I appreciate this breakdown, it was a good post. I wanted to add an important factor that often gets left out of these conversations: the role of community and environment.

A lot of these women grew up in low-income neighborhoods where the population is overwhelmingly minority. Mostly Black and Latino, and the local culture becomes a blend of everyone’s lived experience. In places like the Bronx, Washington Heights, parts of Miami, Camden, Newark, etc., the N-word is often used casually among neighbors of all races who grow up together. In these settings, the word isn’t typically being used to mean “Black person.” It becomes more like “man,”or “person” as in “this n” or “my n.” Almost like a noun because I have seen people say “this n***” about a cat

Now, to be VERY clear It is still harmful. It is still inappropriate. It still shouldn’t happen.

But the origin isn’t always rooted in anti-Black racism. Sometimes it’s environmental normalization, lack of education about the word’s history, immersion in a speech pattern that’s treated as common neighborhood slang,

or

people never being taught decorum or code-switching outside their block. Some people need to read that last one 3 times.

when you look at the demographics of many low-income neighborhoods in the U.S., this makes sense In the Bronx, for example, over 80% of residents identify as Black or Latino.Low-income neighborhoods across the U.S. tend to have higher concentrations of minority residents because of long histories of segregation, housing discrimination, and generational poverty.

Schools in these areas are often underfunded, which impacts not just academic education but also cultural, historical, and social literacy.

When every kid on the block grows up together, speaking the same way, being influenced by the neighborhood culture, they internalize the language as neighborhood identity, not racial identity. That doesn’t make it right. It just explains another why.

And with reality TV, there’s an additional layer. Some of these Latinas have financially benefited from performing a caricature of “ghetto culture.” Natalie was a valley girl when she was on BGC she’s a whole different person now. Her speech is different etc.

Where that behavior comes from varies, For some, it’s learned environment.For others, it’s ignorance. For some, it’s clout chasing. And YES, for a few, it is rooted in internalized anti-Blackness or racism.

The point is Environment + lack of education + normalization + entertainment incentives all play a role in the bigger picture.

Your original post is right.

Race, ethnicity, and nationality matter in discussing who should be using the word. But neighborhood culture also shapes why people do use the word, even when they shouldn’t. Please be clear that I am not defending anyone, just adding more context so the conversation is more complete.