Date of Conferral

5-10-2024

Date of Award

May 2024

Degree

Ph.D.

School

Counselor Education and Supervision

Advisor

Mary Kate Reese

Abstract

When learning about sex, a person's cultural identity can include messages about how sex is to be experienced. For Evangelical Christians, those messages are connected to religious doctrine and beliefs. For women, in general, those messages can be tied to what is considered appropriate sexual behavior. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore the role that messages stemming from the intersecting identities of religion, gender, and race play in the sexual experiences of married Black evangelical Christian women. This study's theoretical framework and research design was Benner’s interpretive phenomenology. Upon use of convenience sampling, semistructured interviews were conducted with eight married Black Evangelical Christian women.. The following themes and subthemes emerged: matriarchs and other messengers; messages sent, with religious, gender, racial, and marital messages as subthemes; feelings about sex, with comfort, initiation, and shame and guilt as subthemes; impact of messages; changes over time; and messages needed/beyond sex education. Sexual messaging played a role in how the participants experienced sex before and during the earlier stages of marriage. The results also indicated a need for more comprehensive sexual education that reduces negative or fear-filled messaging and increases awareness of partner choice and anatomy. This study may increase awareness among counselors and clergy of the cultural impact of ethnic identities on the sexual issues and concerns of counseling clients. The study findings may also support the formation of an inclusive sexual education model that can encourage sexual understanding, health, and freedom.

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