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Patricia H. Collins Why Black Sexual Politics Analysis

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Race and sexuality are sometimes perceived as exclusive of one another; a person has a racial identity and a separate sexual identity. In mainstream society, the default racial identity is White and the default sexual identity is heterosexual, while other racial and sexual identities are seen as marginal. This can be detrimental for individuals with intersecting marginalized identities, such as a lesbian Argentinian woman or a bisexual Black man. Although it is easier to view race and sexuality as separate concepts, race and sexuality are deeply connected to each other, and they influence one another as well. Racist ideologies shape the perceptions of the sexualities of different racial and ethnic groups, which in turn affect how individuals in these …show more content…

Collins discusses the association of Black women with an animalistic, uncivilized sexuality. Collins states that the depiction of Black individuals as hypersexual compared to White persons “served as a sign of racial differences used to justify the […] belief in the superiority of White civilization” (Collins, 2005). Black women are perceived as sexual objects to be enjoyed, primarily by White men, while the sexuality of Black men is seen as dangerous. Collins argues that “this discourse of Black sexuality to create tightly bundled ideas of Black femininity and Black masculinity […] influenced racial ideologies and racial practices,” upon which the discrimination and mistreatment of Black individuals relies (Collins, 2005). Furthermore, in order to distance themselves from the harmful stereotype that Black sexuality is depraved, many Black individuals have overcompensated and adhered to the belief that sex is solely procreative, heterosexual, and “is only valid within the confines of heterosexual marriage” (Collins, 2005). In other words, many Black Americans have repressed their sexuality, and Black politics has largely remained silent on issues of gender and

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