This week, as I was mindlessly scrolling through Facebook, I stumbled upon an article from some random site called WittyFeed titled, “15 Reasons Why You Should Not Date An American Girl.” That’s right, should not. There’s a lot wrong with this article solely from the introductory paragraph. First, the author states that they will list 17 reasons, yet only include 15. Someone forgot to send it to their managing editor. Also, I’m sorry, but if you deem it necessary to include the disclaimer, “This is not to hurt feelings, so take this article lightly and in a humorous way,” then you’re setting yourself up to be disputed.
But I digress.
As an American girl, I was personally offended because I know what we’re capable of and how unique and special each of us are, which is not what this article said whatsoever. Here are my 15 reasons as to why American girls are awesome, beautiful, and totally dateable.1. We don't all solely trust Cosmo when it comes to dating advice.
Personally, I’ve never even flipped through an issue of Cosmo, but if you trust their dating advice and it works for you, who am I to judge? Just know that, especially in today’s day and age, there’s plenty of other outlets in which to find advice and I guarantee every American girl turns to somewhere different.2. We can totally dance "properly."
What even is “dancing properly?” That’s not even what dancing is about anyway. Dancing is about expressing yourself, loosening up, and having fun. If there’s a proper way to having fun, then I’m apparently unaware.3. We don’t all worship rich and famous, badly-behaved women.
I can think of a million things I’d rather be doing that watching reality shows like Keeping Up with the Kardashians. Sure, I admire some women who have made it big in their select industries, but there are others that I’d rather not follow in their footsteps. Nevertheless, even if you like reality TV or certain stars, that doesn’t mean that you necessarily worship them or that they’re even bad people. Besides, aren’t we as women supposed to build each other up, not tear one another down?4. We actually care about the environment.
While I highly doubt that every girl in America recycles every plastic water bottle she drinks dry or transforms her food scraps into compost, I do know that some of us care about making the world a better place. The smallest things, like carrying a reusable shopping bag or taking a reusable coffee cup instead of a paper one, make a difference, and plenty of us do just that. How’s that for caring?
5. We are not all addicted to tanning.
I personally like lounging on the beach or by the pool so I can rid my skin of its winter shade of “Pale, pale, with a touch of pale.” Enjoying the sun or even paying a visit to the tanning bed every once in awhile does not classify you as an addict. Besides, if that’s what makes a girl undateable, then you, my friend, have other problems to worry about.
6. We sure do care about foreign languages.
I’m a Spanish major, for crying out loud! When American girls themselves speak a language other than English (it’s not America’s official language, you know), of course they care about it. If they have a friend that speaks another language or are studying it at school, they care about other languages then too. English isn’t the answer to everything.
7. We actually deal with real problems.
Sometimes our biggest problem of the day is that we broke a nail or can’t find our favorite shirt. However, not all of our problems are “mundane,” as the article states rather bluntly. We deal with breakups, friendship troubles, school, problems at work, keeping secrets and dealing with lies. It’s not easy being an American girl, or a girl in general honestly. You see, this thing called life happens, and at times life is rough, for all of us.8. We love (and hate) our bodies.
What girl doesn’t? It’s part of puberty to go through a period of being uncomfortable in your body. It’s a part of life to be in love with your looks one day and want to hide under a paper bag the next. Sure, it’s not fun and downright depressing at times, but American women are strong and can handle both the good and bad days.
9. We don’t all prefer to get drunk on the first date.
Some of us don’t drink at all. Some like one drink with dinner. Some drink more than others. We’re all different with different habits.
10. We’re not all loud and irritating.
Yes, sometimes we’ll go a little overboard and laugh too hard or too much at a joke that wasn’t all that funny to begin with, but it happens. Yes, sometimes you’ll be really sick of us and just want some space. That’s not just an American girl thing. That’s a worldwide girl thing. It’s called being human.
11. We do not all date multiple guys.
Not all of us are as indecisive as Bella Swan. Everyone dates differently, but personally, when I’m dating someone, it’s them and them only. When you find the right one of us, we’ll never let you go.
12. We sure do dress classy.
Dressing classy does not mean you can’t wear spaghetti straps or ever bare your midriff in public. This simply means knowing when it’s appropriate to wear those things and when you shouldn’t. We’re not talking Elizabethan-era gowns here.
13. We act quite mature at times, thank you very much.
We talk about real issues, we handle life when it’s thrown at us, we take normal pictures when in a public setting...
...okay, so sometimes we’re not, but is anyone really? No. That’s what being real is about, and that's what makes dating us fun.
14. We are genuine, authentic, and original.
The only thing all American girls have in common is that we’re classified as American girls and are, in fact, girls. Besides that, we’re like snowflakes, or fingerprints, or patterned pants from the discount store. No two of us are alike. We enjoy reading different books, listening to different genres of music, and doing different things to pass the time. Yes, at times we can be a little crazy (or a little too much), but just because you date one of us doesn’t mean you’ve dated us all. You’ll be surprised each and every time.
15. We’ll actually like you for you, not your looks or your wallet.
Because American girls have hearts. End of story.
To the author who wrote the original article, I hate to break it to you, but you've never met an American girl. If you had, you'd realize that American girls are worth and are so much more than your stereotypes can ever say.
To the American girls he/she offended, like myself, don't be dismayed. You're unique, individual, and totally dateable.