Man signs up his girlfriend for an etiquette class before meeting his parents, sparking debate

Relationships are a journey of small learning moments, but there is a fine line between offering support and insulting someone's very essence. This delicate balance becomes evident in the Reddit post by a since-deleted account. The man on the platform questioned his actions when he signed his girlfriend up for a social etiquette class before introducing her to his family. 

"Girlfriend and I have been together for a little under 3 months and we agreed it's time for her to meet my family," the boyfriend started his post. He was thrilled about her meeting his family, but there was a little problem. He came from a privileged background, while she did not grow up with the same silver spoon. "She's a beautiful, interesting person despite all of the hardships she faced," he explained. But that's not where this ends. "The only problem is that she lacks the manners that my family typically expects from someone I'm in a relationship with. (My girlfriend is the first less-fortunate woman I'm dating). For that reason, I made the effort to prepare her for her first dinner with my family," the boyfriend shared.

Instead of having an open conversation about these concerns or simply letting her be herself, he takes what he thinks is a proactive step. "I got her signed up for an online social etiquette course and thought this was a good idea," he added. He believed he was helping her navigate the complicated world of formal dinners and high-society chatter, but when he shared this plan with her, "she was absolutely furious."

She accused him of being "obviously embarrassed" by her and told him he might as well "marry a rich girl." She added fuel to the fire by calling him "just another white, privileged guy" and even threw in the claim that his actions were "racially insensitive." What was supposed to be a kind gesture, in his mind, at least quickly turned into a disaster. He turned to Reddit to ask whether he was wrong in this.

People in the comments were not happy with his approach. "Your girlfriend already explained why. You are embarrassed by her. Otherwise, you wouldn't give two flying f***s at what your family thought of your girlfriend's manners. If you seriously don't see the unpleasant racial tones of you, a white, wealthy guy, making your non-white girlfriend take freaking etiquette classes to pass muster with your snobby, judgmental rich white family, you really should not be with a woman of color," wrote u/Tasty_Research_1869. "Just the way he talks about his girlfriend in the post shows how he feels. She's beautiful and interesting despite how she grew up. She's the first less fortunate person he's ever dated. Reading this just made me feel for her," added u/DryLengthiness5574.

"You've basically just told her she's embarrassing. If you're concerned about the way your family will react to her, maybe she shouldn't meet them. It may be a better idea to talk to your family and tell them they need to get ready for a dose of reality because an actual person is about to enter their ivory tower," said u/Hemenucha. "Damn! You referred to your girl as less fortunate, that's crazy! Is dating someone 'less fortunate' on your bucket list? It seems to me that you don't even like her for real. You should probably hold off on introducing her to your family because, at this point, it seems more like show and tell. You want to show your parents how you were able to tame a 'less fortunate.'" prompted u/Free-Geologist-8344.