Is my friend's race preventing her from finding decent partners?

‘Approach’ is getting kind of indefinite. Is she shy around men? Women can do a LOT to let me know they’re interested in me without ever making a definite move or putting themselves out there. Does she at least do that? Or is she a delicate flower who doesn’t even flirt?

Why dont you ask some of the guys she does get along with why men arent interested in her? If they’re at all close they probably know.

And more importantly, why on earth does anybody flat out hate her? Be specific. I’ll solve this mystery yet.

Why do some of the dudes in your social group hate her? That might be the key…

I understand what you mean, I had to lower my standards a few years ago to get action. But with this friend, I think it is in her best interest that she keeps her standards up, or stay single.

After reading some responses in this thread, telling her to get the hell out of KC.

That naive thing. She’s one of the most naive people I’ve known in my life, and she is more naive than me. I consider myself as quite naive.

Some people find her naivete a turn on, others are quite repulsed. Coincidently, it is those she tries to attract tend to be turned off by her naivete the most.

This may have great significance, and it can be changed without trying to alter one’s personality or basic self. It’s largely a matter of learning. Heck, reading The Straight Dope can dispel some degree of naivete.

Some details on what the areas of naivete are, along with some relevant examples, may help us gain some insight and perhaps develop some concrete suggestions for improving the situation.

Oh, and some of them find her arrogant, which I don’t think is true.

Arrogance can show up in body language, but, how would naivete show up with strangers, even before she opens her mouth?

I don`t really understand what you mean by naive. Could you give some examples? Particularly examples that either cause men to hate her or be turned on.

I’m still curious how she tries to attract men too. You said men in grad school never approached her. But in my experience most women don’t wait to be approached. They might not actually pursue men but normally women meet me pretty close to halfway.

If you could relate why they might perceive her as arrogant, that might be helpful.

YMMV, but I believe that making judgements on gold teeth is valid.

She’s just seem to be somewhat clueless on how the world works. A few weeks ago she was griping how smaller servings of ice cream are served at shops, without taking the economy into consideration. One guy was visibly annoyed at her comment.

Despite her moping about not being able to find any decent guys to date, she is very optimistic. She underestimates difficulty in tasks and time it takes to complete tasks. Outside of literal tasks, she just seem to underestimate challenges period. I think it has to do with her being naive about so many things, not being full of her self.

First of all, that’s not a good example of naivety. I don`t expect to be shafted on my ice cream portions whenever the economy tanks. I’ve never run an ice creamery, but I’ve also never run a business with the strategy to screw over my customer anytime the economy takes a downturn. If my ice cream ingredient prices were rising rapidly I might decrease portion size to stall the necessity of a price increase.

Second, if that’s all it takes to flat out hate someone in Kansas City, you both need to get the fuck out. Is it possible she said it in a way that was incredibly obnoxious? If I got shafted out of a full scoop of ice cream I would expect all my companions to be upset for me. Who gets visibly annoyed about something like that?

I can’t think of a more sympathetic image than a slim-waisted big-breasted latin chick who got less ice cream than she deserved.

No wait, if it was on an ice cream cone and the ice cream fell off into the dirt. That would be even more sympathetic.

Diamonds02, is there a chance that you look ghetto and people think your friend is ghetto by association?

Ok, lets try another example. At parties she asks why certain people aren’t drinking, while it is well known that certain people we know are pregnant, are on medication, are desginated drivers, or recovering alcoholics. She thinks they are just being party-poopers without even considering that there are other reasons why some people don’t drink.

Hell no! LOL

Oh, and I forgot this example. She likes to drink but only stuff like Mike’s Hard Lemonade, she doesn’t know that much about alcohol outside of that. She made a playful jab at one guy (who we didn’t know) that he was drinking water at a bar, she was trying to flirt with him, it turned out to be vodka and sprite on the rocks. He told me to “get that annoying girl away from him”.

It’s starting to sound like she’s just lacking in social grace, particularly as it relates to flirting. For one thing, based on your examples I’d describe her as ditzy, not naive. Do you think that’s fair?

Second, I have a hunch that she managed to deliver all 3 examples in a way that was irritating. Women do ditzy things ALL the time, but men usually ignore them because we like women. (Men probably do it too but I don`t usually listen to what men are saying) Unless everything you say is ditzy or you are unattractive, you really need to go the extra mile and find your own special way to be annoying. For example, if an attractive woman asked me why I was sipping water out of a cocktail glass, I’d offer her a sip of my martini.

So, I already said her race probably isn’t helping. And I still think the youthful appearance is a big drawback. But I think the girl just needs to get better at flirting with and attracting guys. Maybe she could generally improve her social interactions with people.

I think I’m getting a good picture of why she’s not attracting men–she’s obnoxious. I haven’t even met her, and I want to reach into the computer and slap the hell out of her. That’s not being naive, that’s being utterly, utterly lacking in social skills and never stopping to think about anyone besides herself. It’s not attractive.

I agree with this. In your examples with the drinking/parties, she’s coming off as both judgemental and annoying.

I’m a drinker, but if someone started pestering me about my choice of drink at a party, regardless of what it was, I’d be annoyed, and not inclined to flirt with the person who couldn’t come up with a better line than “accusing” me of drinking water. Nobody wants a date with the drink police.

You say she’s intelligent, and she may be, but she doesn’t sound smart when it comes to interacting with people.

Personally, it’s the face. Big lips, broad nose=ugly. Then there’s the color issue. The darker, the worse, for some reason. I like my girls Swedish-colored. Not like the fish, though.

I’m guessing your friend’s problem is either that she’s ugly or that her voice pierces ears like daggers. Maybe she talks too much. Or not enough. But I’m betting it’s the ugly part. You’re her friend and you’re rating her at a 7. That means she’s really a 4.

I’d agree, it sounds like she may have book smarts but is lacking in everyday wisdom. She may do well to try to develop a habit of resisting blurting out the first thought that comes to her. In the ice cream example, something like “Is it just me, or are these smaller scoops than last time?” would probably go over better than “What a ripoff! They’re serving smaller scoops!” In the party example, one would hope that a moment’s reflection would result in realizing that not everyone drinks alcohol. In the guy at the bar example, I don’t know - making a joke or playful jab could be a way to break the ice, but perhaps it was painfully unclever or the delivery gave the wrong impression. Coming on too forcefully with comments that aren’t well thought out can be offputting. If she can find a way to soften her approach it might help smooth things out.

As to her looks, like I said many posts ago, they may be a hindrance but they aren’t an insurmountable obstacle. Virtually all types of people - dark, light, stout, slim, tall, short, etc. - are appealing to some. In a given culture, some types are regarded as more attractive than others, but that doesn’t mean that everybody favors those types, just that more people do. Her appearance may well be a factor in meeting people, but it’s not the whole story.

Before even reading through this thread, my answer was “No.” Now it’s “Hell no.” Only someone who doesn’t know what the heck is going on would think it’s her race. “I’m awesome in every way, so surely it’s because I’m Hispanic!” Right. Hispanic and lame.

How do you guys think this trait may manifest in body language and appearance?

It would be weird if people are able to smell this on her before she even opens her mouth.