Introduction

Sexual expression and pleasure of black minority ethnic (BME) older women is not a topic of extensive research, and discussion appears to be taboo among these women. In addition, many erroneous assumptions and ageist stereotypes exist about the sexuality of BME older women. In fact, many BME older women themselves believe myths about their sexuality and ageing. The stereotypes and silence about BME older women's sexuality, and their sexual desires and sexual health have both personal (individual) and collective implications (Lagana et al, 2013). For BME older women their ‘sexuality is a very delicate and complex topic’ because of public accusation of BME women as being sexually immoral and promiscuous jezebels (White and Lagana, 2013, p 1). According to Moultrie (2017), the silence of BME older women's sexuality reflects ageism and sexism through omission as well as the continuation of stereotypes that lead to the sexual silencing of senior black women. Although there is diversity of BME older women's sexual expression, there are some common themes which are presented in this chapter.

Contextualisation of sexuality of African American and BME women

Any discussion about sexual expression of BME older women should occur within the context of the impact of traumatising historical and social events on their predecessors and subsequent generations. BME older women are more closely defined by their sexuality and as their sexuality because of ‘black female eroticism as a legacy of colonialism’ (Bernard, 2016, p 1). Black women's sexuality is constructed by the system of enslavement in which sexual activity was controlled to enhance and supervise fertility. In turn, for BME older women ‘this set the stage for viewing black older women as sexless as they were no longer useful for fertility purposes’. Moreover, ‘the commodification of black sexuality through oppression and exploitation can naturally lead to a perception of black older women's sexuality as undesirable, and these women themselves may hold such perceptions’ (Lagana et al, 2013, p 1137). For example, a black older woman, after having been in an intimate, exclusive relationship with a long-term sexual partner since they were relatively younger, may see sexual activity as inappropriate or ‘nasty’ once she is widowed (Lagana et al, 2013).

Historical and contemporary sexual politics in the US and globally continue to acquaint blackness to uncivilised sexuality and BME women as having an animalistic type of sexuality (White and Lagana, 2013).