A Black Feminist Study of Black Mother-Daughter Sexual Communication

There is a well-established body of literature on parent-child sexual communication (PCSC) among Black families. Still, most of this work focuses on reducing sexual risk behaviors among Black girls and focuses less on the multidimensionality of PCSC among Black parents and their daughters. In this qualitative study, we explored Black mother-daughter PCSC by analyzing interviews with 29 Black mothers in the U.S. with daughters ages 6-11. We used consensual qualitative research methods to analyze mother's responses to questions about the messages and strategies they used when educating their daughters about sex-related topics, such as pleasure and sexual identity. We identified the following themes related to mothers' goals with their messages: (1) increasing awareness through neutral information, (2) building daughter's sense of self, (3) challenging societal norms and White heteropatriarchy, and (4) upholding societal norms and White heteropatriarchy. We also developed five themes for mother's strategies for PCSC: (5) direct and open PCSC, (6) modeling, (7) integrating real-life examples, (8) centering the child, and (9) monitoring and tailoring daughters' experiences with others. Our findings add to existing research on sex-positive practices among Black families, highlight the need to use critical lenses when exploring PCSC, and have important implications for parent education.

How Does Sexual Subjectivity Vary on the Basis of Gender and Sexual Orientation? Validation of the Short Sexual Subjectivity Inventory (SSSI-11) in Cisgender, Heterosexual and Sexual and Gender Minority Adolescents

Through sexual exploration, adolescents learn that they are sexual beings with choices, desires, and are deserving of pleasure, which corresponds to sexual subjectivity. However, the two measures of this construct (i.e., Female Sexual Subjectivity Inventory and Male Sexual Subjectivity Inventory) have not been validated with younger adolescents and have different items for boys and girls (with no scale available for gender diverse individuals), limiting gender comparisons. This study examined (1) the factor structure of the adapted Short Sexual Subjectivity Inventory-11 items (SSSI-11) in a large sample of young cisgender, heterosexual and sexual and gender minority adolescents, (2) measurement invariance across language (English and French), gender, and sexual orientation, (3) validity with sexuality-related outcomes, and (4) one-year temporal stability. Results of a confirmatory factor analysis among 2001 adolescents (Mage = 15.5 years, SD = 0.60) revealed a multidimensional factor structure. The SSSI-11, in both English and French, showed adequate reliability and one-year temporal stability, and was invariant across genders, sexual orientations, and languages. Girls had lower scores on the entitlement to self-pleasure and self-efficacy in achieving pleasure factors, and higher scores on the entitlement to pleasure from a partner factor. No significant differences were observed on the basis of language or between heterosexual and sexual minority adolescents. The SSSI-11 correlated positively with sexuality-related variables. Findings support the strong psychometric properties of the SSSI-11, rendering it of considerable use in clinical, education, and research applications.

Black Women’s Sexual Assertiveness and Satisfaction: The Role of the Superwoman Schema

Although extant research highlights the detrimental effects of the Superwoman Schema (SWS) on Black women’s physical and psychological well-being, researchers have yet to examine the implications of SWS endorsement on Black women’s sexual attitudes and behaviors. As a culturally salient racialized gender schema that reifies Black women’s supposed superhuman emotional and physical strength, to what extent does endorsement of the SWS contribute to Black women’s reported sexual assertiveness and satisfaction? In the present work, 406 Black women completed an online survey measuring their endorsement of the SWS, as well as their sexual assertiveness and sexual satisfaction. SWS dimensions moderated the association between sexual assertiveness and sexual satisfaction. Findings from the present study highlight the importance of considering culturally salient racialized gender schemas when examining Black women’s sexual attitudes and behaviors.

Sexual Subjectivity in Solo and Partnered Masturbation Experiences Among Emerging Adult Women

This qualitative study aimed to examine the experiences and attitudes toward masturbation among emerging adult women. The study was the first to compare women's solo and partnered masturbation experiences, focusing on how feelings of pleasure, sexual desire, and a sense of empowerment-important markers of women's sexual subjectivity-varied across the two contexts. The sample consisted of 40 women between the ages of 18 and 22 years. The majority of participants identified as Latina (33%) or Black (30%) and were enrolled in community college. Semi-structured interviews about women's masturbation experiences were analyzed using thematic analysis. Women described a multitude of feelings, including pleasure but also awkwardness and guilt. Although women did not describe their masturbation practices as morally wrong, they often alluded to disliking masturbation and preferring it less to partnered sex. Whereas some attitudes and feelings (e.g., awkwardness) arose in the context of both solo and partnered masturbation encounters, others were prevalent only in one (e.g., guilt in the solo encounters). Feelings of pleasure, sexual desire, and empowerment manifested differently in the two contexts. There was more focus on self-knowledge, control, and physical pleasure in the solo encounters and more enjoyment of a partner's desire and intimacy in the partnered encounters. We examine the findings through a feminist lens and consider how race/ethnicity, sexual scripts, and contemporary societal contexts shape women's sexual lives.

Alcohol intoxication and sexual risk intentions: Exploring cultural factors among heavy drinking women

INTRODUCTION

Sexually Transmitted Infections (STI) rates are the highest of the last 20 years, with people of color and women particularly affected. Ongoing research has identified risk factors (e.g., alcohol intoxication) and protective factors (e.g., risk perception) for sexual risk behaviors, such as inconsistent condom use. Depending on behavioral norms within a group, ethnic identity (EI) - the exploration and sense of belonging to one's ethnicity - may be a risk or protective factor. This study examined the relations between EI, alcohol intoxication, and STI risk perception on sexual risk intentions among women of color (WOC) and white women (WW).

METHODS

Cisgender women (N = 390; 35% WOC; 65% WW) completed measures and were randomly assigned to an alcohol condition (0.10% BrAC vs control). They projected themselves into an eroticized scenario and self-reported two aspects of STI risk perception (personal, partner) and two sexual risk behaviors (condomless sex intentions, condom decision abdication intentions).

RESULTS

Path analysis indicated that intoxicated women endorsed higher sexual risk intentions compared to women in the control group. Personal STI risk perception was negatively associated with sexual risk intentions. Indirect effects indicated that race was indirectly associated with both indicators of sexual risk, such that WOC reported higher perceived personal STI risk and subsequently endorsed lower sexual risk intentions compared to WW. Surprisingly, EI was associated with higher perceived partner risk for WW only.

CONCLUSIONS

Prevention initiatives that address STI risk perception, condom assertion behaviors, and alcohol may be effective for mitigating women's sexual risk behaviors.

An investigation of Jezebel stereotype awareness, gendered racial identity and sexual beliefs and behaviours among Black adult women

Evidence suggests that the intersectional nature of Black women's race and gender identities influence their awareness of sexual scripts such as the hypersexual, Jezebel stereotype. This study examined the role of the Jezebel stereotype and Black women's identity beliefs on their sexual beliefs and behaviours. Specifically, we investigated the role of gendered racial identity beliefs on the relationship between Jezebel stereotype awareness and Black women's sexual behaviours (sexual assertiveness, sexual satisfaction, sexual guilt and attachment avoidance in relationships). A diverse national sample of Black women completed measures of gendered racial identity beliefs, Jezebel stereotype awareness and sexual behaviours. Black women who felt more positively connected to their Black woman identity reported greater sexual assertiveness and satisfaction. Consistent with past research, more awareness of the Jezebel stereotype was associated with higher sexual guilt and attachment avoidance. We discuss the enduring legacy of the Jezebel stereotype in relation to Black women's gendered racial identity beliefs, as well as the importance of promoting positive sexual beliefs and a sense of sexual agency among Black women in the USA.

Lay awake with a racing mind: The associations between sexual objectification, insomnia, and affective symptoms

BACKGROUND

Sexual objectification is a form of interpersonal maltreatment that women may experience in daily life. Research has focused on testing how it leads to various psychological distresses. However, little research has examined its influences on women's sleep quality, the underlying psychological mechanisms, and the potential implications for affective symptoms. We addressed this research gap by testing whether sexual objectification predicted perceived stress and insomnia, thereby predicting affective symptoms (i.e., depression and anxiety). We further examined whether sex-is-power beliefs moderated these associations.

METHODS

Participants completed validated measures of sex-is-power beliefs, sexual objectification, perceived stress, insomnia, depression, and anxiety. We conducted regression analyses, structural equation modeling, and bootstrapping analyses to test the associations between these psychological constructs.

RESULTS

As predicted, the results showed that sexual objectification was positively associated with perceived stress, insomnia, and affective symptoms. Moreover, perceived stress and insomnia serially mediated the association between sexual objectification and affective symptoms. Furthermore, sex-is-power beliefs moderated the serial mediation effect, such that the effect was only observed among participants with weak sex-is-power beliefs.

CONCLUSIONS

These findings advanced current theories and knowledge of sexual objectification by demonstrating that sexual objectification is associated with perceived stress and insomnia, thereby predicting affective symptoms. The findings also highlighted the role of beliefs in weakening the negative consequences of sexual objectification.

Disordered eating through the lens of positive psychology: The role of embodiment, self-esteem and identity coherence

Applying a positive psychology perspective, this study aimed to identify potential intra-individual factors that might protect against the development of disordered eating in a community sample of young women and men (N = 510; 56 % women; M_age = 24.3). Based on existing literature, the study included the general resilience factors of self-esteem and identity coherence as well as two dimensions of positive embodiment (positive body connection and comfort, and agency and functionality). All factors were negatively correlated with disordered eating among women and men. Hierarchical regression analyses indicated that positive embodiment, specifically positive body connection, was a significant predictor of lower degrees of disordered eating symptoms in both women and men, followed by self-esteem. The overall prediction model accounted for 42.6 % in the variation of disordered eating symptoms for women and 23.9 % for men. Prevention and treatment interventions promoting health factors that protect against the development of eating disorders are much needed. The present study informs such efforts by emphasizing the promotion of positive embodiment.

Trauma-Informed Sex Positive Approaches to Sexual Pleasure

This paper develops a trauma-informed sex-positive framework as a public health, clinical, and research approach to sexual experience over the life course. The framework centers trauma-informed sex positivity as the linkage for sexual pleasure (along with sexual wellbeing and sexual health) to the social, cultural, and legal concepts of sexual justice. By providing a conceptual distinction of sexual pleasure from sexual wellbeing and sexual health, the framework improves clarity about how these constructs are related as well as provides possibilities for detailed operationalization in public health surveillance and in the new research.

Differentiating contributions of self-objectification and self-sexualization to young women's sexual agency

Findings consistently illustrate the negative association between women's sexual objectification and their sexual functioning. At the same time, some scholars argue that sexualized self-presentation may be a way to embrace one's sexuality and may signify empowerment. To date, no studies have explicitly explored the potential differential contributions of self-objectification and self-sexualization to multiple aspects of women's sexual agency. Towards this end, we surveyed 556 undergraduate women to examine how body surveillance, self-objectification, and self-sexualization differentially predict women's sexual assertiveness, sexual satisfaction, feelings of entitlement to sexual pleasure, condom use self-efficacy, and sexual esteem. Path analysis demonstrated consistent negative links between body surveillance, one behavioral manifestation of self-objectification, and sexual agency outcomes, but revealed both negative and positive links between measures of sexualization and sexual agency. This complex set of associations highlights the value of studying self-objectification and self-sexualization both in tandem and separately, so that researchers can develop a better understanding of the implications of each for women's sexual agency.

"Pretty hurts": Acceptance of hegemonic feminine beauty ideals and reduced sexual well-being among Black women

Although women are expected to idealize and achieve hegemonic feminine beauty standards such as being slender and lighter skinned, few studies have examined how women's investment in achieving these restrictive feminine appearance ideals may influence their sexual attitudes and behaviors. Even less is known about Black women. We surveyed 640 Black college women to test hypotheses that endorsement of hegemonic beauty ideals would be positively associated with four dimensions of negative sexual affect (sexual guilt, shame, emotional distancing, and self-consciousness) and negatively associated with two dimensions of sexual agency (sexual assertiveness and satisfaction). Correlation and regression analyses showed that hegemonic beauty ideal acceptance was linked with greater sexual guilt, shame, emotional distancing, and sexual self-consciousness in addition to lower levels of sexual assertiveness and satisfaction. Findings highlight how endorsing restrictive, hegemonic standards of beauty is associated with Black women's reduced sexual affect and sexual agency.