Nana Darkoa Sekyiamah and Malaka Grant started a blog in January 2009 named “Adventures from the Bedrooms of African Women” with the hope that Black, African and Afro-descendent women would openly discuss sex and sexuality in a safe space.
Sekyiamah authored The Sex Lives of African Women, a collection of stories based on in-depth interviews she conducted between 2015 and 2020 with women from 31 countries. The book uniquely amplifies the women from across the African continent and the diaspora as they spoke about their diverse experiences of sex, sexualities, and relationships.
Here are five books Nana Darkoa Sekyiamah recommends for those looking to expand their sexual knowledge:
1. Quirky Quick Guide to Having Great Sex by Tiffany Kagure Mugo
Sure, sex is great, but it’s scary too! So why not have all of your burning questions answered…Why is lube so important? How do you navigate consent? How do you put on a condom correctly? How do you enjoy erection-free sex? What is kink? And more… This book is a guide to all things sex and sexuality, busting myths and upgrading the knowledge you already have. It’s the ultimate tool to help elevate your sex life.
2. Dr T: A Guide to Sexual Health and Pleasure – Tlaleng Mofokeng
Tlaleng Mofokeng is an M.D, and a Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) Expert specializing in Clinical Services, Advisory role, Health Policy, Comprehensive Sexuality Education, Training and Facilitation, Advocacy, Global Health Politics, and Content Production.
This book is filled with the specifics of sexual anatomy and health as well as advice and facts about pleasure and sexual rights. This book demystifies sex and sexuality in a way that is both entertaining and enlightening.
3. Vagabonds! – Eloghosa Osunde
Eloghosa Osunde’s novel follows a wild array of characters, for whom life itself is a form of resistance. As their lives intertwine; in bustling markets and underground clubs, churches, and hotel rooms the vagabonds, whose existence is literally outlawed: the queer, the poor, the displaced, the footloose, and rogue spirits, are seized and challenged by spirits who command the city’s dark energy. Whether running from danger, meeting with secret lovers, finding their identities, or vanquishing their shadowselves, Osunde’s characters confront and support one another, before converging for the once-in-a-lifetime gathering.
4. In Every Mirror She’s Black – Lola Akinmade Akerstrom
Three Black women are linked in unexpected ways to the same influential white man in Stockholm as they build their new lives in the most open society run by the most private people. Told through the perspectives of each of the three women, the book is a fast-paced, richly nuanced, novel that touches on important social issues of racism, classism, fetishization, and tokenism, and what it means to be a Black woman navigating a white-dominated society.
5. The Deep Blue Between – Ayesha Harruna Attah
Taken in different directions, far from their home in rural West Africa, Twin sisters Hassana and Husseina find freedom and a new start. Hassana settles in the city of Accra, where she throws herself into working for political and social change. Husseina travels to Salvador, Brazil, where she becomes immersed in faith, worshipping spirits that bridge the motherland and the new world. Separated by an ocean, they forge new families, ward off dangers, and begin to truly know themselves. But will their fates ever draw them back together?
While openly discussing sex is seen as taboo in Africa, the above are amazing books on the topic by African authors! Which ones have you read and enjoyed?
