Are Farang Wives The New Middle-so?

[garro]

I don't think my Thai wife thinks much about it either way. She doesn't own a dress or even a tube of lipstick. She's just a farm girl and if you saw her in her farming clothes you wouldn't know if she were a man or a woman. Her hat has a shoulder length piece that covers her neck and ties under her nose. My few long sleeve, long tailed shirts have been appropriated. My feet would rot off if I wore rubber boots and no socks like she does.

Now I've started fanticizing about your wife. The picture you describe maked her sound really hot!

[Gary A]

I don't think my Thai wife thinks much about it either way. She doesn't own a dress or even a tube of lipstick. She's just a farm girl and if you saw her in her farming clothes you wouldn't know if she were a man or a woman. Her hat has a shoulder length piece that covers her neck and ties under her nose. My few long sleeve, long tailed shirts have been appropriated. My feet would rot off if I wore rubber boots and no socks like she does.

Now I've started fanticizing about your wife. The picture you describe maked her sound really hot!

She's almost 5 foot tall and still weighs the same one hundred pounds that she weighed when I first met her. A few months ago a farang friend of mine and a Thai friend of hers were married. My wife was the maid of honor. She wore a long fancy Thai dress and the beauty shop had gobbed on a LOT of makeup. She looked like a little Chinese doll. She was VERY happy when it was over with. She couldn't wait to wash off the makeup and get back in the jeans that she fills out VERY well. She also looks better without the makeup.

[eek]

No farangs I know buy clothes at Tesco. They dont carry farang sizes nor do local markets

erm..what? I dont mean to be blunt, but you must know some very big farangs! I think Tesco stocks some pretty big sizes. I rarely go there but when i do i gen buy some of their cheap items like T-shirts or shorts. I even find there L size can be a bit large. Ive also seen farangs (male and female) shop quite happily in the clothes section of Tescos.

Maybe its just your local tesco?

But anyway..off-topic, sorry!

[Jim Abbott]

No farangs I know buy clothes at Tesco. They dont carry farang sizes nor do local markets

erm..what? I dont mean to be blunt, but you must know some very big farangs! I think Tesco stocks some pretty big sizes. I rarely go there but when i do i gen buy some of their cheap items like T-shirts or shorts. I even find there L size can be a bit large. Ive also seen farangs (male and female) shop quite happily in the clothes section of Tescos.

Maybe its just your local tesco?

But anyway..off-topic, sorry!

Actually for clothes I was thinking more of Big C but those big stores seem to carry similar stuff. I do know that Tesco has zero in the way of footware US size 11 and up. I'm 6' 2" 200 and I have zero luck finding anything big enough at those stores

[sbk]

No farangs I know buy clothes at Tesco. They dont carry farang sizes nor do local markets

erm..what? I dont mean to be blunt, but you must know some very big farangs! I think Tesco stocks some pretty big sizes. I rarely go there but when i do i gen buy some of their cheap items like T-shirts or shorts. I even find there L size can be a bit large. Ive also seen farangs (male and female) shop quite happily in the clothes section of Tescos.

Maybe its just your local tesco?

But anyway..off-topic, sorry!

Actually for clothes I was thinking more of Big C but those big stores seem to carry similar stuff. I do know that Tesco has zero in the way of footware US size 11 and up. I'm 6' 2" 200 and I have zero luck finding anything big enough at those stores

Boy, I'll bet you do! I've always felt sorry for the really big guys in Asia, clothes don't fit, hitting your head on the door frame, seats too small. Makes me glad to be short

As for the OP, I thought the same as you Jim, that it was about Thai wives of farang men. Guess we were wrong

[garro]

No farangs I know buy clothes at Tesco. They dont carry farang sizes nor do local markets

erm..what? I dont mean to be blunt, but you must know some very big farangs! I think Tesco stocks some pretty big sizes. I rarely go there but when i do i gen buy some of their cheap items like T-shirts or shorts. I even find there L size can be a bit large. Ive also seen farangs (male and female) shop quite happily in the clothes section of Tescos.

Maybe its just your local tesco?

But anyway..off-topic, sorry!

Actually for clothes I was thinking more of Big C but those big stores seem to carry similar stuff. I do know that Tesco has zero in the way of footware US size 11 and up. I'm 6' 2" 200 and I have zero luck finding anything big enough at those stores

So your avatar isn't a recent picture of you then?

[Heng]

The wife would be in whatever class she'd be in before she got married. Some may THINK or try to look like they're in a higher class after marrying a foreigner (and sporting the token goods) but most can see through it in Thailand.

Probably the most accurate summary so far.

You don't really change classes just because you increase your wealth. You might go to different functions and own different material things, but you're still the same person you were when you were born... and yes, it's not too difficult for others to see. Of course, those who have less wealth than you will give you all kinds of new 'so' labels (sometimes it's the media as well if you're in those circles), but it's best not to get caught up in the hype because that's all it is.

[Jim Abbott]

No farangs I know buy clothes at Tesco. They dont carry farang sizes nor do local markets

erm..what? I dont mean to be blunt, but you must know some very big farangs! I think Tesco stocks some pretty big sizes. I rarely go there but when i do i gen buy some of their cheap items like T-shirts or shorts. I even find there L size can be a bit large. Ive also seen farangs (male and female) shop quite happily in the clothes section of Tescos.

Maybe its just your local tesco?

But anyway..off-topic, sorry!

Actually for clothes I was thinking more of Big C but those big stores seem to carry similar stuff. I do know that Tesco has zero in the way of footware US size 11 and up. I'm 6' 2" 200 and I have zero luck finding anything big enough at those stores

So your avatar isn't a recent picture of you then?

No that picture was back in 1986 but I was the same height and weight. I'm a big athletic guy. Ex-baseball player

[eek]

ow tough call finding clothes! Must be frustrating, especially on the wallet. I imagine you have to pay more because you have to go to import shops. Whatta bummer :/ Hey, but at least the plus is you probably get a lot of attention and have a lot of cute girls looking up at you thinking 'WoW! Big tall Farang!'

[sbk]

Even better, he can go to the weekend market and get some oxygen! Us shorter people can find it a tad claustrophobic amongst the crowds

[eek]

Well actually im 5'7" which is kinda tall for here. At first i felt like a freak, but im over it now. Even occasionally wear heels and think 'sod it' ^^ For trousers/jeans i have to buy from Central or similar but skirts/shorts n tops and shoes are ok. When i first arrived i thought i would have a problem finding stuff or being able to wear the gorgeous clothes they sell. But its ok, so im very happy!

[dominique355]

Isn't the whole idea of "classes" a bit outdated? In particular, I find it very disturbing when someone professes his opinion, that no matter what you do, all are always labeled as you were when born. No education, no professional work, no mind opening work or travel or study and certainly no material success will ever change you. That's the Class system of India: once an Untouchable, always an Untouchable.

I believe that, first of all, we do not have classes, not here in Thailand and not in Europe (where I come from). We may have different incomes and different wealth, and we may have different education levels. But someone who wants to change that, can. He can improve his education and thus broaden his horizon and hopefully his material situation, no matter what his origins were. In Thailand, that may be more difficult, but not impossible. My wife did it. All by herself.

Is she still the same person she was when she was a child? Yes and No. She has drastically widened her horizon, has traveled the world and has dealt with different opinions, ways of life and societies. She is fluent in 3 languages and has her own opinion. So she is different. Yet, she is still a good hearted, curious and humble person. She still likes and eats Soma Tum Pu Pala. No change there.

Some people want to put labels on everything and everybody. For lack of knowledge of the person, they take the appearance of the person to judge her, the wealth, i.e. the displayed wealth. If you dress with stuff bought at Gayrson Plaza, you must be a respectful person, if you wear jeans and a T-shirt, you are a Nobody. Well, let them think like that, I have no problems. Because the opinion of these people is so of importance to me.

In conclusion, I do believe you can change your condition* and your person through your own endeavor, and I am happy this is possible.

André Malraux "La condition humaine"

[Gary A]

Before I met my wife, I had a girlfriend who worked for Seagate hard drive company. She made pretty good money for back then, about 12.000 baht per month. She bought all her clothes at Emporium and would NEVER wear commoner clothes. He little makeup bag contained 5,000 baht worth of makeup. She wore a shower cap when she showered and had the beauty shop wash and fix her hair. She really got on my nerves. Nothing but the best for her. I made up my mind then that I would NEVER marry a prissy woman like her and I didn't.

[Heng]

Isn't the whole idea of "classes" a bit outdated? In particular, I find it very disturbing when someone professes his opinion, that no matter what you do, all are always labeled as you were when born. No education, no professional work, no mind opening work or travel or study and certainly no material success will ever change you. That's the Class system of India: once an Untouchable, always an Untouchable.

I believe that, first of all, we do not have classes, not here in Thailand and not in Europe (where I come from). We may have different incomes and different wealth, and we may have different education levels. But someone who wants to change that, can. He can improve his education and thus broaden his horizon and hopefully his material situation, no matter what his origins were. In Thailand, that may be more difficult, but not impossible. My wife did it. All by herself.

I certainly didn't say one couldn't become a better, better educated, etc. person. I'm saying that unless you change your identity completely and completely remove yourself from society (say, to another country where you don't interact with any other immigrants from your country), people will still generally know where you were from, what your parents did for a living, what your grandparents did, etc. I'm not saying every single person will know, but the knowledge is pretty much out in the open and people pretty much accept it as a matter of fact.

It's certainly not unique to Thailand, Asian culture, etc. A similar example would be the university Greek system at just about every major university in the US. You can't just become a legacy, it has to be established over the generations. It doesn't matter if you founded a dot com and pulled up in a Ferrari (true, you'd still get in, just the same way nouveau-riche, mia/pua falang, and royalty sometimes attend the same functions here), but everyone would still know you weren't a legacy and yes that would put you in a lower "class."

Not quite like the class system of India... simply the class system of a society where the family/friends/acquaintences structure is still fairly cohesive and the degrees of separation between who knows who are still much closer than in many other societies.

But again, yes, you can be a better person. You can be a wealthier person. But you are who you are. I'm not sure why you think that's a bad thing? Okay... I understand that some folks my be ashamed of their own or perhaps their partner's origin's, but it's just a fact of life. They can try to cover it up or escape it, and sometimes that's possible, but if they stay in the same place, there's pretty much no way to change it.

Edited October 8, 2007 by Heng

[crowbait]

If they have only recently achieved their status............are they Just-SO and hence, tails about them Just SO Stories?

And if, in the process, they put on a little weight, would they be Fat-SO?

Wannabes Hope-SO?

Gonna stop now or I'll get into trouble again.

[farang prince]

As a Farang lady living in Phuket and having a few Thai men as friends, I have a few things to say on this topic....

So, as one of the middle-aged Farang females in Thailand I must say; I love Thai men, most of the time. And, as long as each is getting what they want from the relationship, more power to them!

You get to the heart of one of the most important realities in life..."as long as each is getting what they want from the relationship, more power to them!" Of course, a lot of the neurotics who post on Thai Visa will disagree with this and find reasons why they should second-guess their relationships. Apparently the simplistic truth of what you have written Katnwillows is lost on them.

[zaza]

No farangs I know buy clothes at Tesco. They dont carry farang sizes nor do local markets

erm..what? I dont mean to be blunt, but you must know some very big farangs! I think Tesco stocks some pretty big sizes. I rarely go there but when i do i gen buy some of their cheap items like T-shirts or shorts. I even find there L size can be a bit large. Ive also seen farangs (male and female) shop quite happily in the clothes section of Tescos.

Maybe its just your local tesco?

But anyway..off-topic, sorry!

Actually for clothes I was thinking more of Big C but those big stores seem to carry similar stuff. I do know that Tesco has zero in the way of footware US size 11 and up. I'm 6' 2" 200 and I have zero luck finding anything big enough at those stores

So your avatar isn't a recent picture of you then?

No that picture was back in 1986 but I was the same height and weight. I'm a big athletic guy. Ex-baseball player

Oh Did Baseball divorce you? I don't understand why as long as you had maintained the same height and weight??

[TommyGun]

My ex was in the So-Ho class, so i was told.

[zaza]

Before I met my wife, I had a girlfriend who worked for Seagate hard drive company. She made pretty good money for back then, about 12.000 baht per month. She bought all her clothes at Emporium and would NEVER wear commoner clothes. He little makeup bag contained 5,000 baht worth of makeup. She wore a shower cap when she showered and had the beauty shop wash and fix her hair. She really got on my nerves. Nothing but the best for her. I made up my mind then that I would NEVER marry a prissy woman like her and I didn't.

OMG !!!!!!!!!!!!! Do all men think this way?????

[t.s]

Nope, they're still lo-so. nothing's changed

Your wife may still be lo-so but mines got a washing machine

mine has one as well, and a maid who refuses to use it.

[crowbait]

Isn't the whole idea of "classes" a bit outdated? In particular, I find it very disturbing when someone professes his opinion, that no matter what you do, all are always labeled as you were when born. No education, no professional work, no mind opening work or travel or study and certainly no material success will ever change you. That's the Class system of India: once an Untouchable, always an Untouchable.

I believe that, first of all, we do not have classes, not here in Thailand and not in Europe (where I come from). We may have different incomes and different wealth, and we may have different education levels. But someone who wants to change that, can. He can improve his education and thus broaden his horizon and hopefully his material situation, no matter what his origins were. In Thailand, that may be more difficult, but not impossible. My wife did it. All by herself.

I certainly didn't say one couldn't become a better, better educated, etc. person. I'm saying that unless you change your identity completely and completely remove yourself from society (say, to another country where you don't interact with any other immigrants from your country), people will still generally know where you were from, what your parents did for a living, what your grandparents did, etc. I'm not saying every single person will know, but the knowledge is pretty much out in the open and people pretty much accept it as a matter of fact.

It's certainly not unique to Thailand, Asian culture, etc. A similar example would be the university Greek system at just about every major university in the US. You can't just become a legacy, it has to be established over the generations. It doesn't matter if you founded a dot com and pulled up in a Ferrari (true, you'd still get in, just the same way nouveau-riche, mia/pua falang, and royalty sometimes attend the same functions here), but everyone would still know you weren't a legacy and yes that would put you in a lower "class."

Not quite like the class system of India... simply the class system of a society where the family/friends/acquaintance structure is still fairly cohesive and the degrees of separation between who knows who are still much closer than in many other societies.

But again, yes, you can be a better person. You can be a wealthier person. But you are who you are. I'm not sure why you think that's a bad thing? Okay... I understand that some folks my be ashamed of their own or perhaps their partner's origin's, but it's just a fact of life. They can try to cover it up or escape it, and sometimes that's possible, but if they stay in the same place, there's pretty much no way to change it.

Certainly societies tend to stratify so that people can interact with other people who share similar attributes (salary, life-style, occupation hobbies etc.) but this is not necessarily the same as class. Class systems grew out of the highly structured and enforced feudal systems of Europe, Russia, China, India, Japan etc (see English sumptuary laws) where even the type of fabric from which your clothes could be made was regulated. Class boundaries in Europe have been eroding for the last hundred years or so and in India for the last 50, so that now Queen Elizabeth II maintains a prize-winning pigeon racing team (trad. very lower class), her son numbers pop stars and media tycoons as close friends and track athletes and coal miners can be ennobled.

It follows then that the very, very rich will cluster together because they share similar things, like being able to pay the bill in the exclusive places where they gather. It also follows (and here my cynicism....and maybe a little envy, creeps in) that the very, very rich are mainly concerned with mixing with their fellow rich and couldn't give two figs on how their "friends" acquired their riches.

Finally, it doesn't seem to matter very much these days on who your parents are, where you were born or indeed whether you eat your peas with a knife. In fact, quite the opposite seems to apply in many cases with some of the highest characters in the land assuming working class characteristics in order to magnify their appeal.

[calibanjr.]

No farangs I know buy clothes at Tesco. They dont carry farang sizes nor do local markets

erm..what? I dont mean to be blunt, but you must know some very big farangs! I think Tesco stocks some pretty big sizes. I rarely go there but when i do i gen buy some of their cheap items like T-shirts or shorts. I even find there L size can be a bit large. Ive also seen farangs (male and female) shop quite happily in the clothes section of Tescos.

Maybe its just your local tesco?

But anyway..off-topic, sorry!

Actually for clothes I was thinking more of Big C but those big stores seem to carry similar stuff. I do know that Tesco has zero in the way of footware US size 11 and up. I'm 6' 2" 200 and I have zero luck finding anything big enough at those stores

So your avatar isn't a recent picture of you then?

No that picture was back in 1986 but I was the same height and weight. I'm a big athletic guy. Ex-baseball player

O.K., I'll bite. You're not THE Jim Abbott, are you? I'm a 41 year old guy from Boston, so of course I care way too much about baseball, I gotta know. Great pitcher, (even if he did a stint with the Yankees).

Edited October 9, 2007 by calibanjr.

[lannarebirth]

No farangs I know buy clothes at Tesco. They dont carry farang sizes nor do local markets

erm..what? I dont mean to be blunt, but you must know some very big farangs! I think Tesco stocks some pretty big sizes. I rarely go there but when i do i gen buy some of their cheap items like T-shirts or shorts. I even find there L size can be a bit large. Ive also seen farangs (male and female) shop quite happily in the clothes section of Tescos.

Maybe its just your local tesco?

But anyway..off-topic, sorry!

Actually for clothes I was thinking more of Big C but those big stores seem to carry similar stuff. I do know that Tesco has zero in the way of footware US size 11 and up. I'm 6' 2" 200 and I have zero luck finding anything big enough at those stores

So your avatar isn't a recent picture of you then?

No that picture was back in 1986 but I was the same height and weight. I'm a big athletic guy. Ex-baseball player

O.K., I'll bite. You're not THE Jim Abbott, are you? I'm a 41 year old guy from Boston, so of course I care way too much about baseball, I gotta know. Great pitcher, (even if he did a stint with the Yankees).

Same age, same hometown, same goofy grin. I think maybe he is. The only Yankee I ever got on my feet for.

[Heng]

Finally, it doesn't seem to matter very much these days on who your parents are, where you were born or indeed whether you eat your peas with a knife. In fact, quite the opposite seems to apply in many cases with some of the highest characters in the land assuming working class characteristics in order to magnify their appeal.

Well, 'doesn't seem to matter' is a relative statement. As mentioned, folks from completely different backgrounds can be found at the same social functions. Their backgrounds 'do not matter' in terms of acceptance at said functions, but for it to truly 'not matter'... each party should be able to discuss their backgrounds as a matter of fact. No matter what is said on these forums, "society" is littered with foreigners and foreigner's husbands and wives who still fabricate stories of 'how they met' 'what he/she did for a living' 'what their family members do for a living' etc. It wouldn't be so obvious if these stories didn't change over time and even the individual's family members had different variations for these same stories.

Surely they wouldn't feel like they needed to do so if 'class' and 'origin' didn't matter.