042 - Thematic Session. Sex and Sexuality in Black Communities

Session Submission Type: Invited Session

Abstract

Sex and sexuality are used to represent multiple images and ideologies of African Americans. Issues of respectability, racial stereotyping, risk-taking and taboo behavior all rise to the fore when analyzing perceptions of and experiences with black sexuality and sexual behavior. The papers in this session examine some of the ways sexuality is understood by individuals and social groups in African American communities. Averil Clarke presents on female sexuality and male gender performance in heterosexual relationships, Celeste Watkins-Hayes analyzes the ways early adulthood relationship experiences of black women shape HIV risk, Jeffrey McCune explores how black men negotiate traditional codes of masculinity while engaging in virtual spaces of same-sex desire, and Mignon Moore examines the intersection of race and gender in the historical development of black LGBT social spaces.

Sub Unit

• Thematic Sessions

Session Organizer

• Mignon R. Moore, Columbia University

Presider

• Mignon R. Moore, Columbia University

Panelists

• Averil Y. Clarke, Suffolk University

• Celeste M. Watkins-Hayes, Northwestern University

• Jeffrey McCune, Washington University-St. Louis

• Mignon R. Moore, Columbia University