SPECS Panther - Naming and Honoring Black Innovators in the Field of Sexual Health

Black pioneers have long been at the forefront of advancing sexual health education, innovation, and reproductive justice. Leading figures like Dr. Joycelyn Elders, Byllye Avery, and Gosnell Duncan were pivotal to the development of sexual health and changed the way we understand the intersections of race, health, and class. Their contributions transformed the sexual health industry and improved medical outcomes for historically underserved communities. Despite these contributions, Black voices have been and continue to be marginalized and excluded from dominant conversations around sexual health. Mareisha Reese, president of a global diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice consulting firm, explains, "[T]he question is not whether Black history matters—because it does. The question is how we protect it, teach it honestly, and treat it as essential to understanding who we are as a nation.”

Today, recognition of Black Americans and their significant contributions to society continues to be challenged, insulted, and erased. The removal of federally recognized holidays, like Juneteenth and Martin Luther King Jr. Day, and the erasure of historical monuments have led to the disappearance of crucial Black history from public archives. As we reflect on the need for transparency in teaching and honoring Black history, we celebrate the following Black Americans and innovators in the field of sexual and reproductive health and justice. 

It would be inaccurate and inappropriate to start this article without discussing the historical context of Black sexual exploitation and abuse that serves as the backbone of modern knowledge of sexual health, specifically gynecology. Between 1844 and 1849, J. Marion Sims experimented on three enslaved women, Anarcha, Betsy, and Lucy, without anesthesia or consent. Sims, who is unfortunately idealized as the “father of gynecology,” based his practice on the false, racist assumption that Black people did not feel pain the same way white people did, a myth that persists today. To learn more about the legacy and horrors of these racist foundations, please check out our previous SPECS Panther article; we will not let these horrors be the only stories we tell this Black History Month. 

One of the most recognizable contributors to sexual health and education is Dr. Joycelyn Elders.  Dr. Elders was the first Black female surgeon general of the United States. Her factual and open-conversation approach to sexual health was constantly attacked; however, she remained committed to establishing school health clinics, advocating for birth control de-stigmatization, and lowering the transmission of STIs through condom use. In her words, “Health is more than an absence of disease; it is about economics, education, environment, empowerment, and community. The health and well-being of the people is critically dependent upon the health system that serves them. It must provide the best possible health with the least disparities and respond equally well to everyone.” During Dr. Elders’ time as director of the Arkansas Department of Health, Arkansas mandated an education curriculum that included sex education and substance-abuse prevention, nearly doubled childhood immunizations, expanded prenatal programs, and increased home-care options. At the age of 92, Dr. Elders continues to educate on public health topics and push for equal and accessible healthcare.

Equally transformative is the work of Byllye Avery. In 1947, Avery co-founded the Gainesville Women’s Health Center, one of the first abortion clinics in the South run by and for women. Later, she founded the Black Women’s Health Imperative, which reframed reproductive health as inseparable from economic stability, racial justice, and bodily autonomy. She was instrumental in shifting the conversation from a purely clinical perspective to one that included the psychological and emotional toll of living under racism and sexism. Avery’s work emphasizes that sexual health cannot be separated from the broader context of Black experiences and well-being, and that every woman should have the opportunity to a self-directed and fulfilling reproductive life unencumbered by legal, social or financial barriers. 

Gosnell Duncan, who created the modern silicone dildo, doesn’t even have a Wikipedia page! The Grenadian engineer was partially paralyzed in an accident in 1965, leading to his involvement with disability rights groups, where barriers to sexual pleasure were common. This realization inspired Duncan’s creation of the silicone dildo, one of the most ubiquitous sex toys ever, ranging in colors and accommodating a variety of mobility needs. Duncan is also credited with the creation of the first “feminist dildo,” which was shaped like a finger or hand, and not a penis. Duncan is proof of the legacy of Black disabled innovators in sexual health. 

By celebrating Black innovators at SPECS, we hope to emphasize that Black contributions to the field are not only historic; they are and have always been transformative, contemporary, and innovative.