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Another Kind of Chronic by By Therí Pickens

Written by Foresight
Monday, 13 August 2007
When I found out Tionne "T-Boz" Watkins (from TLC) had sickle cell anemia, the most surprising commentary I heard came from a White man. He told me, "Yeah. There are a lot of you all. You know, Black women with auto-immune diseases." He didn't then, and nor do I now have any explanation for this phenomena. Yet, the statement remains irksome. It doesn't sting simply because of its truth. It stings because it is still a surprise to some people. Advertisements In other words, the bother is the silence. Most people have heard of an auto-immune disease, but few talk about it. I'm sure you've heard of at least two. Myasthenia Gravis. Multiple Sclerosis. Scleroderma. Lupus. Graves' Disease. Rheumatoid Arthritis. Sickle Cell Anemia. Hashimoto's Thyroiditis. Mixed Connective Tissue Disorder. Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. Generally speaking, these disorders affect more women than men and usually surface around childbearing age. Some are linked to genetic predisposition (ie Sickle Cell Anemia or Scleroderma). Others have acute onsets. The hallmark of each of these conditions is that the body fights itself on a chronic basis, there is remission but no cure and they disproportionately affect women of color. My aim is not to educate you on the facts of auto-immune conditions. (We've provided some websites below for those that want to find out the facts.) My aim is to talk about the silence surrounding this issue. I doubt that the silence comes principally from ignorance; I conjecture that it comes from discomfort. More pointedly, we – as in all people – are uncomfortable with our own bodies. Sure; we talk about body parts. We talk about small pains and aches. We'll even go so far as to discuss other people's bodies. It seems the only bodies we are truly comfortable with are those that are athletic, young and fit. Rarely, do we discuss, with any amount of comfort, the sexual body, the body in pain, the dying body or the body as is. The consequence of said silence seems to be a lack of understanding about the body and the psyche, the images of which we can readily see in hip-hop: a confusion of sexual pleasure and intimacy (Love doesn't equal orgasm), an irrational belief in invincibility (50 Cent and Kanye West are miracles, not the norm), the privileging of emotional pain over physical pain (There is no such thing as feeling no pain),the glorification of an impossible perfection (8-pack abs and zero stretch marks are the result of having too much time and too much make-up on your butt). The list goes on. The reality of auto-immune diseases forces us to reconcile the reality of the body with the fantasy we've created. Though we lug these mounds of dust around daily, we seem to forget that the body goes through more than just growing up and puberty. It wrinkles. It has acne. It has stretch marks. It has moles. It goes through menopause. It aches. It bleeds. It hurts. And, it will die. The process of living puts wear on this skin. To ignore the reality of the body is to ignore the reality of life itself. Marty McConnel - Instructions For A Body Yet, we not only ignore these processes but we denigrate them, too. If we could learn not just to discuss, but to praise the parts of us that don't fall under the category of "perfect," we'd be better equipped to deal with a lot more than just the body. Advertisements Web MD FAQ at Women's Health Medline Plus Control Your Auto Comments (6) ... written by Jackrabbit Jenkins , August 13, 2007 A silence that is the result of ignorance among those unaffected... and discomfort from those who are at risk. It's a serious problem ... written by TPickens , August 14, 2007 When you're talking about people with and without auto-immune conditions, you're right. But, there is no one that is 'unaffected' when talking about the disintegration of the body. ... written by Kashsing , August 16, 2007 I'm so glad someone's actually talking about the fact that the skinny-smooth expectation rampant today is actually NOT natural. Our imperfections are OURS, it's about time we loved them as much as we love that new muscle, that waxed calf, those pimped out manicures... ... written by Dulce , August 22, 2007 I find it wonderful that someone has the guts to speak of issues no one likes to speak about. Very insightful! ... written by Michelle , August 22, 2007 I've never looked at body image in this light. I think it is eye-opening; the idea that body imperfections are natural. If more people would accept this they probably wouldn't feel so bad about themselves. ... written by Ametra , September 02, 2007 Well we need to first stop looking at t.v. like what we see is normal. Models to me are not healthy. Being over weight is not healthy. You first have to get to know yourself, I mean really get intune with your body and the earth. Look at the foods you are eating, and not the t.v. screen, which shows you skinny is the thing. No that's not healthy. Being over weight is not healthy. No one can define who you are by looking at you. It starts with you Write comment Name Email Website Comment Copyright 2007. All Rights Reserved.
Last Updated ( Monday, 13 August 2007 )

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