Black US college women’s strategies of sexual self-protection

Bibliographic Data

ID15098532
AuthorsAmarachi R Anakaraonye (University of South Carolina), Emily S Mann (0000-0002-6246-2441, University of South Carolina, corresponding author), Lucy Annang Ingram (0000-0003-1521-264X, University of South Carolina), Andrea K Henderson (0000-0002-6152-6677, University of South Carolina)
Year2019
Volume21
Issue2
Pages160-174
Publication date2019-02-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueCulture Health & Sexuality (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1369-1058 • E-ISSN: 1464-5351
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/13691058.2018.1459844
PMID29688162
OpenAlexW2800949112
LanguageEN
Citations received10
References cited42

While previous scholarship on the sexual practices of college students in the USA has explored how the co-constitution of whiteness, economic privilege and gender inequality are central to 'hooking up', less attention has been paid to how the sexual culture of predominantly white universities shape Black college women's sexual practices. In this article, we use an intersectional theoretical framework informed by Black feminism to analyse interviews with Black, cisgender, heterosexual women, aged 18-22, attending a university in the south-eastern USA. We explore how they interpret the university's sexual culture and in turn how that informs their sexual decision-making. We find that the intersection of racism and sexism limits Black college women's sexual partner options and leads them to pursue sexual relationships outside the university setting. While most do not engage in committed romantic relationships with off-campus partners, they do engage in a range of strategies to protect their social, emotional and sexual well-being. The study findings expand the scholarship on hook-up culture by centring the narratives of a group often excluded from the literature

Feminism · Intersectionality · Political science · Romance · Scholarship · Sociology · Gender Roles and Identity Studies · Gender Studies · Gender, Feminism, and Media · Law · Psychology · Sexual Assault and Victimization Studies · Social Psychology

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