The Sex Lives of African Women

Review If you read Three Women and thought, "Where are all the non-white people?", this book has the answer ― Cosmopolitan A boundary-breaking, fascinating and deeply affirming set of accounts that emphasises the necessity of allowing African women to tell the stories of their sexuality on their own terms -- Otegha Uwagba Such a beautiful read, like chatting to a friend over a cuppa. This is the intimate, insightful read that I didn't know I needed. Just brilliant -- Dorothy Koomson A captivating diasporic work of sensual geographies. Teeming with freedom and agency. Utterly triumphant -- Irenosen Okojie A beautiful, delicate and sometimes brutal exploration of African Womanhood and sexuality, honest and moving. A vital treasure -- Bolu Babalola Extraordinarily dynamic...Here is a book like none you will have read before. The women speak openly and invariably for the first time about their experiences of sex and relationships as they seek to claim individual agency, however that expresses itself. They share emotion-filled stories with honesty, addressing everyday personal dramas within the wider context in which self-worth and confidence are affected by racism and patriarchy, with revolution in the streets and revolution in the sheets being two sides of the same coin...With sensitivity, this book has facilitated astonishing breaking of silences -- Margaret Busby ― The Guardian I just didn't want it to end. Each and every story is unique, powerful ... A global, ambitious collection that hums with the author's love for the subject and her interviewees ― Goodreads These personal stories reveal a mind-blowing variety of sexualities, sex lives and relationships. Fascinating. -- Bernardine Evaristo To hear these stories told with such agency shouldn't be a novelty, but the sheer fact of their existence makes this book truly important ― Bristol Life Fantastically interesting and original -- Francesca Beauman, author of The Literary Almanac Overflowing with candor, vulnerability, and juiciness, this collection of raw, tender stories that Nana Darkoa Sekyiamah has so lovingly gathered will upend all of your assumptions and stereotypes. These mothers, activists, writers, sex workers, and others share painful truths, evolving glories, and journeys toward love and freedom, in their own words. They are trans, queer, heterosexual, kinky, and say, 'To hell with labels.' Facing down dangers and double standards, they are healing. The Sex Lives of African Women captures the breadth and depth of the Diaspora with the intimacy of looking in a mirror. Marvelous! -- Deesha Philyaw, author of The Secret Lives of Church Ladies The Sex Lives of African Women is a Pan-African feminist love offering to our ancestors, women living across the Diaspora and future generations to come. Nana Darkoa Sekyiamah delivers this love with honesty, levity and delicious prose. This book satiates my appetite for stories that take the interior lives of Black, African and Afro-descendant women seriously. It is simply unparalleled and right on time. -- Charlene A. Carruthers, author of Unapologetic: A Black, Queer, and Feminist Mandate for Radical Movements In these emotionally charged and refreshingly honest essays, this collection gives literal shape to women's sexuality and desires. Nothing less than stunning. Essential read! I couldn't put it down. -- Nicole Dennis-Benn, bestselling author of Patsy and Here Comes the Sun This collection affirms what we've known all along: African women are reclaiming their bodies and taking ownership of their sexual destinies. Every single story leaves you feeling deliciously empowered. -- Lola Shoneyin, author of The Secret Lives of Baba Segi's Wives. Everyone will come away standing a little taller and breathing a little lighter, buoyed by the affirmation that we are all normal and that the marginal is central. The Sex Lives of African Women is a safe space: it is pure, unadulterated freedom. -- Jane Link, Big Black