I am 23 and a single mother. I am also African American. Everyone new I meet assumes that I am on welfare or that my mother is raising my baby while I run the streets looking for a man. But really I am in graduate school and work part-time as a research assistant. This is especially a problem with men.

I don't meet many African-American men my age at school or work, so I mostly don't date. One white guy asked me out, but then he backed out when he learned I had a child.

What is going on? I am attractive (5'7", athletic build,good teeth, Halle Berry haircut), intelligent (BS in Chemistry, working on an MS), and fun-loving (I love extreme sports, comedy clubs, dancing, anything you name). I have my own car and apartment. Between my scholarship, job, and support from my daughter's dad, I don't need money from a new boyfriend.

Why don't men want to date me?