"...mothers and grandmothers (fathers and grandfathers also) were unmoved by romance or youthful passion and clamped down on their daughters' sexual desires for any but the most stable mates with the firmness of an iron chastity belt." -Barbara Omolade
I thought this quote from "Hearts of Darkness" was very relevant to the unit we're discussing. I've also found this to be true in many households of family and friends even today, including my own. Sex or anything with sexual implications was considered taboo, and to speak on it was forbidden. As a child I wondered how in the world, if we couldn't turn to our elders for information out of simple curiosity, would we ever begin to be functioning adults with healthy relationships? I really do believe the sexual oppression of black females left a heavy stigma in the African-American woman's psyche of promiscuity, lust and desire. And with the Afro-Christian values going hand and hand with this idea of sexual conservatism among young black women, it makes for a even heavier burden. I don't believe that modesty is harmful, but the lack of information and curiosity left unanswered about sex and our bodies can leave young black women looking for answers in all the wrong places.
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