It Must Suck to Be a Black Woman
It seems that it sucks to be a black woman these days. Or at least that is what the media wants us to believe. Every time you turn on the tube or visit a news site, there is a report concerning our messy lives. Or a movie. Or documentary. Between the effects of “Precious” and “Good Hair” alone, half of America must think most black women need to be locked up in padded cells, or at least taken in for psychiatric evaluation. Because mainstream America is truly concerned for our welfare.
This concern seems a bit out of the blue, as we have been in this country for some time. I wonder what the motivation is. We were among the original settlers in Jamestown. I am taking it back, work with me now. In 1619, three of the first recorded settlers in America’s history were black women. Folks didn’t care enough to note their names, but they sure as hell care about us now.
They care so much that they are peaking into our bedrooms with pity. Black women have been complaining about a lack of mates since we first saw this continent, but now that producers of nightly news shows have discovered our suffering they need to help. On one show, producers scoured the nation to find a location with the most attractive black women they could find with the sorriest love stories they could tell — Atlanta. Then to help them out, they put them in a room and asked Steve Harvey to give them advice. That’s thoughtful, but who puts a bunch of desperate women who want a hot man in a room with Steve Harvey?
Only someone who wants to see a black woman suffer. Or get clowned on by the world. I think I see the motivation.
And the latest revelations? Why, didn’t you know that 48% of black women have herpes? Plus, the median wealth level of a single black female is five dollars.
Five dollars? Hold on now. As my dance teacher Ned used to say: “Something in the milk ain’t clean.”
Do we have all that money Chris Rock says we are wasting on weaves in “Good Hair,” or not? Are we bitter and alone, or getting so much action that every other sister is packing a major STD? Who are they polling to get these results anyway? Of all the black females in my life who are financially secure, married (some two or three times), and don’t take Valtrex, I’ve never heard one say: “This scientist stopped by and asked me detailed questions about my life, because she wants to paint an accurate view of black women and promote it to the press.” That sounds so unrealistic that it could be the set up for a great joke.
Maybe that is because there is a long-running joke in the works with the black woman as the fall guy – or chick, if you will. It’s only becoming obvious, because now that we’ve got power, some folks are desperate to keep the joke going. Many are so invested in the charming image of the black woman as a down-trodden soul that our social issues have been projected at a huge scale in the news to ironically keep us small. Sambo flicks are not PC, so this is the new coon ‘toon. Even our deepest beauty sensitivities are fodder for comic gold, thanks to Chris Rock. People must really enjoy consuming our problems as entertainment. But the joke will soon be on those who are riveted by these portrayals.
Yes, we black women have our problems. What is remarkable is that despite the pressures we confront, many excel by society’s standards and even more thrive according to individual standards that are not recorded by statistics alone. This realization makes us inwardly shine.
Black women may often be poor, but even the creators of that five dollar study admitted that one reason our wealth level is so low is that we often give our money away to loved ones who need it. Imagine that. No, we can’t get a headline that reads: “Black Women – The Most Generous People On The Earth.” Then the joke would lack a punch line. But we see the truth.
News creators, instead, are fixated on the scraps of information that have been collected about black women’s complex lives from a distance, not realizing how racism, classism and sexism have distorted the very structure of their data collection mechanism – that mechanism being their brains. They are looking so hard at this data, because they just do not want to see First Lady Michelle Obama, at almost six feet tall, married, educated, rich and I assume STD-free. She’s hard to miss. But, just as those first black female Americans, some of the first Americans, are often ignored, the heroic black female gets minimized today.
While some choose to waste their precious resources blowing up our flaws, if history proves itself an accurate predictor of future trends, we are going to keep improving until we leave our detractors in the dust wondering how we surpassed them.
If people could see us accurately, they would see that we have gone from slavery to the White House in a short time with little help. From our humble start at the foundations of America to the current day, we have shown that no amount of silencing, whether through force or statistical ambushing, will stand in our way. Some are accustomed to the joke being on us. When we come out on top, possibly smiling down on the jokers, I wonder — will their misrepresentations still be so amusing?
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Why does it suck to be a black woman???
– Because there’s no kitchen in the back of the bus…
I’m wondering if we would be hearing all these studies if the First Lady wasn’t black and the Surgeon General wasn’t a black woman. Just throwing it out there.
There is no conspiracy against black women..these numbers come out so that federal funding can be placed in the proper location to prevent disease for the community at large……
what benefit is it to the government to lie about these stats? So that the black community esp women can get more funding for disease prevention???
Stop questioning the stats and start questioning the behavior…….
oKAY — SO 48% OF BLACK WOMEN DO NOT HAVE HERPES. We must realize Queens that certain people are happy to have you continue to believe these ignorances about yourselves. And all the while you point out the malarkey you’re falling tor some other kind. These statistics are lies — fabricated. What 48%?— out of the group they injected — oops tested in a particular area?
And the title of this article — I know you’re reaching for clicks but this only helps drive a low self opinion. It sure got me contemplating the why’s and how’s it sucks….
Just Sayin’
Peace. Love. Light. Laughter
Why don t we stop questioning the stats and start questioning the behavior that is causing the stats?
It makes sense that 48% of black women have herpes when you consider the fact that herpes does not leave the population once a person is infected with it until that person dies…and since herpes is not fatal..it stays around and multiplies to other people.
prevelence rate is number of infected individuals in a population (number of black women infected with herpes) / number of individuals in the population at risk (all black women)…..
the truth is that most black women are not requiring their mates to wear condoms. We know this by the high out of wedlock birth rate (72%) Condoms cut herpes transmission by 30%. It also proves that the majority of black women are sleeping with a minority of men….choosing to be part of one man’s harem than a single man’s woman.
Hence another reason for the 42% never married stat…..a lot of black women would rather be a player’s concubine than a honest man’s wife.
If the truth hurts let there be pain…………no apologies
Get off my comment. I see you all over this post trying to prove what? GTFOHWTBS. You are a little bitter about your choice in women in the past bro. Do some studying brother and unplug your willie lynch chip.
DO YOUR OWN RESEARCH AND STOP BELIEVING WELL CRAFTED MARKETING COPY AND YALE ELITISTS
Oh, how should I go about this…
1)Why are certain posters(i.e Scott, Akai Akai) have such a problem that black WOMEN(not females, which is being used in an offensive way on here btw) spending their money on cosmetics and hair products? Do we NOT have the right to desire to primp and wish to look nice like oh, every other woman of every race does? Or should we give away our HARD-EARNED money to those who don’t deserve it and do not even try to reciprocate in any way??
Who the hell do you people (general) think you are to try to DARE dictate how black women should spend THEIR money?
2) For those few black men on here generalizing black women as thug-chasers,etc. do you realize how stupid you sound?? And you black men are probably the same ones who rail against whitey when they do the SAME thing to your asses. As far as I am concerned the only thing that qualifies you as men is your genitalia. Because your actions are ANYTHING but.
And another thing: IF most black women are thug-chasers and they mostly date black men(which is not a good idea, but I digress), then logically, most black men are thugs.
And no Scott, there IS no 80/20 rule. GTFOH.
3) I’m not buying these stats and the motives for the release of these black women statistics is very suspect to me.
BECAUSE:
Where are the stats for other races of people(men and women)?
Why are they NOT releasing stats on black men?
And why are they ALWAYS comparing black women to other race, particularly white, women?
And for those black men out there capitalizing on this and using these stats to further your gendered racism and misogny, you better look at your collective issues FIRST.
Try releasing stats on black men and compare them to other race men and you all would truly be destroyed.
Harmony wrote: “Why are certain posters(i.e Scott, Akai) have such a problem that black WOMEN(not females, which is being used in an offensive way on here btw) spending their money on cosmetics and hair products?”
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Why do people like you often do this? I swear this is one of the very reasons some people remain towards the bottom 145 years after slavery, but why make comments without thoroughly reading and comprehending? All some of you seem to know how to do is attack messengers while doing NOTHING about the actual message.
#1) I basically told Scott to go you-know-what himself as his “only blame the BW b/c BM are innocent” game is tired, transparent and erroneous.
#2) I’ve absolutely NO PROBLEM with how females (yes, and I’ll use that word when and how I want and don’t give a sh*t what silly motives you make up and try to put on it to take offense) spend money.
#3) When the subjects are why so many are living in or at the poverty line, obese, have higher rates of infection for X STD or a median net worth of $5, finding solutions starts with the truth. For example, if a group’s median net worth is at a low of X, whether you like it or not it is valid to address where a good portion of their money is being spent etc. etc. If they don’t, they can stay poor but do everyone a favor and QUIT WHINING ABOUT IT and BLAMING OTHERS for it!
#4) People need to quit playing the victim, getting defensive, or making emotional comments and dumb baseless accusations just because they don’t like other opinions; either prove statements wrong or keep it moving.
Harmony asked: “Where are the stats for other races of people (men and women)?”
Doing the work to be/say informed is totally YOUR RESPONSIBILITY, but this is a prime example of an emotional response as the information is out there if one only looks. Just because you 0nly zero in on info about your race and totally disregard information given about others does not mean it was not gathered. Often, especially upon looking up the data, the stats for other races are listed.
Maria Maria says:
March 15, 2010 at 1:00 pm
With that being said, it’s not surprising to hear 48% of AA women have herpes because 68% of us opened our legs to a man who hasn’t “put a ring on it” and conceived his child/children.
From this sentence, one would think that AAW self-conceive. Last time I checked, sperm is required for conception.
And no, 48% of AAW do NOT have herpes. If you know how to read statistics, even ones very suspect to me, it is actually 48% of women with herpes are black.
Speak for yourself. You must be part of the “68%” who “opened her legs to a man”
And WHY aren’t AAM marrying the women they impregnate? You cannot POSSIBLY blame black women for that one. I this world, MEN do the asking.
So it’s not that AAW do not want to marry. It’s that the majority of black men do not want to get married. End of story.
Oh, and instead of the whole, “opening your legs” spiel, you should chastise those black men to keep it in their damn pants.
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Royal K. Royal K. says:
March 19, 2010 at 12:06 pm
Of course the black man has no accountability in the black womans plight either, its all on her. You a funny dude with so much love for black women!
According to black men, they are never at fault for anything. It’s always someone else’s fault. Usually it’s the WM and/or BW’s fault.
But this is expected from a group of conquered and defeated males.
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Tracey Tracey says:
March 17, 2010 at 10:09 am
I wrote about this on my blog. It’s to ensure that those “outside of race” men that we are supposed to be looking to rescue us from our desperation are turned off, that’s their goal.
This is 100% correct. These stats and articles on our singleness, hair, etc. are not even directed towards blacks. These stats, articles,etc. are for the benefit of nonblacks, particularly non-black men so they can see us as undesirable.
———————————————————————————–
Harmony
cut the conspiracy crap…..they compare gender and race all of the time. They compare black and white women all of the time.
Black men do not have 48% herpes…it is almost 20% lower at around 30% (if 39% of blacks have it then .48(50) + .30(50) = 39.
This proves that a large percentage of women are sleeping with a small percentage of men……hence 80/20 rule.
And as for getting prim and proper and getting your hair and nails done…by all means do it….but realize that just as some women down their men for playing video games and the like realize that all you all are doing with your hair and purses and nails is playing adult barbie doll…..so don t call that man childish when spending $300+ on a lace front wig (which is just a mask to make yourself look more european) is far more than 50 bucks on a video game….
‘Black men do not have 48% herpes…it is almost 20% lower at around 30% (if 39% of blacks have it then .48(50) + .30(50) = 39.”
“This proves that a large percentage of women are sleeping with a small percentage of men……hence 80/20 rule.”
____________________
No, it doesn’t. It proves that women are more vulnerable to the disease than men due to the tissue make-up of their genetalia, nothing more. It’s more difficult to pass the disease along from women to men, then the reverse. That’s why women in general have higher infection rates. It has no bearing on your asinine, 80/20 rule. The infection rate for white women is higher than it is for white men. However the HSV 2 infection rate in white women is lower than it is in black women, in part because most white women sleep with white men, who have lower infection rates than black men. You’re ignorance is astounding.
Scott wrote: “Black men do not have 48% herpes…it is almost 20% lower at around 30% (if 39% of blacks have it then .48(50) + .30(50) = 39. This proves that a large percentage of women are sleeping with a small percentage of men……hence 80/20 rule.”
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Last stats I read placed the rate of herpes prevalence among AA males at 35% but, dude, really now?! I don’t know if you’re mangling that line out of Tyler Perry’s Why Did I Get Married about the “80/20 rule,” but this is just some dingbat-ass sh*t you keep writing.
Genital herpes is more common in women of all races, PERIOD, and not because of the convenient, self-serving, accusatory made-up reason you keep trying to forward. Let me try to break this down to a 4th grade level to help you understand. Generally speaking:
One female with herpes or who is HIV+ can sleep with 10 men and, maybe, infect 1-2
One male with herpes or who is HIV+ can sleep with 10 women and, possibly, infect 8
That is because it’s easier for a male to infect a female (or other male) than the opposite and MORE LIKELY due to biology. Here is a quick click highlighting this so quit with the misinformation already!
http://www.herpes.com/genitalinfo.shtml
Please understand….Akai and I do not share views….so yeah don t group us together cause we aren t of the same mind.
I for one do care how black females spend their money because if we want wealth in the community we need to invest in it and not in korean hair and nails…..
Oh and the community needs investment so that your future kids can find employment.
Why are they called females because they aren t women….see a woman stands up for herself and doesn t allow some male to have intercourse with her without a condom…..
Females do and hence why 48% of the black ones from ages 14 to 49 have herpes…see if you don t stand up for anything you will fall for everything.
These are my very words…These people take a lot of time out to talk about how bad black women are doing. This it is going to do is make us 10x better. I also think that part of the reason that black women get bad press is because it is an attempt to make us less attractive to men of other races. It wont work…We will be fine…
Truth be told it is easier for men to infect women with all sorts of diseases…the problem that you all fail to realize is that the disease has to have an originator….and 20% difference isn t explained by it being easier to infect a woman…because that male would have to have herpes to begin with.
Isolide…me thinks you overlooked the obvious. For a woman to get the condition she would have to get it from a man…if the man doesn t have the condition to begin with I don t care how easy it is to get the disease she won t get it from that man….hence she got it from the same male that the next and the next woman got it from….
it further explains the 80/20 rule because if a female has the virus she is less likely to give it to a man without it…meaning that male isn t the one spreading it….but the one who is spreading it is part of the 1/3 who has it….and that is the one that more women are sleeping with….because like you said…usually the source is a male….lol…wow the simple is so overlooked….and if there are 1.8 million more black women then black men…it further proves the 80/20 rule because that 30 percent of males that have herpes are even less in number than the multitudes of women that are sleeping with only them….
Scott is NOT black. Scott is a white person pretending to be black. You can do that behind a computer. Black people stop falling for more white lies.
Sorry Akai….but life is not a Tyler Perry movie…the 80/20 rule is based upon a scientific experiment that was conducted on an island in which under certain conditions around 80 percent of the women were picking only about 20 percent of the men….
But what you are saying is just further proving my point….most likely a male is the one infecting the women not the other way around….meaning that if there is a high rate of women getting a certain condition (and mostly every STD except maybe Trich is easier transferred from male to female)…..then they are getting it from male sources….since only 30 percent of black men have the virus and since males are usually the originators….tissue susceptibility does not explain an almost 20% increase…on top of the fact that there are 1.8 million more black women than men….
If a male does not have herpes…tissue susceptibility or not the woman will not get it….and like you said women rarely infect men so they aren t the source usually and the clean male that they sleep with aren t the source either…..so then why with 1.8 million more females….are there way more women infected than men….because the MAJORITY of that large percentage of women are getting the virus from the 30 percent of men….see you all aren t looking at the obvious…and that is why you are overlooking the facts.
It’s not nice to laugh at ignorance so you really should stop, Scott, because I’m giggling to tears.
It’s obvious you’re gonna twist things however you need to.
But to further nip your spiel insinuating females are so much more ‘promiscuous’, here is data from the CDC’s NSFG on sexual behavior:
Males 15–44 years of age who have had 15 or more female sexual partners in their lifetimes:
-34% of BLACK MEN
-22% of white men
-18% of Hispanic men
Females 15-44 years of age who have had 15 or more male sexual partners in their lifetimes:
-10% of white women
-9% of black women
-4.6% of Hispanic women
Source: http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/ad/ad362.pdf
I hope all those who like to whine about everybody trying to ‘make BW look bad’ will note that, according to this, white females are bigger hookas (sniggle, joke) than other women.
But well, well, well what does this report also reveal? That BLACK MEN have more sexual partners than all other groups in their lifetimes. I suppose it’s time for Scott to try to discredit these numbers/stats or claim it’s is only because ‘BM are more honest’ or some other blah blah nonsense.
Correction: That *more* BLACK MEN have *15+* sexual partners than all other groups in their lifetimes.
Thanks Akai for the statistics on lifetime partners from the CDC, no less. This where I do agree with other commenters that there is a media bias (not a CDC or research bias) against black females, because you wont hear these types of statistics mentioned. Akai, more grease to your elbow…Maybe this may shut up our angry male friend here and that BS he’s been spewing about some 80/20 rule…he makes it seem as if black women only go for that talented 20th while the rest of the black male population remains sad and celibate…yeah…right…insert serious side eye here.
I mentioned this before, but I think it was erased or something…but this whole hoopla about herpes and black women should be expected because any infectious disease will hit a (reproductively) isolated minority group first before it manifests itself in the majority population. Its a worldwide phenomenon. I am sure that in a few years, we will soon hear that herpes has become endemic in other America populations. Again, if you are in a minority group that largely restricts itself to a minority group, you will tend to share infectious diseases (sexually transmitted, airborne etc) at a faster rate than a larger group because the larger group tends to have more “pickings” or occupy a wider, more varied space. This will happen independent of differences in sexual behaviors between the two groups.
Think of a party. If you go to a party with only a few people and one person has a cold, and you are restricted to that environment, you have a higher chance of catching that cold since you are only limiting yourself to that environment. But if you attend a much larger party, there is a chance that the one person with the cold might be at the other end of the building and you have a higher chance of avoiding that cold. It’s not because you chose a better party to attend or you’re good at warding away people with colds…it is merely a numbers game that happened to work in your favour.
I think this point has been beaten to death, but again, herpes is higher in females because of the weaker nature of the genitalia making it more susceptible for infection. This is also why such sexually transmitted diseases tend to find themselves prominent among gay male populations in which anal tearing could easily lead to the transmission of an infection. End of story. Scott’s refusal to understand this basic scientific fact hints that he is even more blinded by his emotions&opinions than some of the commenters that he condemns.
The more common narrative among black females (both in the United States and in the developing world) is that they remain monogamous while their husbands are polyamourous and bring such infections back home to the female.
Also, I think men tend to be asymptomatic or carry milder symptoms of herpes compared to females…I may be wrong about this.
Wow…Akai…you talk about ignorance….So I guess the CDC was in the bedrooms of all of those people to know just how many partners the people had….
Let me school you on something….women and men lie about the number of partners they have been with and the numbers that the CDC are getting are from surveys because there is no scientific way to ever know how many partners a person has had….
Atleast with the herpes and HIV reports they have case studies….
The truth is that most men know that women are sleeping with way more men then men are sleeping with women….not even close….
Are you serious?
Scott wrote: “I guess the CDC was in the bedrooms of all of those people to know just how many partners the people had.”
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Nope nor have they tested every single AA female in America for herpes, so your point would be?
You are as predictable as all get out, Scotty. I said you’d try to discredit the findings and that’s exactly what you did.
You love the hell out of the CDC’s NHANES survey when it reveals a 48% rate of herpes infections among AA females. Didn’t you keep writing “stop questioning the stats and start questioning the behavior that is causing the stats?”
Funny when the very same CDC’s NFSG survey reveals more black men have 15+ female sexual partners in their lifetimes THAN ANY OTHER GROUP, suddenly you no likey wikey the CDC, question, and it’s no longer about “behavior.”
Hilarious!!!!
Nneoma
“Again, if you are in a minority group that largely restricts itself to a minority group, you will tend to share infectious diseases (sexually transmitted, airborne etc) at a faster rate than a larger group because the larger group tends to have more “pickings” or occupy a wider, more varied space. This will happen independent of differences in sexual behaviors between the two groups.”
You all come up with some of the most half slacked logic..where it seems true but is flawed…..
yes blacks are a minority group….and yes a condition should increase in an isolated minority group…but biologically 40 million people are not equivalent to a person at a party with a cold…
there is enough randomness within 40 million people that biologically speaking them being a minority of a 360+ million person country is obsolete……
So the argument that because blacks are a minority are catching this in record numbers is a farce…esp since other minority groups such as asians and indians do not share these same numbers….and they are smaller in size than african americans…..
Stop questioning the stats and making excuses for irresponsible behavior…
the excuses are pathetic.
Also the land size alone of the US makes for your argument about isolation obsolete…
isolation is a housing project. isolation could be a metropolitan area. Isolation is not AA woman Tina who sleeps with AA male Tom…..AA Tina goes off to school in another state and sleeps with white boy Billy on some club fling…..
Sorry isolation and population size just doesn t exist in this case enough to explain the extrodinary high numbers.
The example I provided about colds was meant to bring it down a complex process to an everyday level…it was not meant to be taken literally rather it was all relative. Its a given that the US is a wide varied landscape but when I said isolation, I meant reproductive isolation, in terms of who is sleeping with who. But perhaps I did not explain myself well or that perhaps the exercise of transferring the lessons from this small scale hypothetical example to large-scale phenomena was one that was lost on you. But I don’t blame you – it’s probably not your field of interest. Also perhaps I should have put in the caveat the mere status as a minority group would probably explain *some* of the variance in infections prevalence between races – maybe in my enthusiasm for the argument, I forgot to mention that…or left it out entirely. I don’t personally take it as half-slacked logic…for I think that those who happen to be well-versed in basic biostatistics can understand the crux of the argument.
When I said isolation, I meant in terms of who is sleeping with who…for lack of a better term. Unfortunately, I do not know of any studies off-hand that demonstrate that black women primarily sleep with black men. However, according to the US census, black women are less likely to marry outside of their race – therefore I use that as a proxy for “who is sleeping with who.” Again, estimations, but the best I’ve got at this point – didn’t know I had to detail limitations to my methods on a comment…but whatever. So if the majority of African American females are sleeping with African American males, I therefore came to the conclusion that there is some degree of reproductive isolation. Also you have mentioned that a significant number of black children are born out of wedlock – which would mean that a significant number of these high risk sexual unions are the result of black women sleeping with black men – again proving that there is some degree of reproductive isolation among this minority group. But anyway, it was probably a bad example or the point was lost on you. The the main point of what i was trying to say was that BARRING any significant differences in sexual behaviors between majority whites and minority blacks, an STD will be more highly prevalent in a minority culture. What I mentioned in a previous comment, that may have been deleted, is that when you add to the mix poverty, poor choices in safe sexual behaviors, lack of access to healthcare, these differences are exacerbated even further.
As for the whole model minority thing you bring up – Asians…I think this is one that has been beaten to death before. First…and I repeat, minorities are expected to have higher rates of STDs BARRING SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCES IN SEXUAL BEHAVIORS. But like we all know, there are significant differences in sexual behaviors which make STDs higher in one minority group vs. another. As for Asians (and non-native Africans), these are smaller minority groups who happen to have better health outcomes and low prevalences of STDs, even when compared to whites. Why? These are largely immigrant populations and immigrants from such countries (not all) to the US, tend to be healthier and wealthier than people from their host country. This is true when looking at education status and health. The US, for a number of reasons, attracts immigrants that are relatively well off – in terms of sexual behaviors, lifestyles, and education. Yes, they come to the US and are poorer than alot of Americans, but if you take a peek at their lifestyles before they came to the US, you will find that most of them came from a higher SES in their home countries. Which is why you will find that for many, though they are less likely to have STDs in the US, you will find that their home continents (Africa and Asia) are embroiled in a losing battle against STDs.
As for some of your other comments – the one about education. The shift towards educating females in the United States is not one that is limited to just African American people. It is not a conspiracy by black mothers to educate their daughters and screw over their sons. Subjects formerly dominated by men are now occupied largely by women. Medical school is an example that I can think of off the top of my head where for many schools, the number of women (yep, white women) surpass that of men (yep, white men). And personally,I think the dismal state of educational achievement of black males should be blamed on both black mothers and black fathers (and institutional racism, failing schools, “the man,” yada yada yada).
“Stop questioning the stats and making excuses for irresponsible behavior…” – Scott in reply to my comment.
Well, I didn’t expect you to have read all of my comments, they tend to be a bit lengthy (Clutch is my procrastination tool of choice), but I basically have said this over again…that the stats are difficult to swallow, but we shouldn’t stick our heads in the sand. By sticking our heads in the sand or wishing that only one ideal model of black life be presented to the world, we further hurt ourselves. I am for bringing out these stats to the forefront and I am thankful for those who are interested in health disparities research (black or white) in order to uncover the underlying reasons behind such patterns. My numbers comments was merely a means by which to explain some of the variance – a proposal of sorts, but perhaps this was not the appropriate forum to discuss such – since it led to a lot more confusion on Scott’s part, evidently. But, I think the blame game (black men do this and black women do that) is getting a bit outdated….
Scott: “yes blacks are a minority group….and yes a condition should increase in an isolated minority group…but biologically 40 million people are not equivalent to a person at a party with a cold…
there is enough randomness within 40 million people that biologically speaking them being a minority of a 360+ million person country is obsolete……”
Well, to give a simple answer, it’s called extrapolation…
….and I started my example with “Think of a party…” which meant that I was giving an example. Again, using a common everyday example to clarify a complex process we see on a large scale. Like in business school (mind you, I have never gone to business school), a professor might give an example of a lemonade stand to explain the inner workings of a large multinational business. Yeah the person-with-a-cold-at-a-party thing was something like that…
Okay lets just clear the air and bring this back to a logical discussion….you can say I am wrong about the 80/20 thing….and maybe so esp if I can t count who is sleeping with who….
But the whole idea that a virus like herpes can infect 48% of black women ages 14-49 logically makes more sense than doesn’t…..
Herpes is similar to the virus chickenpox. In fact chickenpox is a herpes virus itself..along with shingles. Now just like chickenpox herpes is transmitted through contact…infections that are transmitted by contact are more highly contagious than infections by bodily fluid esp if the fluid is not saliva. This is why condoms only cut the risk of herpes to 30%…
If the out of wedlock rate of black babies is at 72% I will assume that atleast 95+ percent of the parents were not using condoms. So it can be stated that a high number of AA are not wearing condoms. but condoms only cut the transmission rate by 30%.
But the part that makes me believe the stats is not only because infections like this must be reported but because herpes never leaves the population until that person infected with it dies.
But Herpes itself doesn t kill its host….the host must die by other means..I don t expect HIV to be at 48% because HIV actually removes itself from the population by killing its host….Herpes is only a multiplier it is not something that leaves the population in question. All of these things: the transmission method of contact…the lack of condom use…and the virus remaining in the population makes it logical that 48% have herpes.
Scott for the Win!
Scott when 4 year olds get indignant, stomp and insist an elephant is an ephalant, people can try to correct them but, after a while of them being insistent, it’s best to let them be knowing ONE DAY they’ll know the truth.
Although I KNOW your facts, logic and reasoning are wrong as two left shoes and find you full of you-know-what, I do respect how you’ve handled yourself.
You’ve accepted others’ right to their own opinion and pretty much disagreed in a respectful manner without attempts at name-calling, personal attack or taking things personally.
That was appreciated and well done!
To further beat a dead horse…
Also, decided to take a peek at the NHANES study that led to this herpes in black women news story. They found that even among black women with significantly fewer lifetime sexual partners (2-4), ie, less promiscuous, they still had a high prevalence of getting herpes. Why are even “less promiscuous” black women still at an increased risk of getting herpes? That is the better question we should ask. We can either conclude that less promiscuous black women are :
(a) more likely than any other group (male, female, black, white) to lie about their lifetime sexual partners
(b) the target of a covert mission in the CDC to “get” black women
(c) or that less promiscuous black women (who may also tend to be more educated, have access to healthcare education and resources) are more likely to sleep with that thuggish talented 20th that Scott speaks of
(d) or more likely – demographics is a better predictor than individual (sexual) behavior of getting herpes for black women…which would mean that parsing this out would be beyond the scope of this conversation. This is an issue that has been haunting health disparities researchers for decades now…why are educated black women more likely to have low birthweight babies than uneducated white females; why do black females have a higher incidence of heart disease, even when you adjust for weight and socioeconomic status? why is it harder for a black male with no prior convictions to get a job, compared to a convicted white male; why do black males, when you make all the necessary statistical adjustments die at younger ages? etc…
Let us *not* stop asking these questions because they may make us look bad. Neither should we answer these questions with thinly veiled attempts to further denigrate either black males or black females singularly in the name of feminism or chauvinism….ideally we should be in this together…
I agree so much w/ u until you say, “we have gone from slavery to the White House in a short time with little help.” You have to admit there are a significant amount of things that were done to helps attain the roles that we have.
You might want to know that Jamestown wasn’t settled in 1619, that happened thirteen years earlier. It undermines your argument just the slightest bit, Seeing that by 1620, Virginia had already set up its own government, and Plymouth was being settled.
Sometimes I jus wanna yell “LEAVE US THE %$#@ ALONE!!” The first couple of times it was alright because I felt like I was being informed on something I was truly unaware of but now that I am older and can see some of these things for myself I really don’t need people reiterating the same sorry message everywhere I turn. The main problem is that no one wants to talk about all the good things about being a black woman or all the good black woman do. it’s always about how we suck and how our lives suck as a result of that.
well, it doesn’t suck to be this “black” woman!!!
I am happily married, well educated,debt-free,disease free, bastard-child free, and virtually unaffected thus far by the current state of the economy, and i have my own substantial savings account separate from my husbands!!! my family isn’t constantly hitting me up for money, in fact my mother will be retiring in four years(30 years younger than the average American) when my little brother graduates from high school, my father’s retirement will follow shortly after, and they plan on retiring to the estate on five acres my father inherited from his father this past summer!! my parents had a little debt, but if you can pay of twenty thousands dollar worth of debt in a month, i think you will be okay!! both of my parent a well educated and hold high position in their respective careers. my youngest sister will be married this July, and my middle sister is engaged, neither of which are diseased, or parenting bastard children. both are currently seeking college educations. we will be receiving an inheritance when our grandmother passes, as well as when our parents pass, not inheriting their debts!!
i am not obese, i weight a very toned and muscular 130, from years of ballet, gymnastics and cheer-leading. I work out at least three days a week, and my routine consists of yoga, circuit training, and strenuous cardio. i also hike, rock climb, and camp. my diet consist of about 90% fresh product, whole grains, and lean proteins.nearly ever meal i eat is home prepared. fast food is not apart of my diet, no exceptions!!
When my husband and i have our first child, he/she will be planned and have a sizable college fund waiting before she even leaves the womb, and it will remain untouched continue to grow until he/she is ready to begin pursuing a college education. my children will not be obese. they will have access to the best education, even if they have to go abroad. they will participate in certain extracurricular activities such as; ballet and gymnastics, tennis, lacrosse, rowing, swimming and diving. they will learn to play classical woodwind and stringed instruments, as well as classical African and East Indian instruments.My favorites are the Kora, which is west African and the sitar, which is Indian. television will not be readily available, nor will most forms of popular music. they will also have a strong sense of self and accurate knowledge of all history and the world, especially Africa.
There was no need to settle for a sub par companion when choosing my spouse. my husband and i are first and foremost best friends. we are each others emotional and intellectual equals. he is also well educated, the son of a retired Navy commander, and Administrator at a major University. his childhood home is set on acres of land that hold two lakes, a koi pond(but the eagles, hawks and owls keep eating them), an orchard that grows heirloom apples, cherries and plums, and has peacocks!!! the land has also been registered as a national wildlife refuge!!
Whats my point?? I am not bragging, simply demonstrating that black women like myself do exist. not all black women are poor, diseased, promiscuous, uneducated, unhealthy,in debt, unloved, single parents from broken homes!! i know many will say that someone like me is not the norm, but the exception. i believe that depends on where you live, as well as you perspective. It may not be the norm for everyone, but it is my norm, as well as for the norm for very many other women of color.
so, why all the recent negative focus on the lives of black women?? because many of us are in fact very powerful, very influential, very educated, and a threat to the current race based power structure of America, and more black women are waking up to realize this could also be their reality, they are entitled to it and the only thing stopping them is them.
i just can’t believe how trusting some individuals are of statistic released by a government and organizations who are personally invested in “keeping you in your place”, as well as keeping up racial divides. we are not the only ones in this country being subtly controlled and influenced by the images and words of the media.The powers that be want to keep every day people fearful and ignorant of each other .