Consenting to Unwanted Sex in BIPOC Culture with Anne Mauro

The shadow of colonial history still haunts our bedrooms. Sex therapist Anne Mauro reveals how historical trauma and cultural messaging create a perfect storm pushing women to consent to sex they don't truly desire.

Drawing from her extensive clinical experience, Mauro unpacks the complex intersection of race and sexuality—what she terms "ethno-sexuality"—with remarkable clarity. She traces how patriarchal family structures imposed during colonization continue shaping intimate relationships today, particularly within Black communities where "Christian supremacy" often reinforces female sexual subservience.

Perhaps most alarming is Mauro's revelation about media influence: "Sex education was the primary reason BIPOC teenagers viewed pornography." This default education source consistently portrays Black bodies with more aggression and less intimacy than white counterparts. When combined with societal silence around sexuality—"We're not talking to our children, we're not talking to our parents"—these harmful representations become the only script many young people know.

For therapists and couples alike, Mauro offers powerful somatic approaches to healing. She demonstrates how unwanted touch creates physical protective responses, teaching partners to recognize these bodily signals as important boundaries rather than obstacles. Through careful attunement and challenging colonial narratives, couples can rediscover mutual desire.

The conversation takes a hopeful turn as Mauro describes a growing cohort of Black clinicians developing culturally-specific interventions. Rather than adapting "white models to Black folks," these pioneers are creating new pathways to sexual healing that honor the unique experiences of Black communities.

Anne Mauro is a Licensed Couples and Family therapist, American Association of Sexuality Educators, Counselors, and Therapist (AASECT) certified sex therapist, sexuality educator, sex therapy supervisor, and American Association of Marriage and Family Therapy (AAMFT) clinical supervisor. Her private practice is nestled in the interwebs on the unceded territory of the Coast Salish peoples in Washington State. She has two publications: More Than Ebony and Ivory: Complexities of sex therapy with interracial couples, can be found in An Intersectional Approach to Sex Therapy: Centering the lives of indigenous, racialized, and people of color and The Colonization of Black Sexualities: A clinical guide to relearning and healing. Anne is in continued service to the sexuality community by serving as the AASECT Western Representative to the nominating committee.