Hello all! To all our fans out there it’s time 
for another brilliantbrown.com update! Excited? I can tell by the numerous comments we receive in response to our articles (…right). Come on folks, two brothers trying to do something constructive and we can’t get any support? I told all my “friends” about the site, that they should check it out, we just gettin started, blah blah and guess what? Nothing. Everybody has a internet connection and a little time, break away from myspace for a minute and show some damn love! I swear black people won’t support anything not involving Flava Flav, the “chicken noodle soup”, and hair products. I’m moving to Canada. Anyways, had to vent for a second, sorry to all 4 of the people who check this site daily.
Today I will be touching on the topic of dimes and the female rating system. Many women that I interact with have always been intrigued by this topic. They want to know, “what is a dime?”, “am I a dime?” and so on. Also, it’s hard to have a consistent scale because a dime female to one guy may be a “7″ to the next dude. Don’t worry, we will clear this up once and for all right here. I am willing to accept the criticism that I will recieve in order to properly set the topic to rest.
The first thing that you need to understand about how dudes rate women is to know what qualities most guys cherish in a female. By knowing what these qualities are, you may then be able to see what qualities takes precedence in guys minds when we evaluate a female and consider her a dime or not.
Generally speaking, most guys value a female’s physical looks over such things as attitude, ability to make us laugh, etc. I know this is common knowledge, so I’m oversaturating a bit, but the point is well worth noting.
Attractive females have the ability to sustain a guy’s attention alot longer based solely on her physical attributes than other women who are not very good looking. If there are character flaws, guys will eventually notice, but it takes a us a little longer to let those things affect the relationship. I mean think about it, most guys have operated on a bell curve in terms of dating. We have dated some very attractive women, some mud ducks, but most women fall somewhere on the mildly attractive to attractive scale. Females, on the other hand, are able to look past a guy’s physical limitations as long as he portrays certain qualities such as drive, leadership, sense of humor, etc. It also helps if the guy can lay it down in the bedroom, but even that gets old after awhile for most females if he’s not bring anything else to the table.
Continuing on, since physical attractiveness is highest on the female totem pole of qualities for most guys, we may now define the term “dime”. Simply put, a dime is a female who is at the peak of physical attractiveness AND to a lesser degree has herself together on a mental/physical level.
Like I said, most guys will tolerate a fine woman for awhile, but if she turns out to be as crazy as coochie hair, then we will eventually come to our senses and head for the hills. Why do you think Halle Berry has had so much trouble with men? She’s beautiful, successful, and rich. What’s left? From a spiritual standpoint I don’t know so I won’t make any assumptions, but her ex-husbands all have been quoted stating that she is mentally “unstable”. Translation, “that b*tch is nuts!” With that being said, a dime is a woman that has her stuff trump tight all around.
Also, it is important to note that the label “dime” is not a debatable term. If a female is a dime, then she is at the top of the food chain, she is universally desirable no matter where she is located. That’s the whole point of the term “dime”. If two people have to argue on whether or not a female is a dime, then she’s probably not.
Females cannot fluctuate in and out of dime status, that taints the whole theory of the terminology. That’s like someone debating on whether or not Michael Jordan is a great player, he just is, there is no relevant counter-argument to deny that point, it’s a statement based on truth by means of consistent proof provided by his exceptional play. In this case of a dime female, she is consistently looking good and on top of her game, there is no proof otherwise. If there were, then she would not be a dime.
Now that we have correctly defined what dime is, we can filter down to the levels below dime status. Now as silly as this may seem, many guys speak in this coded language. How many times have you heard a guy refer to a female as an “8″ or the infamous “strong 7″? We will cover all that in the following paragraph or two.
The female point system for a guy is not that much different from the way females filter out certain guys. I’ve heard some females refer to lackluster guys as “scrubs” while other more desirable guys are considered to be “ballers”. So our references are not that far-fetched, although I do agree that we put a hell of alot more effort into it.
The female point system for guys are based on fitting a female in between two opposing extremes, a dime or perfect “10″ and a hoodrat/mud duck/Seabiscuit or “1″. Now, based on evaluating women purely on physical attractiveness, it is relatively easy to understand the system. However, on this level, females attain points for bringing tangibles to the table as well. For example, say I have a female that is a “7″ based purely on physical attractiveness. Now if this woman is highly intelligent, has her own business, things of the sort, she upgrades to “strong 7″ or even possibly “8″ if she is holding me down too.
Also, some dudes make concessions for a particular physical attribute that is so desirable that it jades their normal decision making. Take for example, Buffy the Body, not really a cute girl, as far as looks go, I would personally say she’s about a “6″ or so. But since her butt is so enormous and her waist is small, she is highly in demand. I have even heard some dudes refer to her as being a dime. So if a female has large breasts, butt, or both combined with a small waistline, she will usually get upgraded a few points even if she looks like Daffy Duck in the face.
The important thing about the the levels in between the two extremes is the fact that any female has the potential to upgrade/downgrade herself anywhere on the scale. If you take an cute chubby girl, put away her Fritos and throw her on a treadmill, BAM! she suddenly went from a “3″ to a “7″. Take an extremely attractive female with a bad attitude and no drive, give her a book ( a real book, not Cosmopolitan magazine), teach her how to deal with people and BAM! upgrade from “8″ to “9″. On the opposite end of the spectrum, take a female that has her stuff together, attractive and successful, hand her a crackpipe and insert crappy/abusive dude in her life and BAM! instant “2″ (Whitney Houston, anyone?).
So there you have it, a little wordy but I wanted to give everyone a rundown and address the most recent conversations that I have been having. Feel free to agree/criticize whatever floats your boat, as long you come to this site! To post comments click on “comment” link below this column and fire at me. Coming next: Definition of “Regal Nigga”.
Yo’ big ups to the fam! I am proud of ya’ for doing the damn thing…I’m still perusing the pages so I still don’t have any critical commentary but I’ll hit you up…deuces…
I hesistate to comment, since it’ll be assumed that I am a ‘mud duck’,but I digress…
Is it too much to ask for men who are like, “Jacquie? She’s smart and attractive, and an all-around great person.” instead of “Jacquie? She’s a 1/5/dime.”? I look forward to the day when quality men are more interested in my thoughts on Darfur than in the size/shape of my body parts.
Hey Jacquie,
I did say that a “dime” is a female who has ALL of her stuff together; looks, personality, intelligence, etc. So by definition you have dime potential. You have the intelligence and personality, and you are a very attractive female, just gotta stay on that treadmill and keep doing the crunches! Align your physical and mental, value your entire self, don’t let one have to compensate for the other. So, congratulations! Grand prize is a date with me!
Grand prize is a date with you? Lucky me!! What’s second prize?
…imma let that one slide
Your’e such a shallow jerk!! Just kidding… You took 20 minutes to say that a dime is someone who has a nice body and a nice attitude to go with it…. Well look no further
Hey Aaron,
What’s good? My friend, Jacquie, referred me to your blog and so I just stopped through to check it out. I enjoy your writing style and was amused by your definition of the elusive “dime” for whom men perpetually search.
I’m running the risk of sounding like your hoodrat/mud duck/Seabiscuit prototype, but so be it. Honestly, I was a bit confused and disturbed by your response to Jacquie’s comment. She said that she was looking forward to the day when she would not be rated on a scale – and then you responded by telling her how she could improve her rating???
Now, as a man – albeit a clearly intelligent one – I am willing to bet that you don’t know what damage it can do to a woman’s self-image to be critiqued in this way, how words like this can send women (who already have a million daily messages telling them that they need to be slimmer, younger, etc.) spiraling into eating disorders, distorted body images, and at the very least, hurt feelings. I can tell – as I’m sure Jacquie can – that you meant no harm, but still, it’s important for you to realize the weight your words can carry. It’s amazing to me how fragile the male ego is (don’t get me started on male sensitivity about penis size!), yet with what ease and sense of entitlement a man can openly express his judgment of a female’s body to her.
You were right when you said that women are more willing to look beyond looks to a man’s other qualities. Here’s another observation: We’d all love to be considered as the apex of attractiveness, no doubt. Nevertheless, most of the women that I know would rather be with a man who loves her and accepts her as she is, with whom she can relax and let down her hair, than to be worshipped as a dimepiece but have to walk a tightrope act in order to maintain goddess status. Just a thought.
I really enjoyed the blog. Keep ‘em coming!
INTERESTING STORY…well since you all are stirring things up regarding females, i would love to read what you have to say about the males….HERE COMES THE SPELMAN INFLUENCE…ya’ll (overall) need some work too. over the years, we as women have put up with the crap that you all dish out– yet we are resilient enough to bounce back, build a bridge, and get over it. you always say that you want a “dime” but ya’ll come to us as nickels…..drop some knowledge on these men (if you’re qualified or if you dare) about how they should approach us and how to get themselves together so they can get a dime!!
I shall lace the board with an article talking about the fellas too, thanks for the feedback.
Yo.. this issue has turned into a forum of the sexes! So let me chime in with my 2 cents…
I agree with alot of what sarabara says and do think that no one should be rated over just one part of their being. The whole self-esteem thing… well there a reason why its called self-image.. Its how you feel about yourself and some silly rating system shouldn’t effect that. Come on.. I’m assuming we’re all adults here.
But the whole dimepiece issue is just about how WE guys quickly discuss what type of women we met, dating, saw, etc. Period, in know way do I and any man of intelligence think this is okay to tell a female. Again, no one (with a brain) goes up to a girl and tell her she’s a “strong 7″ or any other number including a 10. Its just a way guys quickly explain what type of women we met. Example:
Guy: Ah man.. sorry I missed the (insert male-bonding event here) met this girl at the mall, ended up hanging out and seeing ah movie..
Friend: Its cool.. what she look like dog?.. Guy: Dark skin, slim.. about an 8. Friend: Bet..
Alot of us have had this conversation millions of times. This guy’s friend now has a good idea of what type of woman his friend just met. Not only physically, but as AJ clearly put, the system is not based on just looks, but if you’ve got yourself together mind, body and soul.
Respectively..
Truth be told, I’d fully expect the same treatment… Like I’ve said before, there’s nothing wrong with taking a realistic look at yourself. Otherwise, how would one know where to improve.
For example, I’d been overweight for a good chunk of my life. While it was important that I kept my self esteem up, it wouldn’t have been prudent for me to delude myself into thinking that I was some kinda “Dime Dude”. Rather, It’s more important that I recognized my shortcomings and stepped up to the plate to loose the weight.
The problem is that some females get so caught up in the whole “accept me for me” spiel that they delude themselves and thusly never do anything to better themselves.
Like I said before, be honest with yourself. Form an accurate self-image and you won’t have anything to worry about.
I think everyone is entitled to their own opinions. The terminology “dime” really plays no part in my life whatsoever so it doesn’t really matter who considers me a dime or who does not. It shouldn’t really play a part in other women’s lives either. I know that I’m attractive, educated, and am doing very well to have just turned 27. I may not have the ghetto booty but that does not define who I am. I know that I have a lot more to bring to the table and when a respectable man recognizes that, that is what matters. Not what a few shallow men feel to be a dime or not. No one is perfect and many men are not dimes themselves, so who are they to feel that they need a dime? If a man is looking like he got hit with a bag of hot nickels or is living in his momma’s basement but is steady hollering he is looking for a dime, give me a break! You should only expect what you can give.