Global BIPOC sexualities and the erasure of pleasure: an intersectional review of Psychology & Sexuality , 2010–2024

Despite calls for intersectional approaches in sexuality research, global Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) sexualities remain underrepresented and narrowly framed in psychological literature. This systematic review examines how Psychology & Sexuality, a leading journal, engaged global BIPOC sexualities from 2010 to 2024. Drawing on 30 empirical studies, the review applies an intersectional framework to assess how race, culture, gender, sexuality, and power shape the journal’s representation of global BIPOC sexual experiences. Studies were conducted in non-Western (56.7%), Western (40.0%), and both Western and non-Western (3.3%) contexts. More than one-third of studies (36.7%) included transgender, nonbinary, genderqueer, or gender-diverse participants. Four themes emerged: adversity and structural strain; the absence of sexual pleasure; resisting marginalisation through collective meaning-making; and meaningful inclusion and limited centralisation of gender-diverse perspectives. Although some studies referenced intersecting identities, many did not examine how racism, heteronormativity, and colonial legacies structure BIPOC sexualities. Research aligned with risk-based frameworks often focused on African or African diasporic populations, reflecting broader historical patterns in which Black sexuality has been disproportionately examined through lenses of risk and regulation. This review calls for research beyond deficit models and risk paradigms that centres power, affirms pleasure, and honours the complexity of BIPOC sexualities.