It’s unbelievable when I tell people I’m Dominican because
for a millisecond I see the surprise on their faces and I know why. I know it’s
because they have this stereotypical assumption of you once you say you're
Dominican... I already know what’s going on through their mind in that fraction
of a second; they’re assuming that I’m from Spanish Harlem, Washington Heights,
or the Bronx. The Bronx is personally true for me, but that’s not the major
problem here- the problem is the stereotypical look that they pair me up with,
and they’re surprised when I don’t fit
in with that look.
They are surprised that I don’t have straight hair that is
sleek to the touch. They are surprised that my outfit is not accompanied with
big fake gold hoops. They are surprised that I am not wearing Jordan's,
and when they realize that I probably don't have a collection of them,
they are baffled. They’re surprised when they realize I don’t have a son, or a
daughter, and I
don’t have baby daddy issues- “you’re only 16?” they say, “How are you not dealing with
this?” They think. They are surprised when I don’t talk in
slang, and they're surprised I don’t speak in “Spanish ghetto girl talk” –
whatever that is.
See, I know that
they're thinking this because I see the
evident shock in their eyes that gleam for about two seconds that they quickly
try to cover up. I see that little jaw drop that they will pick right back up
to make it seem as though they never had the expression in the first place.
After all this, they will end up just saying: “Oh, okay”, and in my head I have
the instinct to bite back and say: “What does that even mean?” but I don’t say
it. They already showed me more than what they could tell me and if I do ask
them, I really just want to hear someone else say the truth that I have been
telling myself every time this happens.
is very truth everybody think that the people who lives in the dominican parts of NY there have some stereotypes looks and talk bad, looks worse
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