HIV/AIDS Epidemic and Collge Students

We've all heard the statistics about the HIV/AIDS epidemic among black men and women. In fact, the numbers among the black community are so high that this disease has become the leading cause of death among black women between the ages of 25 and 34. What's even more scary is that the disease is beginning to spread among our college students.

Coming from Detroit, I was shocked when I got the news that my own city ranked so high in the nation regarding STD statistics. It appeared that more of the youth was more concerned about STD's rather than their ACT's and SAT's. How could this have been the case? With all the different ways of prevention and protection, one would think that people would be a little smarter when it comes to their sexual activities. Apparently, there are a few factors that may help us to better understand why this epidemic is against blacks in huge numbers.

According to a study conducted by the Center for Disease Control (CDC) the epicenter of the HIV/AIDS epidemic is among college students. CDC reported that although they don't provide specific data for college students, it was stated that 1 in 500 college students is HIV positive. This makes it easier to speculate that the statistic is even higher among African-American students, due to the high statistics among the African-American community in general. In fact, African-American women are more likely to contract the disease from high risk heterosexual activity, usually because they are unaware of their partner or partners' sexual history. Some of those activities in their partner's history may include unprotected sex, bisexuality, and drug use. See the entire study here.

The fact of the matter is that college offers a great deal of opportunities for students to engage in high risk behavior, including promiscuity. Students tend to be adventurous and don't make it a habit to think past the moment, especially when it comes to sexual activity.

The fact is that we as black women need to be more conscious and smart about our sexual activities and the sexual history of our partner or partners. Most young people tend to have what I like to call the "Not Me" mentality- meaning that they tend to think it couldn't happen to them. That type of invincible perception of the disease and fear of getting tested is what may keep these numbers rising. We have to be careful with the decisions we make regarding our sexual future and even more careful when it comes to our partner's history. If you're sexually active, it is imperative and a matter of life and death, to talk with your partner about condom usage or other forms of contraception. Make the conversation between you and your partner a necessity in order to prevent the spread of this disease. Because in the end, before the clothes come off and it goes down, you both need to be aware of each other's history.

"Slim Thug Gets the Backhand..."

So in case you hadn't read my previous blog entry titled, "Slim Who???" let me give you a little background. Houston rapper Slim Thug had reported to Vibe.com that he felt black women should stand by their men more. He continued with comments and quotes that compared black women to white women in how they treat their men and how black women need to lower their standards to accommodate their men. He even foolishly went on to state that successful black men are virtually extinct. Crazy, right? You can check out the full article here.

Well, it seems that his words ticked off a few of his fellow celebs who were appalled by his words. Former Danity Kane member Aubrey O'Day voiced her words regarding Slim's woman bashing. In her Vibe.com article, O'Day explained how she felt that Slim's words were not a race thing, but more about how men nowadays cannot compete with the wave of independent women that have emerged across all races. She stated, "...spineless men of all creeds are waving the proverbial white flag of defeat...they've resorted to projecting their insecurities on those that, God forbid, expect them to live up to their potential."

If you ask me, the girl has made some extremely good points in defense of not just black women, but women in general. At the end of the day, we as women need to stand up and be proud of our independence and know that it's okay to have high standards when it comes to your choice of man or the type of life you choose to live. After all, the sky is the limit. Who are we to settle for less than what we as strong and independent women deserve? Exactly.

"Slim Who???"

So we all know who rapper Slim Thug is, right? Um...wait...maybe we all don't remember that guy. Well, this week the Houston rapper allegedly reported on vibe.com that black women need to stand by their men more. However, there were some parts of the article titled, "Slim Thug: 'Black Women Need to Stand by their Men More," where the rapper appeared to be bashing black women and their views of their men, making statements regarding the standards of black women, and even how dating a white woman may just be better. Well, if you ask me, it's men like him that black women need to simply turn the other cheek and keep stepping. Here's a preview of some of the controversial comments Slim made:

"Most single Black women feel like they don't want to settle for less. Their standards are too high right now. They have to understand that successful Black men are kind of extinct."

"I have a brother that dates a White woman and he always be [expletive] with me about it saying, 'Y'all gotta go through at that [expletive]...my White woman is fine. She don't give me no problems, she do whatever I say and y'all gotta do all that arguing and fighting and worry about all this other [expletive].

As if this was not bad enough, Slim went on to compare how white women treat their men versus how black women treat their men saying, "White women treat they man like a queen and Black women feel like they ain't gotta do that [expletive]." I mean, is this guy serious??? Apparently he is and has no shame in saying these things about his own race of women.

He ended the article by stating how the views of black men and women have really misconstrued views and their mentalities are extremely flawed. Is this so? Have we as blacks caused the media to shift our views to the point where one of our men have succumbed to saying words like these about black women?

I don't know. But I do know that as a black woman, there is absolutely nothing wrong with having high standards. As black women, we need to understand and be proud of the fact that we don't have to settle for less than we are worth. We should hold ourselves to the standards of queens, because that is what we are. We do not have to settle for less than the best. Clearly that is something that Mr. Slim Thug does not understand. It's evident that he does not appreciate the true beauty and strength of black women. Because if he did, he would not ask us to lower our standards to prevent our men from raising theirs.

"Loving Your Reflection"

"Do you love what you see when you look in the mirror? Because I bet that if you love it authentically, everybody else around you will."

These were the awe-inspiring words of the talented Mrs. Jada Pinkett Smith in her interview with Essence in their issue titled, "So Jada, So Free". Mrs. Smith shared her inspiring views on how black women need to love and embrace their bodies, skin tones, hair, sensuality, and confidence as she stripped down and bared all for the front cover. In fact, the entire magazine's July issue celebrates the beauty of black women and the elegance that black women have displayed from generation to generation. Several A-listers were also featured in the magazine in an energetic and beautiful photo shoot, where each woman boldly stated what they felt was beautiful about being a black woman. As I read through the magazine, I couldn't help but wonder how often it is that we as black women love what we see in the mirror and are not afraid to express that confidence in our beauty both inside and out.

Surprisingly, not many of us love ourselves enough to display that level of confidence.

Historically, black women have had to endure a lot in this world: slavery, household responsibilities, gender stereotypes, black female bashing, and sometimes picking up the slack of our men. These are the times when we have to carry the world not on our shoulders, but on our backs. Talk about carrying the weight of the world.

But so many times we tend to not take time to truly appreciate ourselves and our beauty from the inside out. We spend so much time taking care of everyday responsibilities and trying new products to make us look more like what we see in videos and magazines, that we forget the beauty that we each hold from within. It's a beauty that has been engraved into our DNA that has been passed down from our ancestors who themselves were queens of their native lands. We forget to appreciate the strength and fearlessness of our spirit, the smooth color of our various hues, the undeniable ways that we move and carry ourselves, or even the way we support our men like no other women on this planet. We have a level of power that no other race of women on this planet can display ever so proudly. We have an undeniable beauty that comes from within and radiates off of our skin. That type of confidence is something that we should embrace each and every day.

There aren't too many other women that can move the way we do, put our souls into our cooking the way we do, cut you with our eyes and love you just the same the way we do, or display the evidence of a strong legacy the way that we do. So whether you are at school, babysitting, in the workplace, shopping, or simply laying in bed, take the time embrace the beauty of being a black woman. Be able to define yourself by your individual gifts that God has blessed you with. Understand that you come from a race of women that have withstood the wiles of this world and were still able to stand tall and smile. Love yourself and love the skin that you're in.