Black Women Are Checking Out

Dropping like flies, bought the farm, kicked the bucket, checking out, pushing up daises, sleeping with the fishes are all nice ways to tell that someone has died.  As a Black woman, I prefer to be real with myself. Let’s not sugar coat things anymore; Black women are killing themselves at an alarming rate with HIV and AIDS.  According to a recent study conducted by the Kaiser Family Foundation, Black women account for 67% of new AIDS cases among women.  

HIV is the 3rd leading cause of death for African Americans ages 25–34. Whether you choose to educate yourself on this disease and its numbers or not, the fact remains, HIV is lurking.  If you don’t protect yourself, it’s only a matter of time before it feasts its eyes on you.

The WomensHealth.gov accredits the contraction of HIV in Black women to Black women living in poverty, STIs, the incarceration of Black men, and African-American men “on the down low.”  These are all valid excuses but why not accredit it to yourself Black women?  Stop trusting men who don’t love you. Stop believing and trusting that men will one day come around. Why are you freely giving yourself to a person who admits that he doesn’t care about you?  On the B side, some women were in a committed relationship and were betrayed; those people, I feel sorry for.

I have a great amount of rage in my heart when it comes to the acts of the “down low brother.”  Men are said to supposedly have and an abundance of pride.  Men declare their love for a women by protecting, providing and professing his love for her – and he betrays her?  Black women can’t even trust their husbands.  Many Black men don’t care about us and the proof is in the pudding. The down low brother must be stopped. We must take our own precautions and protect ourselves by abstaining from sex outside of marriage and remember to trust no one.  No one falls in love over night, what are the chances - stop being gullible.

            

         One of my Twitter followers, @YolieTheJew, says, “I suddenly realized that I do not trust men.  You may come off straight, look straight, but you're having sex with another man.”  A recent study in 5 major U.S. cities found that 46% of African American men who have sex w/ men, were infected with HIV.  Some men are too big a coward to admit they’re gay and some women are being punished for the secrets and insecurities of men.  Dr. Julie L. Gerberding, Director of The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says,  “We are not effectively reaching men who have sex with men and African-Americans to lower their risk.”

The New York City health department estimated that HIV was spreading in NYC at three times the national rate.  This number is derived only from those who were actually tested.  There are 20 million people in New York; do you think they’ve all been tested? I’m sure “three times the national rate” is being modest.  Who knows how many people have not yet been diagnosed.  According to The New York Times, one-quarter of all infected people are unaware of their status. 

In comparison to other nationalities, white women account for 17% of new HIV cases and Latinas 15%.  I think we can officially declare HIV as a Black woman’s disease.  This isn’t something to be proud of; it is something to be ashamed of.  Are Black women uninformed or do they just not care?  They can keep ignoring these numbers but it’s only a matter of time before HIV takes you out. No Black women, no Black people.  Between senseless shootings, jail and HIV, we’ll be gone in no time.