Hierarchical systems exist in many places on this planet. One of the most popular hierarchical systems is that the world is located on the island, Hispaniola. The hierarchy on the island places Haitians at the bottom due to their self-proclaimed African heritage, while Dominicans are placed higher due to their opposition to speaking out against the vast injustice happening on the other side of the Massacre River. Although it is known that ninety percent of Dominicans have African ancestry, the corrupt system persists. In the story "How to Date a Browngirl, Blackgirl, Whitegirl, or Halfie" by Junot Diaz, Diaz writes about the complexities of race and how they affect the ability of Yunior, the main character, to use patriarchal views to cover up his enormous insecurities about his life. Heritage, economic class, and race. These three factors, along with society, prevent Yunior from approaching the young women in the story. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Cultural heritage is a very important part of American society. Yunior talks about being Dominican and tries to erase that part of himself in particular in this sentence "hide your photos with an afro cut and delete all the embarrassing photos of your family". Yunior is disguising his true identity and attempting to become acceptable to society. He is abandoning his Dominican heritage and pretending to be someone he is not for the sake of being accepted. Yunior also analyzes what he should expect from the girl depending on her race or social class. For example, he says, "a local girl may have hips and a big ass but she won't be ready to let you touch her." By making these generalizations, he directly feeds into the culture that society is harming him. Socioeconomic status also plays an important part in Yunior's life. She says her family receives “government cheese,” which is a processed cheese provided to families receiving welfare. She attempts to hide that her family is poverty stricken, as well as providing a step by step guide on where to hide the cheese depending on where the girl lives. “Remove the government cheese from the refrigerator. If the girl comes from the Terrace, put the boxes in the dresser. If he comes from Park or Society Hill, then hide the cheese in the cabinet above the oven, where he will never see it.” This is closely related to how African American individuals tend to buy things like gold chains, Air Jordans, and various other luxuries to hide the fact that generational wealth does not exist in their community. Please note: this is just an example. Get a custom paper now from our expert writers. Get a Custom Essay In conclusion, “How to Date a Browngirl” addresses how one can use society to cover up their insecurities from wealth to economic class. Yunior faces endless turmoil with his identity and uses a patriarchal outlook to vent his frustration on society.