Black male bodies were either “good,” meaning sexless and subservient, or “bad,” negatively sexualized, and equated to rape of white bodies. The reduction of Black men, specifically, to vectors of sexual gratification for other races stems from slavery propaganda. Often assumed to be aggressive, insatiable, and dominant, Black people encounter varying degrees of fetishization when dating interracially. Hypermasculinity tropes have plagued both Black men and women’s navigation of romance and sex.
