Just what can American author Don Spears teach black British women about how to have successful relationships with black men? For a start, they might need, "taking down a couple of notches". More so if they've failed to "stem signs of self-sufficiency". And, lest we forget, "one of the worst things any woman can do to a 'real' black man is try and push him around". These are just a few pointers from Spears' sensitively titled self-help book, In Search of Goodpussy.

Spears is the latest in a line of US authors who have come to Britain to plug their theories on black relationships and it is largely women who have taken the bait. Just what Spears has to teach anyone is questionable. If the title of his ponderings isn't enough to send black British women running for the hills, a glance at the cover (with Spears in a dinner jacket, holding an apprehensive-looking moggy) should suffice. Yet it was women who helped Spears reach number five in America's Blackboard bestseller list and this weekend women will no doubt pack the south London venue where he will be discussing his thoughts on "black love".

Putting aside Spears' retrogressive ramblings, the popularity of the genre can be attributed to the current perceived crisis in black relationships. The decline in marriage, the rise of single parent households, black women's greater socioeconomic status and even the increase in interracial dating are causing concern both in America and here. A stream of books has appeared in response, including Monique Jellerette Dejongh's How to Marry a Black Man and Ten Choices that Ruin Black Women's Lives by Grace Cornish.

So what's their appeal? While not overly impressed with Spears' effort, magazine publisher Barbara Campbell enjoys the genre and is acutely aware of the social undercurrents that sustain the books' popularity. "I read them to see how the other half lives," she says, adding that she believes they have given her an insight into the black male psyche.

But does she believe black couples face specific problems? "There are definitely issues we cannot get over, like this idea that a man can't understand that a woman needs to assert her own identity and it needn't be at his expense. I'm not saying black men are turning away from black women, but there are reasons why they may feel wary. One friend told me when he approaches black women, they will often look at him in a challenging way; when he approaches white women, they smile and are friendly. I think a lot of women think of men as dogs and if a dog approaches you, you're not going to smile at him, you're going to growl."

The old chestnut that has black women as argumentative Amazons perhaps explains Spears' views on interracial dating. "The black man loves his strong black woman," he says, "but sometimes he wants some soft pink frailty to convince him he's still a force to be reckoned with."

While the quality of books in this genre can vary, all agree on one thing: the negative effect of the stereotypes enforced on black men and women. This is traced back to slavery, where crude behavioural patterns such as hardened self-sufficiency in black women and the "stud mentality" of black men have their foundations.

Often though, the impact of patriarchy is overlooked. "Some men do think equality is going too far and that women are castrating them," Campbell says. "I don't think it's true but this is the way some black men feel and men have fragile egos."

Inevitably, most of the books in this genre conclude that greater understanding between the sexes is needed. Finance worker Roselind Ashman, 31, who has been with her partner - a black man - for four years, wouldn't disagree. "It's interesting to read about relationships from a black male perspective," she says, "because men aren't good at communicating their feelings."

For her, there is also a desire to understand the particular strains black men face in society, "the reputation that hangs over them and how unfair it can be. My dad certainly wasn't irresponsible, he didn't abandon his children. But with my generation, expectations can be low on both sides. These books reflect the fact that some people approach black relationships as war. A lot of the issues, like black men being unwilling to commit, are clichés - but they are based on something and being aware of the issues means you can at least deal with them. If these books, no matter how tacky, mean we talk about our problems, that's not a bad thing."