Written by Nicole J.

A common rebuttal to the dearth of American “Good Black Men” is to just get one from other black majority nations in the Caribbean or Africa. So, with that in mind, I wanted to delve a little deeper, using a real country as an example.

For this case study, I chose Jamaica: it is the third most populous English speaking country in the Americas (after the US and Canada), and the nation of nearly 2.8million people is sometimes suggested as an option to get a black man in these discussions. I also feel like Jamaica is the most popular majority black Caribbean nation, followed by Haiti. Jamaica is a pretty short plane ride away from most states and there is a large number of Jamaicans already living in America, particularly in New York and South Florida. Among the diaspora, Jamaicans have some of the best food (in my opinion), have blessed the world with reggae, Jamaican patois has influenced language and pop culture the world over, and has produced some of the fastest people to run in the Olympics. Why not try a Jamaican man then?

Family

Well, Jamaica is not without its problems. Did you know that the Jamaican out of wedlock birth rate is even worse than the American one, at a whopping 86%? Is that an attitude towards marriage and children you really want to adopt, just to claim your melanated man? Furthermore, rumor has it Jamaican men also have a reputation for being serial, lifelong cheaters, to the point where stepping out and side families are par for the course, and monogamy is the stuff of fairy tales. Colorism is also pretty common, with skin bleaching being practiced in large numbers, and preferential treatment being given to lighter skinned and nonblack women. There is also a big sex tourism industry, so you’d have to be extra super cautious to not end up as a mark, being American. So on the family front, it might be even harder to find a marriage minded Jamaican man than if you continued your search locally.

Financials

What about earning potential? Like many developing countries, the average salary in Jamaica is pretty low. According to this site (which looks rather outdated, so please take the figures with a grain of salt), the average monthly salary is just under $143,000 Jamaican Dollars, which, according to the exchange rate at time of writing, works out to around $1085 US Dollars, hence the stereotype of Jamaicans having three or more jobs. That’s just above the American poverty line, which is not ideal for things like starting a family and little luxuries like vacations and fancy date nights out.

F#$%ing

Other issues brought up when it comes to Jamaican men include lying (more than the typical amount), really aggressive sex (look up ‘daggering’ on YouTube for a sample of what a romp between the sheets could look like, if you like that, then have at it, but it’s not my thing personally), and hiding their true sexuality due to the rampant stigma of homosexuality that affects men both in and out of Jamrock.

Conclusion

Many of these statistics could be extrapolated to other Caribbean nations. After all, there is a reason that so many people the world over risk it all to find a better life in America, Canada or the UK, being downright cutthroat when it comes to doing whatever it takes to get a green card, even if it means deceiving women into believing they are the one true love for all time.

There is an ever-shrinking population of marriage minded, eligible black men for the number of marriage minded black women in America. If you have eliminated dating nonblack men from your dating pool, that’s fine too, but bear in mind navigating your options on an international dating market of black men may not yield as desirable results as you’d like.

Do you have experience dating international black men? Share your experience in the comments below!

Disclaimer: This blog was written by me, Nicole, and my ideas are not necessarily reflective of Christelyn Karazin or other writers on this platform.