As a creative writing professor, Junot Diaz is well known for the manner he articulates his thoughts in addressing contemporary issues in the society. Through his written work, he has constantly been considered as a feminist. However, other experts in literature argue that he takes a sexist nature as opposed to the feminist nature. Little has been done to expound on the essence of this matter, increasing the debate as to whether he is a feminist or a sexist. Through his books: Down; Nilda; and How to date a Brow girl, he has received a lot of review on the manner that he address these issues. His most recent work: ‘This Is How You Lose Her’ also adopts a similar style to the ones he used in the earlier books. This paper seeks to analyze whether he is better off as a sexist or a feminist. In doing so, the paper will base the arguments from the evidence obtained from three of his books: Down; Nilda; and How to date a Brow girl. Diaz is better off as a sexist as opposed to a feminist.
In the book ‘How to date a brown girl, Diaz is brought out as a sexist as opposed to a feminist (Az, 23). Sexism entails articulating information to aid people on their marital affairs throughout different stages. Feminism, on the other hand, entails making arguments with the aim of elevating the females in the society to be at par with men. In ‘How to date a brown girl’, Diaz gives an account and a guide on how a Dominican American male should approach and seduce a girl. In doing this, he centers the story on a teenage boy and gives instructions as regards to the readiness for a date. He goes further to guide that one should hide their ethnicity when courting a girl. His approach is based on sexism. The use of sexist characters with sexist minds communicates a lot about Diaz as being a sexist.
In Nilda, Diaz similarly employs a sexism approach to articulate his message. This is a story in which Diaz talks about the relationship between Nilda and Rafa. The manner that Diaz describes Nilda brings out his sexist nature. For instance, he states: ‘She was Dominican from aca and had super-long hair, like those Pentecostal girls, and a chest you wouldn’t believe- I’m talking world-class. Rafa would sneak her down into our basement bedroom after our mother went to bed and do her to whatever was on the radio right then (Az, 43)’. This is a description of how the relationship was, taking a sexist approach as opposed to a feminist approach. In the book, there is no single place gender matters are discussed, meaning that this was not a feminist approach. Because of this, Diaz qualifies to be a feminist.
'Drown,' written by Diaz, is a collection of short stories in which he explores how Dominican Republic immigrants struggled in America to achieve their dreams. Although the stories are related, they take different approaches to address the issue (Az, 88). Although most of these stories do not directly address either feminism or sexism, the consensus is that some of them have the elements of a sexist approach. Feminism is not addressed in the books.
Conclusion
Going by the above arguments, Diaz is better off as a sexist as opposed to a feminist. His approach does not entail the fight for equality or elevating the female gender; a common approach used by feminism authors. Through ‘Nilda’ and ‘How to date a brown girl, the true attributes of sexism are brought out.
Works Cited
Az, Junot. How to Date a Brown Girl. New York: Riverhead, 2012. Print.
Az, Junot. Drown. New York: Riverhead, 1996. Print.
Az, Junot. This Is How You Lose Her. New York: Riverhead, 2012. Print.
