Intersectionality in Sex Therapy: Opportunities for Promoting Sexual Wellness Among Queer People of Color

Abstract

Intersectionality theory acknowledges that a significant part of the distress experienced by queer people of color (QPOC) is caused by systems of oppression in society. Given the dearth of literature linking intersectionality to sex therapy, combined with a lack of sex therapy research centering on the experiences of QPOC, sexual wellness advocates often utilize unidimensional approaches that focus exclusively on either LGBTQ people or people of color. This review presents the following: (1) an overview of the gaps eliciting unidimensional approaches to sex therapy practice and research, (2) an illustration of intersectionality’s theoretical underpinnings as a queer and oppression-responsive approach, and (3) applications for sex therapy practice with QPOC. The intersectionality framework provides an opportunity to explore overlapping forms of oppression (e.g., racism, heterosexism, cisnormativity) and to make social justice and resilience/resistance central topics in the promotion of sexual wellness. The framework can guide sexual wellness advocates in their mission to better understand the harm posed by oppressive systems, how these systems impact sexual problems, and how they can intervene to reduce conditions that undermine sexual wellness and freedom. It is in the sexual health field’s best interest to comprehensively adopt intersectionality to advance the field toward a culture that critiques and dismantles social structures that limit the possibilities of pleasurable sex among oppressed communities. Individual sex therapists can contribute to the inclusion of the intersectionality framework in therapy by critiquing harmful social structures, attending to both sexual dysfunction and sexual pleasure, attending to both oppression and resilience/resistance, and actively collaborating with the communities they serve.