The short story “How to Date a Browngirl, Blackgirl, Whitegirl and Halfie” by Junot Diaz is the main character, Yunior's guide to dating girls of different races and ways of acting to get what you want from them. The only thing Yunior seems to want for these girls is sexual acts. This short story argues that a person's heredity, economic class, and race influence how a person identifies themselves and how their identity influences how they act toward other people. The pressures a person may feel from society also impact how a person treats themselves and others. Society's pressure and expectations are also what makes Yunior think he needs to have sex with these girls. There are many different occasions where the main character talks and behaves differently with other people within the story, such as: with himself, with his friends, and with the different girls he tries to date. Throughout the story there is evidence that the main character is ashamed of himself and his background. He hides government cheese, which tells us he belongs to a low economic class. He also deletes embarrassing photographs of his family and himself, which further indicates that he is not proud of his family, background, or heritage. Yunior also tells us many things to do to be like others, especially white people. He tells us to run your fingers through your hair and write directions to your parents in your absolute best handwriting (Diaz 236). It is also clear that she is ashamed of her past when she states: “You might wonder what she thinks of Dominicans. Don't ask” (Diaz 237). Also, when he tells the girl stories about the neighborhood, he says not to tell her that her mother immediately knew what... middle of paper... most likely never did any of this. This. This guide was probably simply compiled based on different things he heard from other people. He's probably heard things from people he's trying to impress and want to be accepted by, maybe his dad, his uncle, or other kids in his neighborhood. He may have felt like he had to do these things because he believes everyone else is, that to be "cool" you have to have sex. Yunior is ashamed of everything he is. His parents and his heritage, his appearance and his race. This short story also suggests that not only are girls being pressured into sex, but boys are being pressured as well. This is why he makes up stories to appear knowledgeable, so that he can have something in common with the people he wants to accept him. Works Cited “How to Date a Browngirl, Blackgirl, Whitegirl and Halfie” by Junot Diaz