278 – Raw & Real: HIV, Condoms, and the Sex Recession with Dr. Shemeka Thorpe

In this episode, I sit down with Dr. Shemeka Thorpe—award-winning sex researcher, Black feminist scholar, and sexual health expert—to break down the most urgent issues impacting Black women’s sexual health in 2025. From HIV prevention to the “sex recession,” we tackle the topics many communities aren’t talking about but absolutely should be.

We get into:

🛡️ HIV & AIDS prevention for Black women and why proactive tools like PrEP for women matter now more than ever 📉 The rise of the sex recession and why younger generations are having less sex—or turning to more extreme sexual behaviors 😬 How COVID-19 disrupted sex education, creating new fears and gaps in safer-sex knowledge ❌ The decline in condom use and how shifting media narratives changed the national conversation 🩺 Dr. Shemeka’s groundbreaking research on sexual pain disorders in Black women and the intersection with assisted reproductive technologies

Follow Dr. Shemeka Thorpe: 📌 Instagram: @drshemeka 🔗 Stay updated on her research: https://www.drshemeka.com/

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Chapters 0:18 Welcome Back After Hiatus 5:27 Diving into HIV and Black Women 5:27 Conversations on Sex Education 27:04 Understanding the Sex Recession 33:27 Researching Pain and Pleasure 40:52 Quickfire Breakdown 42:09 Closing Thoughts and Farewell