Sometimes Rhythm, Sometimes Blues: Young African Americans on Love, Relationships, Sex, and the Search for Mr. Right

Todays women expect it all: a successful career, an understanding and equally successful mate, and children--all wrapped up in a white picket fence. But recent studies show that while black women have ascended to form a new middle class and have attained success in the business sector, black men havent followed suit. Perhaps as a result, with other sociological and economic factors at play, many successful sistahs are having trouble finding a partner to call their own. This groundbreaking anthology explores the many reasons why--analyzing materialism and financial expectations, single motherhood, bling bling culture, media representations of African-American gender roles, missing fathers, incarcerated partners, and more--and offers hope from women who have beaten the odds. Writers including Kevin Powell and Victor LaValle weigh in on the mens side in a "Talking Back" section, while female contributors include Kiini Ibura Asalaam, Shawn E. Rhea, Shani ONeal, and Asha Bandele.

A collection of essays by young black women on sex, love, relationships and the rocky disparity between men and women in the African American community--includes five essays by men including Kevin Powell and Victor Lavalle.

- The "black gender gap" headlined MSNBC and was a recent Newsweek cover story- 47 percent of black women ages 30-34 have never been married, compared to 10 percent of white women