Upspoken has your back with a second serving of our sex-positive TV picks.
Queen Sugar
Ava Duvernay’s Queen Sugar gives us a world of all Black everything that doesn’t shy away from pain but also shows us the joy that life has to give even in the depths of our lows. With Aunt Vi and Nova, we get two dynamic women who are riding life, rather than life riding them. Our problematic fav, Nova, shows us a woman in her sexual prime. She validates fluid sexuality and freely indulges in her desires – even when it hurts the people she loves. We did say she was problematic. Oop! 😒 Then there’s Vi, who shows us that love and desire don’t die when you age. If anything, you just level up and find yourself a younger boo who can keep up. Both of these characters portray the levels that relationships can exist on and show us that love and sex—at any age, in any way you desire it—is possible.
She’s Gotta Have It
The protagonist of She’s Gotta Have It identifies as a polyamorous pansexual who can’t be put in the box society designed for Black women. Nola Darling pursues who she wants, when she wants and refuses to buy into the hyper-sexualized stereotype of Black women that makes sex so taboo. Instead, she embraces her sexuality and right to pursue pleasure, just like any other woman. Nola is a character unlike others because she finds happiness in aspects of life outside romantic relationships. She isn’t driven or defined by what society tells women their dream life should include, namely a partnership with one person and children. Instead, she’s defined by exploration of the world, her career, relationships with friends, and the pursuit of the sexual pleasure she wants. It’s this drive to live life on her own terms that makes her a queen we all stan.