ABSTRACT
This chapter examines how three black Christian reality TV shows – Sisterhood, Preachers of LA, and Match Made in Heaven – presents black religion's and black religious leaders' depictions of sexuality and specifically of black female sexuality using womanist cultural analysis. Good sex requires work, and the shows highlight black female sexual agency as the women work to fulfill God's alleged plan. The focus on black female sexual agency shows the myriad ways that black women negotiate a system that is otherwise patriarchal and heteronormative as they craft a "sexual ethic with which they can peacefully live." The stories shared in black Christian reality TV shows depict what early on the author identified as a "racialized holy sex" and are themes addressed in the broader evangelical culture. Depictions of racialized holy sex both enlist black female audience members' interest and provide them with a space to critique its assumptions.
