For us as two women of colour, one black African and the other mixed black Caribbean and white, relevant spaces to discuss sexual health and pleasure have always seemed few and far between. Within many of our communities sex has been enshrined in shame. I remember as a young teenager my father telling me, in all seriousness, that should I fall pregnant he would not only kick me out but my mother too. Or, when at 19, I told my best friend I was in my first same-sex relationship and she could only respond with laughter and a request to be present when I told my religious mother.

The taboo around sex, exacerbated by the different intersections at which we exist, have made it difficult for many people of colour to celebrate themselves as sexual beings, while also making light of our right to healthy sexual relationships with others but also within ourselves. These intersections being race, cultural stigma, class and ones ability to find information support where necessary, ableness and mental health. To add to this, the sparseness of safer spaces means important conversations on sexual well-being have been relegated to our innermost circles or lurking in online forums under crude avatars where this shame remains omnipresent, and likely goes on to linger in our sexual experiences as adults.

Currently it exists as a zine holding a plethora of experiences and advice from people of colour across three continents, expressed through poetry, short-story, illustration, photography, collage and essay. We never could have anticipated how far our call-out for submissions would have reached… but people’s willingness to share, has only compounded the importance of this project.

We aim to make BLACK FLY affordable, as well as giving each contributor their own copy. Therefore we are fundraising to cover production costs.

Thanks for reading this far and please share if you can!

Nana and Ella <3