parent to spank or hit. My parents have always understood that there are far more effective (and […]