

Dear Jane,
I am a man of color and I have a bit of a problem approaching women. Perhaps a female perspective outside of my circle would be most beneficial.
I suppose I should tell you a little about myself. I’m 29, an engineering tech and I’ve never had a girlfriend, ever, in my life. I keep waiting for my “moment” like it’s a RomCom video or something, but I know I have to make the moment myself. The problem is that I have a bit of approach anxiety.
I know catcalling is wrong, I’ve actually been on the receiving end of it, and it didn’t feel good at all.
I also don’t have a problem being rejected; it’s hard for us guys to be vulnerable, and I feel embarrassed, but I never wanted to hurt anyone because of it.
Every time I think about approaching a woman I’m interested in, I see myself turning into my father, or rather, the chest-thumping neanderthal he tried to turn me into. I’ve read a lot of articles and listened to a lot of feminists talk about toxic masculinity, and let me tell you, it all applies to him.
He has called my mother and my brother (not me, ‘cause I’m not giving him my number) in the middle of the night to have a temper tantrum. But I’m the soft, emotional one.
He once pulled me out of his truck and threw me on the ground because I jokingly said I could take him in a fight when I was a teenager. (It doesn’t matter what I said, I was a child, you don’t do that to a child.)
He’s made fun of my weight, told me to lift weights, and offered me cigarettes when I would do yard work with him.
He wanted me to fill out a job application for him, I told him no, and said I didn’t want to have a relationship with him anymore, he then hung up, called back, and said that I had to have a relationship with him because he was “paying for me” i.e. back child support.
He has repeatedly questioned my sexuality because I don’t chase after every woman I see. He went out of his way to make me feel inferior because I wasn’t an athlete or work in manual labor.
My dad is pretty much a short black Donald Trump without the money.
This is the man I’m afraid I will become, the man whose influence I have to fight everyday. I’ve been in therapy for a while, I plan on going back, but I feel like approaching women is the last hill I have to climb. So, for a while, I resigned myself to being alone, but I really want to try dating.
I know that this a lot to process, so if you don’t have anything for me, I understand.
Sincerely,
Veteran of the Psychic Wars (oh please, don’t let these shakes go on.)
I love you. You are the man of my dreams. Just keep being yourself and get out into the world in whatever way you can so that more women will get the chance to know such a wonderful person.
Many, many people have this same sort of anxiety about approaching women (though often not for such thoughtful reasons as yours). Have you tried internet dating? You seem like the exact right guy for Bumble, the dating app. It’s incredibly popular so forgive me for explaining something that you probably already know, but this is the dating app where women approach you, not the other way around. Perfect for hesitant dudes such as yourself. If you’re in an area where that app doesn’t really work, you could set up an OkCupid account and if I were you, I’d put all of the personality you shared here into your profile.