|
|
|
|
This list is in honor of
the black women who have been outspoken on issues related to sexuality.
Those who are gone and those who are still with us continue to inspire
young black girls and women to stand up for change and recognition on
the sexual frontlines.
Jocelyn Elders
Born Minnie Lee Jones in Schaal,
Arkansas, Jocelyn Elders became the first black American and the second
woman to ever hold the position of United States Surgeon General in
1993 during the Clinton Administration. Elders held extensive credentials
in the medical field, and used her position to garner attention for
sex-related issues, including her advocacy for the distribution of contraceptives
in schools. In 1994, however, upon being invited to speak at the UN
conference on AIDS, she indicated that she found it to be appropriate
to teach masturbation in schools as it is a "part of human sexuality"
and could be used as an alternative to sex (and thus reduce young people's
risk of contracting STIs). Her statement, at the time, was deemed incredibly
controversial, and due to the reaction of the public, President Clinton
asked Elders to step down from her position. Now, at the age of 65,
Elders continues to actively encourage a more open-minded approach to
sex education and frequently lectures on issues like safe sex, HIV/AIDS
prevention, and teen pregnancy.
Betty Davis
According to famed guitarist
Carlos Santana, Betty Davis ". . . was the first Madonna. But Madonna
is more like Marie Osmond when compared to Betty Davis." Davis,
born Betty Mabry, married jazz musician Miles Davis in 1968, and went
on to greatly influence his music, as well as that of Sly Stone and
Jimi Hendrix. Following the end of her marriage with Miles Davis, Betty
Davis traveled to London where she modeled and continued to make music.
Davis' popularity grew, as did her recognition as a sex symbol in the
music industry, but one who could be taken seriously, as her talent
matched her good looks. Some of her songs (as well as her presentation)
were deemed controversial as they were often sexual in nature, which
brought about great ire from religious groups and conservative media
outlets. Though she is no longer making music on a regular basis, Davis
will always be remembered for being sexy and strong.
Eartha Kitt
Though you'll hear her purr
before you see her, Eartha Kitt knows how to make an entrance. Even
at the age of 81, Eartha Kitt's sexy presence puts that of young starlets
to shame. Born in 1927 in South Carolina, Kitt went on to have a career
that paved the way for many of today's talented women of color. Kitt
first entered the entertainment field as a dancer for the Katherine
Dunham Company, though she went on to pursue cabaret and theatre performing
in later years. After receiving attention from the stage, she pursued
a separate career on the screen, starring with Sidney Poitier in her
first feature film in 1958, The Mark of the Hawk. In the late
1960s, Kitt was offered the role of Catwoman on the television series
Batman, solidifying her sex symbol status. Using her fame as a political
asset, Kitt became heavily involved in anti-Vietnam War activism, and
in her later years, HIV/AIDS activism and LGBT rights. She continues
to perform in cabaret shows and even films, and in 2007, served as a
spokesperson for MAC Cosmetics, proving that women could be truly sexy
at any age.
Ida B. Wells-Barnett
Born in Holly Springs, Mississippi
as the daughter of two former slaves, Wells went on to be a pioneer
as a black women's right activist. Incredibly outspoken, Wells led several
anti-racist campaigns in Memphis, TN (where she was the co-owner and
editor of an anti-segregationist newspaper called Free Speech),
Chicago, IL (to boycott the World's Columbian Exhibition, along with
Frederick Douglass), and even the UK, where she informed Great Britain
of the problem of lynching throughout the United States. She was the
first in many of her achievements, including being the first black woman
paid to be a correspondent for a mainstream white newspaper as well
as setting an early precedent as one of the first American women to
keep her maiden name after marriage. Wells was an active suffragette,
often refusing to allow the racism she experienced from white women's
rights activists to deter her from pursuing her goals. Wells was also
incredibly vocal in presenting evidence that not only white women were
the victims of sexual assault, despite the highly biased information
on rape cases provided in the racially charged environment of the Reconstruction
Era South. Wells openly discussed the issue of sexual assault against
young black women and girls by white males to provide a contrast to
the coverage that worked to prove only white women held virtue. Wells
committed her life to diligent work on equalizing images of gender and
race, recognizing before many others that these two aspects of the American
experience intersected so frequently.
Terry McMillan
Now notorious for the less-than-cordial
end to her marriage to Jamaican-born love interest Jonathan Plummer
and homophobia-laden public statements, Michigan-born author Terry McMillan
has a history of being frank about sex. Her nationally acclaimed novels
Waiting to Exhale, How Stella Got Her Groove Back, and
Disappearing Acts were made into films shortly after their release
as they received so much attention from black American audience. McMillan
spoke to a population that had been fairly ignored in the field of romantic
fiction: black women. The stories she created in her fictional works
highlighted the dynamic of black love and how interaction between black
men and women in relationships, though sometimes strained, was indeed
possible. Her books (and subsequent films) also encouraged a sex-positive
attitude as well as female empowerment in relationships.
Zane
Born Kristina Laferne Roberts
to former educators in the Washington, D.C. area, this author is more
widely known by her pen name Zane. Though she began writing erotica
as a mere hobby, she ended up with an internet following and later a
deal with publisher Simon & Schuster. Zane’s work has helped reignite
many a bedroom for her audience, starting first with the imagination.
Toni Morrison
Toni Morrison, née Chloe Anthony
Wolford in Ohio, is one of the foremothers of African American fiction,
many of her works dealing with themes that, despite the historic settings,
remain prevalent in the black community today, including darker issues
like spousal abuse and sexual assault. Despite its poetic nature, her
works could easily be considered historical fiction, as she writers
on heavy topics including the racism and hypocrisy during Reconstruction
and soon after. Morrison became the first black women to win the Nobel
Prize in Literature, and won both a Pulitzer Prize and the National
Book Award. The 67 year old author presently serves on the editorial
board of The Nation, but has been a professor at the State University
of New York and Princeton and has served as a guest curator at the Louvre
Museum in Paris, France.
Alice Walker
Alice Walker, Georgia-born
feminist and critically acclaimed author, covered several issue related
to sexuality in her novel The Color Purple, including sexual
orientation, rape, and incest. Spousal abuse and infidelity were also
subthemes in the novel. Walker went on to tackle the issue of female
genital mutilation in her novel Possessing the Secret of Joy, in which
the main character Tashi undergoes a clitoridectomy and must seek psychiatric
care upon her immigration to the United States in order to cope with
trauma that ensues as a result of the procedure and the loss of a sister
who died after undergoing the same. She has also extensively chronicled
FGM in a non-fiction piece called Warrior Marks. In 1965, Walker met
and married Mel Levanthal, a Jewish civil rights attorney, becoming
the first interracial couple to legally marry in the state of Mississippi.
The two gave birth to a daughter, Rebecca, also a feminist and author,
in 1969, but divorced 8 years later.
Walker’s work, from short stories to novels, often relate to the intersections
of race and gender, particular from a perspective of those struggling
against racism and sexism.
Maya Angelou
Named one of the Most Powerful
Women in America by Ladies Home Journal, one of her many awards, poet,
essayist, and playwright Maya Angelou is a literary force to be reckoned
with. Though known worldwide for her incredible skills as a writer,
Angelou has also been incredibly outspoken about sexual assault, including
discussing her own experience as a child. At the age of 8, she was sexually
abused and assaulted by her mother’s boyfriend. Upon telling the family
of the abuse, the boyfriend was jailed for a day and found beaten to
death less than a week after his release. After his death, Angelou feared
that her voice was dangerous and remained mute for 5 years. Fortunately
for the world, Angelou realized that the power of her words could greatly
benefit society and sought poetry as a means of expression. Yet Angelou
possesses an array of talents, as demonstrated by her involvement with
the Alvin Ailey and Martha Graham dance troupes, a European tour of
the opera Porgy and Bess, and in the civil rights movement as an activist
and public speaker (along with friends Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and
Malcolm X). Angelou has been married several times in her life, indicating
that she is a woman who never settles for less. Angelou continues to
write, travel, and lecture widely.
Oprah Winfrey
In terms of overcoming adversity
and exceeding all expectations, few women can rival the life and career
of Oprah Winfrey. Though raised in poverty, Winfrey went on to achieve
great success in the field of media, with her own television show, television
network, magazine, and production company, and continues to give back
to the community by way of massive philanthropy projects, ranging from
helping individuals down on their luck on her show and surprising her
audience with seasonal gifts to establishing a school in South Africa
and other international projects. Winfrey has a history of advocating
for those considered victimized by racism and class disparities, as
her childhood is a reflection of one’s ability to overcome such challenges.
Sexually abused by her cousin, uncle, and a family friend from the age
of 9, Winfrey has been outspoken about her experience and helping young
women and girls who have had undergone similar trauma. Winfrey starred
as Sofia in Stephen Spielberg’s film adaptation of Alice Walker’s
The Color Purple and Sethe in a film adaptation of Toni Morrison’s
Beloved which Winfrey produced. Winfrey is also an HIV/AIDS awareness
activist, having lost a half-brother and a close friend to the illness.
By Wendi Muse
|
|
Advertise With Us!!
For more information email us at
This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
|
|
|
|
| |
Content 
