Steeped in Shame: An Exploration of Family Sexual Socialization Among Black College Women

Abstract

Most research on Black girls’ sexuality emphasizes reducing risk behaviors, with less attention to dimensions of healthy and normative sexual development, such as body positivity. To address this gap, we sought to explore the diversity of sexual messaging young Black women received during their formative years. Using consensual qualitative research methods, we explored how 50 Black college women (ages 18–24 years) described their sexual socialization within family contexts in relation to their current sexual beliefs and behaviors. The following themes emerged from the data: messages of discretion, negative messages about physical appearance, messages of deference, messages of abstinence, absence of sexual messages, messages of body positivity, messages of egalitarianism, messages of sex positivity, and messages of sexual distrust and dismissiveness. Black families’ sexual socialization processes were also influenced by ethnicity, social class, and religious orientation. Our findings situate Black women’s family sexual socialization practices within a sociohistorical framework and highlight the need to support Black girls’ healthy sexual development by eliminating fear, shame, or taboo around sexual exploration. Education and advocacy efforts should focus on communicating openly with youth to help them make more positive decisions about sex and bodily autonomy.

“They Need to Hear Our Voices”: A Multidimensional Framework of Black College Women’s Sociopolitical Development and Activism

“…These women were not prepared with adequate language to describe the bias and discrimination they encountered, which limited their ability to advocate for themselves. Our findings suggest that some Black women do not receive adequate messaging on how gender, sexism, and patriarchy influence their racial experiences (i.e., adultification—Leath et al, 2020; tone policing—Morris, 2007). BFT offers an intersectional framework for social justice organizing that can help Black women and girls learn to name their experiences, including the interpersonal and institutional practices that harm them.…”

Self of the parent: An expanded social cognitive perspective on parent–child sexual communication

“…Some researchers have incorporated theories from other fields into their PCSC research (e.g., Black feminist theory and PCSC; Leath et al, 2020) to help guide their examination of sociocultural factors, but social location is not commonly integral to the study of PCSC. Although these theoretical frameworks make significant improvements to common theories used in PCSC research, we believe that further theoretical expansions and applications are necessary to guide a more holistic approach to examining PCSC that better captures the complexity of self of the parent within one's social location and considers how an assemblage of factors shape PCSC experiences.…”

“…These decisions may be made intentionally and consciously (e.g., having a plan for initiating a conversation about puberty in the future), reactively in the moment (e.g., walking in on a child masturbating and reacting immediately), and/or may be a continuation of the status quo (e.g., avoiding conversations about sex because they have not had them before; Flores & Barroso, 2017; Pluhar et al, 2006). On top of these decisions, parents are likely simultaneously juggling desires to have better PCSC than their parents (Flores & Barroso, 2017), desires to protect children from negative sexual stereotypes or outcomes (Leath et al, 2020), desires to be sex‐positive influences (Ballard & Gross, 2009), and their own discomfort with discussing sexuality (Pariera, 2016).…”

Being fast or cautious? Sociocultural conditions influencing the sexual pathways of Black females in the United States

“…Black culture, in the context of this study, refers to the collective history, values, customs, world views, linguistic meanings, and messages shared by those who identify as being Black in America [ 16 ]. For example, Black cultural messages such as “fast” or “fast tailed girl” contribute to the sexual socialization and behaviors of Black girls and women [ 11 , 17 , 18 ]. This cultural message/label creates shame in sexual exploration and silences Black girls in regards to communication about sexual health, consequentially increasing STI risk [ 11 , 17 , 18 ].…”

“…For example, Black cultural messages such as “fast” or “fast tailed girl” contribute to the sexual socialization and behaviors of Black girls and women [ 11 , 17 , 18 ]. This cultural message/label creates shame in sexual exploration and silences Black girls in regards to communication about sexual health, consequentially increasing STI risk [ 11 , 17 , 18 ]. Being “fast” or the label of “fast tailed girl” coincides with the hypersexual Jezebel stereotype perpetuated by racist policies (i.e., forced sterilization of Black women) made to control Black female sexual and reproductive health [ 19 , 20 ].…”