Hello, I am
Dr. Shemeka Thorpe
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I didn’t see myself in the research, so I changed it
When I started working as a research assistant, I was fascinated by sexuality studies, but disheartened by what I found. Black women’s experiences were missing, flattened, or pathologized. I kept asking:
Where is the joy? The pleasure? The sexual freedom?
That was the moment that shifted everything. I realized if I wanted to see different research, I’d have to do it myself.
Not just better, but bolder.
I built a career by breaking away from what research usually looks like.
I didn't want to study Black women as problems to be solved. I wanted to create space for us to be seen in our full humanity, complex, joyful, layered, and whole. That meant designing research through a Black feminist lens. It meant talking about pleasure. Naming pain. And making science accessible beyond academia.
Over the years, that commitment has led me here:
60+ peer-reviewed publications in top-tier sexology, psychology, and health journals
Awards from AASECT, APHA, SSSS, & NIH for my contributions to inclusive sex research, health equity, and translational science
Features in Cosmopolitan, Essence, BuzzFeed, Elite Daily, and The New York Times
15+ podcast interviews, 5 book features, and countless speaking engagements
$5M+ in NIH-funded research as a principal & co-investigator
Editorial board member of The Journal of Sex Research and Culture, Health & Sexuality
