Comparisons of Black and White women are the focus of many stud ies. So primary is the cleavage in life experiences in the view of some psychologists (Drugger, 1988; Hatchett, 1991), that they often fail to rec ognize that Blacks are not a homogeneous group (Reid, 1993) and that their sexual experiences may vary widely based on various conditions and circumstances in their lives (Wyatt, 1990). Not only are there differences based on social class and educational statuses, but there are culturally dis tinct groups (e. g., Caribbean Islanders, those from the rural South, urban ites, and others).
The entertainment industry has typically limited the roles for Black women, casting them as asexual mammies (matriarchal types) or as sexually promiscuous and castrating women (Greene, 1990; McGoldrick, Garcia — Preto, Hines, & Lee, 1989). We recognize that cultural values and norms will affect a woman’s sexual activities; however, the consistent findings that Blacks are more permissive than Whites—and that Latinos are less permissive than Anglos (Baldwin, Whitely, & Baldwin, 1992)—are simplistic and may distort realities.
Many studies of Black sexuality actually are self-reports of what con-
stitutes acceptable practice. Analyses moving beyond measures of gener alized tolerance for sexual variety demonstrate that single Black women have sex less often than single White women (Tanfer & Cubbins, 1992) and that Black adolescents are less sexually active and less sexually know! edgeable than they lead people to believe (Robinson, Ruch-Ross, & Watkins-Ferrell, 1993; Robinson & Calhoun, 1982). The apparent contra dictions may be from a misreading of a Black woman’s tolerance and sexual license for promiscuity. Spike Lee’s early film She’s Gotta Have It illustrates this sense of liberty. The main character, Nola Darling, is a Black woman who is actively involved with three men. The message of the movie, debatably controversial, represents a man’s view of a liberated woman. It was viewed by some as the perpetuation of the stereotype of the licentious Black woman. Still, it struck a chord for women in that it portrayed a Black woman who makes her own choices about her sexuality and sexual expression.