Black Women’s Sexual Health Matters

Sex-positive data about Black women and their sexuality is often under-represented in sexuality education materials.

Research dedicated to understanding the sexual lives of Black women has historically focused on behaviors that lead to stereotypes and myths, rather than clear, unbiased data.

That’s why it’s critical that resources promoting Black women’s sexual health are made available, and researchers from the Center for Sexual Health Promotion at Indiana University did just that!

They recently created three infographics focused on Black women’s sexuality using data from the 2018 National Survey of Sexual Health and Behavior, supported by Church & Dwight Co., Inc. Designed by Erin Tobey, the infographics are intended to be culturally sensitive, inclusive of gender and sexual identities, and varying across the lifespan.

The development of these infographics was supported by Patty Brisben Foundation for Women’s Sexual Health (PBF). Patty Brisben, the founder of Pure Romance, supports sexual health education and the promotion of sexuality research for all women.

• • The first image reveals how often an orgasm occurred—68%—during Black women’s most recent sexual experience.

• • The second image illustrates how often sex was rated as either quite or extremely pleasurable—74%—during Black women’s most recent sexual experience.

• The third image depicts two of the most common sexual activities during Black women’s most recent sexual experience, kissing (75%) and cuddling. (60%).

Additional common sexual activities reported by Black women include breast touching/nipple stimulation (71%), penile-vaginal intercourse (68%), vaginal fingering (45%), and receiving oral sex from a partner (40%).

It is really important that all people have access to sex-positive information related to their sexual lives. Sexuality education materials and resources are essential to supporting women as they learn to own their sexuality. Let’s celebrate Black women because their bodies, their health, and their sexual lives matter too!