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> say that they would never date an asian guy

as an asian guy, let me just say that quite frankly, the solution to this is to 1. be attractive, and 2. don't be unattractive. lift weights, dress well, have cool hobbies, make money.

girls say a lot of things due to social pressure but when the chips are on the table you can't negotiate attraction. it's subconscious.




We detached this subthread from https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10454989 and marked it off-topic.


I don't agree with this mod decision. The detached post responds to a point in the parent comment and this thread is generally discussing a theme of the original post: Asian Americans being second class citizens.


The subthread veers on a generic broey dating-advice tangent that is clearly not on topic here.


I mean...the point is that even the 'subconscious' is socially trained. In an environment where every 'People's Sexiest Man Alive' is white 30 years running (fine, Denzel got a token shoutout), where your only Asians in movies are comic relief or simply straight up belittled, there is a very real Eurocentric training.

And what constitutes a cool hobby? If attraction is subconscious (or love at first sight?), what does it matter if I play semi-pro badminton vs semi-pro lacrosse?

There is much more at work than 'being attractive' when that standard of beauty's defined by forces way outside your control.


The harsh reality of our society is that as your earning capability increases as a male, your pool of potential partners increases dramatically.

I don't buy the whole (no pun intended) "get a hobby, start improving yourself" mantra either, because I know that the sexual marketplace is just as rational as any other.

Nothing makes you more attractive to a woman than the double which represents your bank account balance. There are of course external signifiers which communicate this information.[0]

Or, to use the vernacular:

"I ain't saying she a gold digger, but she ain't messing with no broke niggas"[1]

[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conspicuous_consumption

[1] http://genius.com/Kanye-west-gold-digger-lyrics


> Nothing makes you more attractive to a woman than the double which represents your bank account balance.

Not really on topic but it is a teachable moment; You should always use fixed point math to deal with currency. Floating point math is not consistently accurate and should never be used.


If banks often don't bother with it I don't see why anyone else should have to :-)


Nothing makes you more attractive to a woman than the double which represents your bank account balance.

Women tend to find high social status attractive, which is correlated with wealth and income but not the same thing. The broke musician who packs the club with hundreds of fans is going to do way better than the introverted software engineer with half a million in the bank.

I don't buy the whole (no pun intended) "get a hobby, start improving yourself" mantra either

Hobbies can help if it's something that the general public will respect you for. Woodworking good, Magic bad.


> Nothing makes you more attractive to a woman than the double which represents your bank account balance.

Based on knowing a few people in each category, i would say that that the average white american with a $100,000 net worth is going to have far more success with women than an asian american with a $10,000,000 net worth, assuming similar levels of fitness and social skills.

Once you go above a certain level, there just aren't that many avenues to 'show off' your wealth without looking gaudy. (At least not until you get to private jet/yacht territory) You might have a nice house, but how will the average women know that? You might have a closet full of tailored suits, but are you wearing that every day? You might drive a Tesla, but so do a lot of people in the valley. If you have an apple watch edition, you just look like a douchebag.

At best, women will look at the typical wealthy asian american as the 'stable' guy to settle down with, and not the guy to have a one night stand with, or explore their sexuality with.

My advice is for the asian american to focus on going to the gym, rather focusing on their bank account. And if they have already made money, use some of it on personal training and hiring of a nutritionist.


I think you need to meet more/different women. Yes, some are only interested in their partner's bank account (just like some guys are only interested in their partner's looks), but that is by far the exception, not the rule.


your average good-looking, muscular, broke-as-a-joke bartender is getting laid way, way, way more often than a rich guy who thinks women will like him for his money and who doesn't take care of his body.

you should ruminate on that.


>'People's Sexiest Man Alive' is white 30 years running

It sounds like an interesting study to see how the local tabloids pick their "sexiest" choices. Does Lativia's "People" equivalent proportionally reflect their population demographics over time? What about China? Nigeria? Brazil?


Take a hypothetical example: Four guys (white, brown, Asian, black) born and brought up in the same neighborhood, they have the same physical attributes (height, weight, relative looks).

Who do you think most girls are going to go for, assuming they do not know that they grew up in the same environment?

Exactly...


[flagged]


You can literally apply this same logic to any form of discrimination:

Paid less because of your gender? What good does complaining do? I suggest you work harder.

Injustly stripped of your property? What good does complaining do? I suggest you start a business.

Forced to sit in the back of the bus? What good does complaining do? I suggest you exercise more so you can walk longer.

Profiled by the police based on your skin color? What good does complaining do? I suggest you dress better.

Ostracised from society because you're gay? What good does complaining do? I suggest you hide it better.

Assaulted because of your religion? What good does complaining do? I suggest you learn to fight.

You should understand that behind every complaint is an implicit call for collective action, which is the only way to solve problems these types of problems. Dismissing these grievances, like you're doing here, has the affect of discouraging not only the person being discriminated against, but also other victims. Even if you aren't doing it consciously, your attitude smothers attempts at collective action maintains the status quo of discrimination.


I don't think anybody is complaining that aesthetic preferences are derived and shaped from pop culture.

Rather, it's important to understand what subconsciously influences people, so one might make sense of the seemingly counterintuitive results one has when it comes to the fairer sex.


As another Asian-American guy, I want to second this. Up until earlier this year, I felt paralyzed and victimized by American society. That is, I felt passively punished for not looking like Brad Pitt, Justin Beiber, or other American sex symbols. I had achieved enough financial success that I felt like the only major thing "missing" in my happiness was a relationship or healthy dating life. And I blamed external circumstances for that.

Then I realized, by analogy, that I was perpetuating my own situation. The biggest turnoff for me wanting to recommend a friend for employment was hearing him complain about how unfair the job market is, how worthless his university education was, and so on. In the decade since I've graduated from college, I've witnessed friends jump around across companies and careers and I've witnessed other friends stay put and complain. Complaining can be useful if it leads to action, but it's also a strange and unfortunate local minimum for many people.

To build off of beachstartup's point, it's worth considering your objective when you complain about something like social inequality. Is your complaint motivated by a desire to be happier and more fulfilled, or by a desire to see a fairer world? I can shamelessly say that I just want to be happier, so I'm going to try to play the game instead of trying to change it. For now.


the analogy you use is perfect. the person who complains about the job market is in a hole only he can dig himself out of. like most kinds of success, it's all about a mindset and a work ethic. the person who just complaints about shit is shrouded in such a mental fog it's literally impossible for them to be helped.

to further elaborate - "most" asian guys do much better in the work force than they do in the dating game - why? simple, they've spent their entire lives training to work, and NONE of their lives training how to be successful with women.

explaining this shit to people makes me feel like i'm describing breathing air to a fish. it's all very simple, yet people just get stuck in such a mental hall of mirrors.

it's like the sexual equivalent of being caught in poverty. it truly is a mindset, yet those stuck in it are absolutely convinced otherwise.


I agree, and that's what I tell myself and others who feel they are disadvantaged in the dating world (due to their skin color or not).

However I feel this is also a short-term and selfish way to go. There has to be a way to make the world a more equal place, even if you and I don't live to see it.




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