Spotlight on Zelaika Clarke, and the Necessity of Decolonizing Sex Ed

2. What are your main areas of interest within the field of sexuality? 

I am interested in cultural sexology, sexosophy, sexecology, and decolonizing sexualities. I specialize in the philosophy of sexuality, especially looking at African philosophy and at how perspectives outside of the ones we are typically exposed to can provide insight into sexualities. I am interested in the continual investigation of how sexualities, “genders,” and relationships were conceptualized in pre-colonial Africa.

I specialize in decolonizing sexualities, which includes increasing critical thinking around sexuality and highlighting non-hegemonic narratives about topics related to sexuality. I specialize in Osunality, or African eroticism, that affirms the normality of pleasure. Through my studies on osunality, I was able to shift my understanding of sexualities, creating theories that are pleasure focused, and that de-pathologize harmless paraphilias.

As a sexuality theoretician, I created the auto-sexual-decolonization process, which explains how self-love can be utilized to decolonize oneself. This process can assist people in the emancipation from internalized oppression.