The Sex Lives of African Women

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The Sex Lives of African Women

By: Nana Darkoa Sekyiamah

Narrated by: Maria Gbeleyi Sara Powell Rachel Adedeji

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£5.99/mo after 3 months. Offer ends on 5 July 2026 at 11:59 BST. Cancel monthly.

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Finalist for the 2023 AUDIE AWARDS® for Non-Fiction

A DOROTHY KOOMSON BOOK OF THE YEAR
AN ECONOMIST BOOK OF THE YEAR

'Such a beautiful read, like chatting to a friend over a cuppa. This is the intimate, insightful read that I didn't know I needed. Just brilliant.' Dorothy Koomson

Nana Darkoa Sekyiamah spent decades talking openly and intimately to African women around the world about sex. In this book, she brings together their extraordinary stories, whilst also chronicling her own journey towards sexual freedom.

From finding queer community in Egypt to living a polyamorous life in Senegal to understanding the intersectionality of religion and pleasure in Cameroon, their necessary narratives are individual and illuminating. This stunning collection provides crucial insight into our quest for sexual power and offers all women inspirational examples to live a truly liberated life.

'Touching, joyful, defiant and honest.' Economist, Books of the Year 2021

'Fascinating.' Bernadine Evaristo

'Honest and moving. A vital treasure.' Bolu Babalola, author of Love in Colour

'Stunning. Essential read! I couldn't put it down.' Nicole Dennis-Benn, bestselling author of Patsy and Here Comes the Sun

'Leaves you feeling deliciously empowered.' Lola Shoneyin, author of The Secret Lives of Baba Segi's Wives

'Boundary-breaking, fascinating and deeply affirming.' Otegha Uwagba, author of Little Black Book

(P)2022 Blackstone Publishing©2021 Nana Darkoa Sekyiamah

Nana Darkoa SekyiamahMaria Gbeleyi Sara Powell Rachel AdedejiDialogue Books

Body Positivity

Gender Studies

Social Sciences

Africa

Inspiring

Thought-Provoking

LGBTQIA+

Body Positivity Gender Studies Social Sciences Africa Inspiring Thought-Provoking LGBTQIA+

Critic reviews

If you read Three Women and thought, "Where are all the non-white people?", this book has the answer

A boundary-breaking, fascinating and deeply affirming set of accounts that emphasises the necessity of allowing African women to tell the stories of their sexuality on their own terms (Otegha Uwagba)

Such a beautiful read, like chatting to a friend over a cuppa. This is the intimate, insightful read that I didn't know I needed. Just brilliant (Dorothy Koomson)

A captivating diasporic work of sensual geographies. Teeming with freedom and agency. Utterly triumphant (Irenosen Okojie)

A beautiful, delicate and sometimes brutal exploration of African Womanhood and sexuality, honest and moving. A vital treasure (Bolu Babalola)

Extraordinarily dynamic...Here is a book like none you will have read before. The women speak openly and invariably for the first time about their experiences of sex and relationships as they seek to claim individual agency, however that expresses itself. They share emotion-filled stories with honesty, addressing everyday personal dramas within the wider context in which self-worth and confidence are affected by racism and patriarchy, with revolution in the streets and revolution in the sheets being two sides of the same coin...With sensitivity, this book has facilitated astonishing breaking of silences (Margaret Busby)

I just didn't want it to end. Each and every story is unique, powerful ... A global, ambitious collection that hums with the author's love for the subject and her interviewees

These personal stories reveal a mind-blowing variety of sexualities, sex lives and relationships. Fascinating. (Bernardine Evaristo)

To hear these stories told with such agency shouldn't be a novelty, but the sheer fact of their existence makes this book truly important

Fantastically interesting and original (Francesca Beauman, author of The Literary Almanac)

Overflowing with candor, vulnerability, and juiciness, this collection of raw, tender stories that Nana Darkoa Sekyiamah has so lovingly gathered will upend all of your assumptions and stereotypes. These mothers, activists, writers, sex workers, and others share painful truths, evolving glories, and journeys toward love and freedom, in their own words. They are trans, queer, heterosexual, kinky, and say, 'To hell with labels.' Facing down dangers and double standards, they are healing. The Sex Lives of African Women captures the breadth and depth of the Diaspora with the intimacy of looking in a mirror. Marvelous! (Deesha Philyaw, author of The Secret Lives of Church Ladies)

Most relevant

loved the book ,I don't t know why I had not read it sooner .
coming from a culture where alot if the issues in the book are not discussed ,it is enlightening to many am sure .I hope many are brave enough to read it /listen then the conversation start .