Is it normal to feel so sexually unattractive because of my race?
Well, i'm a 21 year old black, female, college student. . . and I'm a virgin! I'm damn near 22 and haven't had so much as a first kiss. I know for a fact that, it stems from a lack of self respect for both myself, my body, and more sadly, my skin color. I mean men have approached me, and i've even been on the cusp of losing it, but I just can't take the leap because of inward obstacles. The worse part of the issue is that, since i've had no self respect for pretty much my entire teen/adult life, I have a warped, preconceived notion about men and the way they see me. Basically put, I've held on to an ideal of what I would like a relationship to be and Im afraid that when I do enter one (if fucking ever) my fears that i'm this unlovable, ugly, despicable, black girl, will be affirmed. A lot of my fear stems from my race. On the surface friends and family see this strong women but I know the truth and its painful to be alone with it. I'm an educated african american and because of the distinction, people put a lot of emphasis on my race, which singles me out and ultimately has created this self aware, self conscious individual. I have my reserves about black men because i've only been approached by the wrong kind and I can't seem to find a good one. I have reserves about white men because I have this idea that i'm not considered good enough in their perspective and/or have also been approached by the wrong kind. All men in between fall under either one of these two categories. By the wrong men, I don't mean working at burger king etc., I respect a man who gets his ass up and goes to work even if it is flipping burgers. I mean, get with me for the wrong reasons (mainly their looking for a mommy to support them) A man's race isn't and issue as long as he's good to me. Now the older I get, the more embarrassed I am of running from a relationship. I guess i'm mostly afraid of not being good enough, or ending up with someone, I dare say, who's not good enough for me, because I lack the confidence to tell the difference. It's at the point where i'm seeking perspective from complete strangers, so. . . it's pretty bad.