Culture Of Silence In the African American Community Is Deadly

Having been raised in the South by my grandmother, I was taught there were topics that were inappropriate to discuss in public. There often was a culture of silence around issues of s*xuality, marital infidelity, homophobia and other forms of s*xual difference, poverty, neglect and abuse, and specific health problems people were experiencing. It wasn’t that people didn’t talk about these matters; they just didn’t regularly talk about them in public spaces. Instead, we whispered about them in safe, private spaces w/ people who shared our sensibilities. Any public talk that would expose, embarrass, alienate, or bring harm to a member of our family or close social network was avoided. While some of this silence was meant to be protective, there were unintended negative health consequences that emerged. In this blog I argue that a culture of silence continues to exist in some communities, and that silence can be a risk factor for health disparities. ... I want to spark a conversation about ways silence can undermine important health decisions and enable preventable health disparities. ... giving voice to issues that have been silenced and related to health outcomes might contribute to reducing and eliminating health disparities. Silence – experienced as quietness; as a refusal or inability to mention, comment or express a concern about an issue; as concealment and/or secrecy – is a form of communication and likely present in all cultures. Meanings ascribed to silence do vary by context, culture and cultural groups.

For example, African Americans are the racial/ethnic group most affected by HIV. Most (85%) of African American women with HIV acquired it through heteros*xual s*x. Removing the silence that inhibits real talk about the attitudes, beliefs, and practices that enable this epidemic, coupled with the policies intending to increase access to HIV screening and treatment, can reduce this disparity. Being obese is a stigmatized condition in the U.S. Uncounted women of color are struggling to be healthy (physically and mentally) while trying to survive and thrive in stressful professional, social and economic environments. They are silent about their struggles – lest they be viewed as not up to the tasks before them – even though it is vital for them to share the challenges they face in order. Let’s talk to each other about our weight, activity patterns, and dietary practices in public and private spaces with empowering information and testimonials. Let’s create a space in private and in public to talk about intimate partner violence, the truth about our relationships, and what we need in order to experience quality life and good health. Be open to discuss, interrogate, and understand difference in the human experience. There is power and freedom in knowing when to be silent and when silence is a risk factor for poor health and health disparities. What conversations are you not having that could help eliminate health disparities and improve your own health?

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http://blogs.cdc.gov/healthequity/2012/07/...