Racism and Sexuality: How Women of Color Learn about Sex and the Body

Abstract

The purpose of Racism and Sexuality: How Women of Color Learn about Sex and the Body is to explore how women and female-assigned people of color are taught about sexuality and sex-negativity through the lens of race. Sex negativity is described as the perception of sex being dangerous, harmful, or deviant; those who grow up in sex-negative cycles believe sex and therefore their body is shameful. Participants were nine women and female-assigned people of color aged 18-20 interviewed through Zoom due to COVID-19 restrictions. The results showed a triple jeopardy of youth, race, and gender as significant factors in how participants viewed body image and sexuality. Participants resorted to self-regulation as a way to combat certain perceptions and sex-negative roles in their daily lives as a result of their intersecting identities.