“Big Black Cocks” & Interracial Attraction : A Quantitative Study on Stereotypes in Pornography & Black Men’s Sexualities

Abstract: The portrayed, stereotypical sexuality of the Black man in pornography is nothing short of extraordinary when it comes to stamina, skill and performance. The stereotype of the “Big Black Cock” and its impact on sexual partners is widely known by consumers of pornography but what impact does the depiction of it have on Black men and their sexual performances in real life? This thesis aims to examine, through a quantitative approach, if and how the tendency towards conforming to the stereotype of the “Big Black Cock”, makes an impact on the sex life of the participant and if it also brings about a perception of a societal expectation of being attracted to White women. It presents and discusses, through the lens of intersectionality, data collected from an online, anonymous survey directed at heterosexual, self-identifying Black men that was open for participation during late 2021 and early 2022. 84 participants in total answered the survey and after a first screening was made in accordance with the demarcations of this thesis, 72 participants remained ranging in age between 20 and 47 years old with an average of 31,57 years old. 53,5% of the respondents stated that they live in Africa, 39,4% stated Europe and 7% in other areas which included countries like India, USA and Cuba. The results show that a higher tendency towards identifying with the stereotype, correlates with the perception of a strong, sexual performance in real life as well as with experiencing societal expectations of being sexually attracted to White women. The conclusion of this thesis is therefore that although the stereotype is problematic in many ways, it serves as empowering for those that identify with it but that more in-depth research is needed to fully understand and dismantle the multi-layered, stereotypical sexuality of “the Black man”.