Best Black Women's Erotica
Edited by Blanche Richardson

"You may find it interesting that the same number of calories you burn with one good, thirty-second orgasm, would take twenty minutes to burn on a treadmill."

- Iyanla Vanzant, Introduction

Usually, black female characters in "erotic" stories are seen through the eyes of their (typically male) lovers. Not so in Blanche Richardson's Best Black Women's Erotica. The pages of this anthology are full of black women exploring and owning their sexuality.

In her introduction, Iyanla Vanzant encourages black women to stop thinking about sex as some activity that happens in our private parts. Sex goes beyond the pussy and is a full body/mind experience. It's time to see ourselves for the beautiful sexual beings that we are, and not through the myth/stereotype created to keep us unsatisfied and in our place.

For the most part, the stories in this anthology share Iyanla's philosophy. From Bertice Berry's tale of a woman in her fifties learning to revel in her sexuality (The Erotic Adventurres of Jim and Louella Parsons) to Aya De Leon's story of a woman refusing to bow to the pressures of latex (Lifestyles), black women take control of their sexuality.

While sharing a common theme, the stories present a variety of black female characters. These women are married and single, young and old, in love and in lust, etc. The majority feature straight women, but don't let that dissuade you. When a character is describing the sensation and jubilation her body experiences as she nears orgasm, it's so erotic that the gender of her lover is not an issue.

Best Black Women's Erotica is not without its foibles. The Spice Woman by Ethel Mack Ballard is the only story written completely from a man's point of view. I can imagine lesbian readers sighing and rolling their eyes when two female characters who were making love stop what they are doing to throw themselves on the man who has entered the room. While an interesting piece, it feels out of place in this collection.

Despite this misfire, Best Black Women's Erotica is a thoroughly enjoyable read. I hope this is the first book in a long series.