Written by Nicole J.

As black women, by simply existing, we face a unique set of challenges. We have no first line of defense; our health, collectively, both physical and mental, is in shambles, and the decisions many of us make draw us deeper into a pit of bad choices that plague our bloodline for generations. We hate ourselves, especially when it comes to our hair and skin tone, and will cling to that 26 inch Brazilian wavy and a foundation 3 shades too light as if it is the cure for cancer or the winning Powerball ticket.

But out of all of those factors, and more, what is the single greatest threat to black women?

White supremacy?

Is it the system of white supremacy, that is only now coming around to letting us wear natural hairstyles in corporate America? Hair discrimination is real, but a few states are coming around and the tides are slowly turning. Is it their Eurocentric beauty standard forced on us that makes us think that the aforementioned 26 inch weave is what we need to be beautiful, to be viable, to be good enough? Is it their discrimination of us based on whatever arbitrary thing that is in vogue on that day?

Black men?

Is it the black man, who abuses, mocks, and fetishizes us at ever increasing rates, and ridicules us when everything goes sour? Who doesn’t defend us from attacks, whether it is a physical one or an attack on our image, but rather, joins in the pile on? Who fills the heads of black women with honey and lies, and abandons her with young children to chase his dreams, or ass, or the next excuse to be an absentee father? Who runs his mouth rather than running businesses?

Black women?

Or is it the black woman, who shares our very image, yet waits for you to turn your back so she can stab you in it? Who dismisses complaints from her children that they are being touched inappropriately and takes the side of the latest boyfriend to come through her doors instead of her own flesh and blood? Who will go to the ends of the earth to defend degeneracy that is clearly insane to everyone else? The woman who will take part in the same denigration of her image by spewing nonsense in comment sections or sharing memes that she thinks she is excluded from because she’s “not like those other black women”? Who may not even like her children, and raises them like they are curses rather than blessings, ill-prepared for all that life will throw their way?

Obviously, the greatest threat to black women is a combination of all three, but I have my suspicions on which one is the greatest. I’m not pointing fingers or assigning blame, I was feeling philosophical and wanted to see what you guys thought. Let’s discuss in the comments.