Who Told You That You Were Naked?: Black Women Reclaiming Sexual and Spiritual Goodness

Traditionally the Black church tends to teach more about religion than spirituality and is virtually silent regarding sexuality. Who Told You That You Were Naked? focuses on how this tradition adversely affects the single, heterosexual Protestant Black woman's understanding of herself as a sexual being. Using the qualitative research method of phenomenology, this research explores how Black women's experiences and other sources for theological ethics can inform their desire to reconcile sexual and spiritual goodness. Who Told You That You Were Naked? reveals that the difficulty in this reconciliation has roots in the larger issues of church-condoned gender hierarchy, Christianity's hierarchal dualism, and American (USA) race-based oppression and injustice. Inside these pages women will find relevant responses to their cry that the church is absent - or impotent - in helping us to navigate the everyday issues regarding love, sex, and romantic relationships. We rewind the text to (re)consider what the Bible actually says about non-marital sex, masturbation, and the submission of women to men. Who Told You That You Were Naked? also provides creative ways to (re)configure our own lives in light of these discoveries - with meditation, exercises, and small-group study.

Dr. Candi Dugas is an award-winning writer, advocate and church communications consultant. She shares her uncommon blend of talents, skills and abilities to focus on faith, freedom and justice. Desire’s Kiss, Candi’s first independent film, celebrates feminine sexuality in the context of faith. It is based on her latest book, Who Told You That You Were Naked? and the Judeo-Christian text, the Song of Songs. Desire’s Kiss is about a young Christian woman, sexy beyond her years, who comes of age in the hands of an older lover, despite her big brother’s objections. Bootlicked to Balanced: Healing the Mind, Freeing the Spirit, Candi’s first non-fiction book, is an introduction to meditation for Christians. Bootlicked asks the question, ＂At this very moment, are you, your greatest self?＂ When we heal as individuals, we will create a healthier world - one person at a time. A graduate of Columbia Theological Seminary (Decatur, GA) with a Doctor of Ministry degree in Christian Spirituality, Candi also holds a Master of Divinity in Homiletics/Worship and Hebrew Bible from Gammon Seminary/ Interdenominational Theological Center (Atlanta, GA) and a Bachelor of Science in Public Relations from the University of Florida (Gainesville, FL) - GO GATORS! Furthermore, Candi is investing her passion for the plight of G d’s people in the creation of candi dugas, llc (cd llc). cd llc - founded in 2007 - seeks wisdom, knowledge, and understanding for the world’s well-being. (SM) One of the few Atlanta natives left, Candi lives in Atlanta with her beautifully gifted young adult daughter, Jordan. She enjoys reading, writing, visiting the mountains, horseback riding, weightlifting, music, dancing, driving sports cars and learning new things like playing the piano, writing with her left hand, and riding a scooter. Candi’s greatest dream is to open a series of retreat houses, creating physically and spiritually safe spaces for possibilities, peace, rest, revelation, thought, truth, justice, healing, and wholeness.