Black Women and Sexual Liberation: Breaking the ‘Strong Black Woman’ Narrative. An American Perspective

For centuries, the intersections of race, gender, and sexuality have shaped how Black women’s erotic lives are perceived, regulated, and expressed. This presentation examines how American historical stereotypes and contemporary expectations, most notably the Strong Black Woman (SBW) narrative (Abrams et al., 2019), have influenced Black women’s sexual agency, pleasure, and liberation (West, 1995; Collins, 2000). From the hypersexualized Jezebel to the nurturing yet desexualized Mammy, and through the moral constraints of respectability politics to the modern SBW archetype, these controlling narratives continue to affect how American Black women relate to strength, vulnerability, and desire (hooks, 1989; Roach, 2024). Drawing upon social work, psychosexual therapy, and feminist theory, presenters LaTonya N. Oliver and LaTanya E. Jones explore the psychological and relational costs of internalizing these narratives. While the SBW schema is rooted in survival and resilience, it often results in emotional suppression, sexual disconnection, and shame surrounding pleasure and need (Abrams et al., 2019; Liao et al., 2020). Respectability politics reinforces a double bind: sexual expression invites social judgment, while restraint reinforces invisibility, illustrating the ongoing tension between cultural expectations and personal authenticity (Morris, 2016). Moving toward restoration, the presenters center therapeutic and community-based strategies for reclaiming sexual agency. Through critical dialogue and case reflection, they demonstrate how sex therapy, trauma-informed care, and pleasure activism can help Black women unlearn inherited scripts of self-sacrifice and embrace sexuality as a site of healing, joy, and liberation (Lorde, 1984; Lipscomb & Ashley, 2021; Jones, 2023). Integrating the works of Audre Lorde, Black feminist scholars, and contemporary cultural movements, this session affirms that reclaiming eroticism is both a personal and political act. Participants will gain insight into how clinicians, educators, and advocates can dismantle internalized oppression, challenge respectability politics, and support Black women in redefining strength to include softness, pleasure, and erotic autonomy.