Exploring differences in Black heterosexual and queer women’s sexual experiences through a Black queer feminist lens

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to expand the empirical research on Black women’s sexualities by exploring differences in heterosexual and queer Black women’s sexual experiences including sexual pleasure, orgasms, masturbation, number of sex partners, and sexual desire through a Black queer feminist lens. This study used survey data from n = 295 Black cisgender women from phase one of the triphasic Big Sex Study. Results showed that Black queer women had more sexual partners and reported masturbating at earlier ages compared to heterosexual women. Black queer women also reported higher pleasure ratings in sexual activities, sexual intimacy, and sexual intercourse. Finally, there were differences in correlates of sexual desire between heterosexual and queer women; however, no factors were correlated with desire to engage in sexual intercourse for power and control for both groups of women. Implications for advancing sex positive research on sexually diverse Black women are included.