2008 Woodie Awards
Confessions of Mexican dating
Dating etiquette still not forgotten
By: Eliana Granados
Issue date: 5/14/08 Section: Opinion
Our society is surrounded by many different ethnicities. I have always associated with mostly Mexicans and Caucasians in school as well as my job. I've always known that our backgrounds are very different.
Throughout elementary school, a white girl was my best friend. She was allowed to come over my house, but I wasn't allowed to go over to hers because she was of a different ethnicity and my parents did not feel comfortable letting me go over a stranger's home whom they didn't know.
I wasn't allowed to join Girl Scouts or Brownies because, again, my parents did not feel comfortable having me attend events with strangers with whom they couldn't communicate (my parents only speak Spanish).
Along came middle school and girls my age began dating and going to school dances. Again, I was told that I was not allowed to date because I was still too young. I was too young to wear heels, too young to wear make up, too young to pluck my eyebrows, and too young to wear clothes that were "in style."
I was then introduced to my Mexican culture's rules of dating. While many acquaintances of mine went after school to get pizza with a boy or had endless conversations with them at night, I was not allowed to talk to boys on the phone until I had my quinceanera because only then was I introduced by my parents to society as a young lady.
I was allowed to talk to boys on the phone once I turned 15, but I was not allowed to go on a date with them alone nor were they allowed to come over my house. A respectful boy would come and see me outside of my house, on the front porch to talk to me, while my parents occasionally spied through the window ( or would flicker the lights on and off, telling me that it was time I go back inside.)
I was allowed to go on dates with boys, but only if I had a chaperone come along with me, for example my brother. I must also note that those dates were to be local and by local I mean my hometown of Newman, not Modesto or Turlock.
Throughout elementary school, a white girl was my best friend. She was allowed to come over my house, but I wasn't allowed to go over to hers because she was of a different ethnicity and my parents did not feel comfortable letting me go over a stranger's home whom they didn't know.
I wasn't allowed to join Girl Scouts or Brownies because, again, my parents did not feel comfortable having me attend events with strangers with whom they couldn't communicate (my parents only speak Spanish).
Along came middle school and girls my age began dating and going to school dances. Again, I was told that I was not allowed to date because I was still too young. I was too young to wear heels, too young to wear make up, too young to pluck my eyebrows, and too young to wear clothes that were "in style."
I was then introduced to my Mexican culture's rules of dating. While many acquaintances of mine went after school to get pizza with a boy or had endless conversations with them at night, I was not allowed to talk to boys on the phone until I had my quinceanera because only then was I introduced by my parents to society as a young lady.
I was allowed to talk to boys on the phone once I turned 15, but I was not allowed to go on a date with them alone nor were they allowed to come over my house. A respectful boy would come and see me outside of my house, on the front porch to talk to me, while my parents occasionally spied through the window ( or would flicker the lights on and off, telling me that it was time I go back inside.)
I was allowed to go on dates with boys, but only if I had a chaperone come along with me, for example my brother. I must also note that those dates were to be local and by local I mean my hometown of Newman, not Modesto or Turlock.
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