The story “How to Date a Brown Girl” is told as pointers for African men, or black men. The story tells the expectations coming from a white, or half-white woman when she dates an African guy. Nevertheless, the story, in general, is about trying to win a woman, despite the differences in color and race (Diaz 1-3).
The story speaks about the truth of the current society. It may be coming from the author’s experience or not, but the feeling of negativity can be seen in every part of the story. It is as if the author is discouraging black men to date someone not of their kind. As such, it means that the black people are being downgraded in the story. According to the author, the white and brown girl will not be willing to start a relationship with black men, and if they ever did, the relationship cannot be considered as genuine (Diaz 3). Thus, the author wanted to imply that black people, particularly the male, are just alternatives, and only few girls will be able to start a genuine relationship with them. Though it is true at some instance, it is not always the same at all times. Personally, I believe that the current society is consisting of people who are full of prejudice tendencies, and people who are able to see beyond color, race, and other differences. Simply put, I agree and disagree with the author’s expectations. I agree that some people downgraded black men in the lowest way possible; thus, discrimination is still prominent these days. On the other hand, I disagree with his way to date a brown girl. The more important thing to do is to be proud of your color and heritage, no matter how the society looked down on you. In other words, if the author states the expectations, as told in the story, you do not have to let yourself down for others, just because the society thinks you are already at that level.
Talking about expectations, the story provided more of them. From the way the government cheese must be kept from the sight of your visitor (Diaz 1), to the preferred restaurants where you must bring your date (Diaz 2), and to the boundaries of touching (Diaz 3), all of them were provided in detail. However, these expectations are also signs of weakness and discrimination. Culture-wise, black men’s own decisions are not being even considered in the story. Whether the author is black or not, the way he gives advice is an offending one, as a reader. Black people here are taken for granted. They must adhere to what their date wants, without any signs of their own preferred methods. However, for me, dating is a give and take situation. It is not just knowing what your date likes, and neglecting what you like, but it is knowing each other’s like, having genuine intentions. Dating is knowing one another; thus, it must be mutual response, not one-sided. As such, the story does not conform to this thinking. Rather, the story tells not how to date, but how to deal with brown girls. It seemed unfair, because the author is not considerate to black people, and he always expects that dating black men will yield no signs of success.
The story tells about the reality of the society, but it does not mean that the view of black people should stay negative, as it is. Moreover, the advice on dating brown people is not helpful at all. Instead, the advices are only suitable to those who wanted a short-term acquaintance, and those who choose their date through races and origin. It does not have to be the black people. Everyone might have their own set of expectations, but it is not always the black people who they wanted to avoid. The society must think of them as members with equal privileges.
Work Cited
Diaz, Junot. “How to Date a Brown Girl (Black Girl, White Girl, or Halfie).” 1-3. Print.
