ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on body of research by specifically examining dimensions of Black lesbian sexual cultures. Most studies on lesbian gender expression focus solely or primarily on White lesbians. The social sciences have devoted little attention to documents and examines the role of lesbian gender in the sexual cultures of African American lesbians. Possibly reflecting what Hammond describes as the absence of Black queer women's experiences from dominant sexual discourses and the silencing of Black female subjectivity. The Black Lesbians' Ideas about Sex and Sexuality (BLISS) study was designed to document the defining features of African American lesbian sexual culture in Chicago, including the beliefs, values and perspectives about sex and sexuality. The manifestations of racism and heterosexism in Chicago and their impacts on the lives of African American lesbians and gays are well known by sexual minorities of colour in the United States of America (USA).
