A specific instruction on how to date girls of different ethnicities is what is written by Junot Diaz in “How to Date a Browngirl, Blackgirl, Whitegirl, or Halfie.” This story is generally based on the problem of stereotypes and their role in life of contemporary youth. Within the text, Junot demonstrates the series of generalizations based on the outside characteristics of the different people. The main character demonstrates the tendency to treat women differently based on their ethnicity. With the implementation of such technique, author aimed to demonstrate people’s tendency for generalization that is the norm of wide acceptance within the contemporary society.
Within the text, there is a series of generalizations that sometimes sounds funny, but more often they sound sad and unpleasant. The main character is a teenager that cones from a poor family and lives in the urban neighborhood (Junot 143). He is well acquainted with poverty, different ethnicities and life losses. He tries to look extremely confident but in fact he is a common boy that has a lot of worn life orienteers.
This especially touches his attitude towards dating the girls of other ethnicities. The real reason of this manual appears to be evident in the end – it is his lack of understanding of real interrelations between boys and girls, and between people of different ethnicities in general. People tend to create a lot of stereotypes that create additional boundaries within the interracial communication. The tendency for generalization is a weakness, not a cure for the establishment of strong connection between nations.
One of the main problems that have to be solved by narrator and a lot of people in general is the belief that manipulation is the best way to create a relationship. He refers to the girls of differ ethnicities as people with the number of weak sides that can be effectively used in order to get their sympathy. He defines them as not intelligent, sometimes too self-confident, naïve or shy. The impression that is produced by his definition of different ethnicities is really negative. However, people of different ethnicities are not equal on their inside. They are all different and can be absolutely differ from the created stereotypes.
The implementation of various elaborated techniques when communicating with real man or woman can appear to be ineffective because it does not meet the objective reality. The narrator’s definitions and specific techniques when talking about girls of different ethnicities seem to be childish and unreal.
The complex analysis of the contemporary problematic interracial relationship demonstrates the existence of the series of problems that highly impact our society. The existence of the series of wrong stereotypes creates the illusion of the privileged status of the narrator’s position. Narrator also differentiates girls based on their social position and class. He defines what the girls wants, what she is interested in or how conservative she is based on the color of her skin or the location of her house.
The character of the narrator’s outlook is extremely satirical and therefore it does not have to be considered serious or offensive. However, it demonstrates the reality: boys try to pretend they know everything about girls, although they in fact know nothing. This manual is made because of the lack of understanding between different genders and ethnicities (Junot 148).
The similarity with the real situation within the society can be found in the analogical manual that people create in their heads when trying to build a relationship with the representatives of the other ethnicities. They try to create an impression that will in fact be a lie. They believe that people have to act in accordance with the generalizations that are also a lie as they do not give any real information about the people.
During the story, narrator tries to understand where he belongs, but in the end it appears obvious that he belongs nowhere, sitting alone at home and watching TV. This is a realistic outcome of living in the world of stereotypes and generalizations. It can be easily seen that this is the way to nowhere. This is the main thought that has to be understood when talking about interracial communication.
Works Cited
Diaz, Junot. Drown. New York: Riverhead Books, 1996.
