Most Single Isaan Women Want A Western Husband: Poll

[Plus]

Here in Bangkok many wouldn't even want to date a foreigner - social pressure, you know. Dating foreigners is for the desperate Isanese. Also most foreigners are not "cool" by modern Thai standards.

If 60% of girls here were thinking of marrying a farang it would be hel_l. I guess about 60% are not thinking about marrying at all.

[jayboy]

Here in Bangkok many wouldn't even want to date a foreigner - social pressure, you know. Dating foreigners is for the desperate Isanese. Also most foreigners are not "cool" by modern Thai standards.

Depends on which circles you mix in.According to your hero, Andrew Drummond, Thai Visa members are mostly rednecks.Not so sure about that but possibly true that most never get anywhere near upper class Thai circles.(it's not a perfect test by any means but how many are RBSC members for example?) Actually in the elite, Farang-Thai relationships are relatively common.I know of at least five but in each case the farang concerned is well off, highly educated (Oxbridge or Ivy League) and of upper/ upper middle class background.Oddly enough all met their brides in either London or New York, none locally as far as I know.Incidentally the couples I have in mind are definitely "cool".

As to social pressure, many Chinese families would be reluctant to see their daughters marry a Thai (let alone a farang) unless he brought something very specific to the marriage, eg social status through aristocratic connections.Quite a few examples of this.

[bonobo]

Here in Bangkok many wouldn't even want to date a foreigner - social pressure, you know. Dating foreigners is for the desperate Isanese. Also most foreigners are not "cool" by modern Thai standards.

Depends on which circles you mix in.According to your hero, Andrew Drummond, Thai Visa members are mostly rednecks.Not so sure about that but possibly true that most never get anywhere near upper class Thai circles.(it's not a perfect test by any means but how many are RBSC members for example?) Actually in the elite, Farang-Thai relationships are relatively common.I know of at least five but in each case the farang concerned is well off, highly educated (Oxbridge or Ivy League) and of upper/ upper middle class background.Oddly enough all met their brides in either London or New York, none locally as far as I know.Incidentally the couples I have in mind are definitely "cool".

As to social pressure, many Chinese families would be reluctant to see their daughters marry a Thai (let alone a farang) unless he brought something very specific to the marriage, eg social status through aristocratic connections.Quite a few examples of this.

That is probably true, in my experience.  I don't any hi-so/farang couple where they met here in Thailand, but quite a few where they met overseas. And the farang halves of the couples are pretty much all from priviledged background/accomplishments back in Farangland.

And it is actually very easy to find women in Bangkok who want to date a farang.  Most seem to be well-educated, but in the lower level of professional work (accountants, shop managers, office staff, etc.)

[rafval]

of course they want to marry a farang, a thai man might expect them to contribute to the household in some way, maybe even get a job

What a load of crap for a generalisation, you surely are the most brilliant farang living in Patters?

The woman I live with had to go working age 12 (we would call that child exploitation) - she got 500B for her first month.

I found her still hard working age 30.

I do see lots of other hard working females, dunno for the males though

another generalization is that people have no sense of humour, actually the last woman I lived with also started working at 12, I think she got a lot more the 500b in her first month tho, actually I couldnt stop her working so I had to let her go Edited May 23, 2009 by rafval

[Theyreallrubbish]

Women are the same all over the world

http://women.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_an...icle6336625.ece

"I haven't had sex with my husband since he lost his job and I no longer find him attractive"

Its just that the Issan women are naive enough not to try and hide it behind obfuscating language.

Check out any personal ad in the west. Every woman wants a man who is "successful", "generous", "ambitious", "likes to travel", etc. All code words for having money.

[webfact]

Women are the same all over the world

http://women.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_an...icle6336625.ece

"I haven't had sex with my husband since he lost his job and I no longer find him attractive"

Its just that the Issan women are naive enough not to try and hide it behind obfuscating language.

Check out any personal ad in the west. Every woman wants a man who is "successful", "generous", "ambitious", "likes to travel", etc. All code words for having money.

marriage of convenience! Everywhere the same and its logical

[wasabi]

Who cares what women want? Where is my beer!

[Brigante7]

This survey would be the same as many parts of the world,as engish guys are too sexy lol.Notice no scottish,welsh or irish were mentioned,how strange.

That's because us Scots are tighter than a camel's arse in a sandstorm, just ask my wife. After my wife came to live in Scotland, she couldn't believe that there are poor people in the UK and she asked why jobs like street cleaners and shop staff aren't all Thai, phillippine and the like, and she was serious, she thought everybody in the UK was rich and everybody had thai or phillipino maids. When she told her friends back home that there are poor farangs they didn't believe her, she had never been out of Thailand before and she was truly shocked.

Brigante7.

[Dakhar]

I wonder what the questions on the survey? I also wonder why they carried out such a pointless survey?

Because they wanted to prove it was not about lenght or width, but about money.

[TPI]

[

'MIA FARANG': When Harry weds Somsri, business blooms

The Nation, Published on Jun 14, 2004

Thai women who marry Westerners are now being looked up to, instead of down at

KHON KAEN - To the many thousands of Isaan women who leave their villages and end up marrying a foreigner, being a mia farang has it burdens. Some have to tolerate insults, all have to bear a certain stigma.

But the reality behind marrying outside their culture is the economic and social advantages it brings to the country, and this is finally being recognised by provincial authorities in a surprising and practical way.

They will also be asked to persuade their husbands' friends and families to visit Thailand to help boost tourist arrivals, the governors say.

The phenomenon of the mia farang has been well noted for decades among the households of the region, but it has been very much a taboo subject at community level and above. But that is all changing as the economic reality of marrying a foreigner sets in.

To Thais, especially in rural areas, a commonly held prejudice of a Thai woman walking with a Westerner is that the woman must be in the sex industry and the man her customer. It might be grossly unfair, but that is the perceived wisdom.

But now the first mia farang club has been founded in Roi Et and similar ones are in the pipeline in most provinces of the Northeast.

The clubs will be initiated by the provincial governors and officially recognised, Roi Et Governor Nopporn Jantarathong told The Nation.

"We have invited [the mia farang] to be official guests for our bunpavet - an annual Isaan Buddhist ceremony - and to wear Thai silk dress, like at other provincial ceremonies," Nopporn said, giving just one example of how the province recognises the contribution of the foreign husbands to the mia farang's family.

"It is a historical and drastic change," he said. "These women have been looked at in a negative light for too long, but it is a fact that they exist and they are not a problem.

"To the contrary, they bring in foreign currency and have boosted the province's economy for decades. Why shouldn't they be recognised positively," the CEO governor said in explaining his decision to set up the Roi Et club, known officially as Mae Ban Ruam Jai Club (housewives come together).

Khon Kaen Governor Jade Thanawat said his province will set up a club similar to the one in Roi Et by next April when most of the wives bring their Western husbands to their home towns.

"We are trying to work out the best form of cooperation between the province and the mia farang. The club is one very interesting form," Jade said.

However, he accepted that giving official recognition to mia farang might be too sensitive an issue for many people and could lead to opposition from more conservative elements of society.

"Therefore we have to spend some time studying it carefully before announcing the policy," he added.

In Roi Et, there has been no such hesitation. Governor Nopporn said he is planning to give even more recognition to the province's mia farang by holding an official "wedding ceremony" for them in the province.

"It is to send a message that they are now honoured by the governor. Looking at what they have done for the country, they deserve this honour," he said.

Roi Et resident Athika Sarawithee, chairman of Roi Et's mia farang club, said she is very happy with the policy.

"The recognition is very important to us. We have been looked at negatively for too long," she said. Athika is currently running for the Tambon Administrative Organisation (TAO) in her home town.

Nopporn said the new policy had been running since February and he was now evaluating the number of extra visitors and the amount of Otop products sold.

"I have seen some women bringing as many as four groups of visitors with them this year," he said.

Anthika said communication among the club's members was still poor as many of the members live abroad.

The issue is attracting more and more interest from local academics and non-government organisations. Some of them are planning to conduct a series of studies on the impact of mia farang, especially the cultural and social aspects.

Kamol Sukin, Sumalee Phopayak

The Nation

------------

Vast potential to be exploited

A recent survey by the National Economic and Social Development Board's (NESDB) northeastern office found that more than 15,000 women from the region had married foreigners (two of the 15 provinces have yet to be surveyed).

"They met their husbands while working to survive economically in Bangkok and in tourism towns like Phuket, Pattaya, Samui, Hua Hin and Udon Thani," the survey said.

"Annually, these women bring at least Bt40 billion in foreign currency into the country - about 6 per cent of the region's total GDP - through their present lifestyle, and they also visit Thailand at least once a year. It would be a lot more if we could make them visit more frequently or convince their husbands' relatives and friends to visit their homes too," Decha Vanichvarod, director of the NESDB's regional office said.

I've edited this quote for berevity...Phrae Province has just started the equivilant of a "Farang Club" and Chiang Mai has one that has 16,000 members...I think the exercise of getting your collective heads out of your fundamental orifices might be beneficial to all!

Their are thousands of Thai women married to foreigners, whether they were "Secretaries" or "nurses" or whatever is beside the point...they generally make better wives than (please excuse) "white women" as they respect their husbands even if they're not wealthy...look around in any Ozy, US or european city and see the smiling faces of working class Thai women walking with working class men...isn't this what its all about??

[Lite Beer]

Posts containing derogatory remarks and petty bickering have been edited or Deleted.

[carriemai]

Just took a look at your profile photo.

Posts containing derogatory remarks and petty bickering have been edited or Deleted.

So, you don't consider a post stating western women over forty are simply looking for a life time meal ticket, er, derogatory?

Good old Thai Visa. Keep up the mysogeny.

[Nagatus]

A recent survey conducted by Igognito Maximus corp. showed that an overwhelming majority of farang women (0.1%) showed preferance towards dark skinned Issan man. The basic reason for this preferance was that "I know what I get", meaning, there is no illusion about the drinking habbits or work ethics, full and none, respectively.

What comes as a surprise learnt from the study, though is the fact, that when these husbands ask for some donation to their relevatives, the majority of the western women seem to agree that since it is their custom it is ok, as long as the husband behaves accordingly and satisfies their daily needs.

These Issan husbands seem to be more and more a going trend and some what worrying phonemenon among cultivated western males. "God only knows what will happen next" said one.

There has been some talk among western men about having a law that forbids women taking apart in so called "sex holidays" in the south eastern asia. Their claim is that "they are eating away our livelihood"

And this was a joke unless some of you did not get it

[ding]

Seems reasonable that if someone spends time on the edge of hunger - that anti-materialism and other noble mores are a luxury.

What's significant to me? ... that Thai men are not reliable spouses, and seek escape, and vent frustration. I can see why, but it needs to stop or Thai women suffering under this will seek escape too.

As for US women. The same holds. US men want to be treated with decency and if they can't find it, they will look elsewhere. This is not sexist, it is a social dynamic whose evidence is growing. It's the inverse of Thailand, as the imbalance of gender empowerment in many aspects of US society, from family to courts, is felt to be opressive and unfair. It may be an uncomfortable truth, but for many US men it's a truth in their eyes and evidenced by their actions. Most western men just want a woman who will return kindness with kindness.

YMMV, my .02

[SantiSuk]

Bagging a farang

Most single Isaan women want a Western husband: poll

More than threefifths of women in the Northeast surveyed in an Isaan poll said they wanted to marry farang husbands, mainly because of their wealth, faithfulness and respect for women.

Of 484 women living in 19 northeastern provinces surฌveyed in March and April, 61 per cent said they deemed Western men rich, 53 per cent said they thought farang men were kind and respected women more than Thai men, while 16 per cent said they wanted to marry and live abroad.

Englishmen were the favourites, gaining 32 per cent of respondents' votes, while Americans and Germans trailed behind with 21 and eight per cent respectively.

The survey found that women who were already married to foreign husbands spent a large portion (20 per cent) of their monthly income on electricity and water bills as their homes tended to be large and full of domestic appliances - another factor that attracted single, northeastern women.

-- The Nation 2009-05-22

I often wonder why Isaan men are so (genuinely I think) nice to me - after all I am one of the 'overpaid, oversexed and over here' brigade. By rights I should be resented, like the US GIs were in the UK in the 2nd world war.

[F4UCorsair]

Any western man who thinks western women are different, i.e., not seeking a wealthy partner, is deluding himself.

It hs always been thus......unfortunately.

[robbo1]

Yep it's nice to be number 1 in something. Just wish it was something important - Like the footy

Or the cricket

[Dakhar]

Any western man who thinks western women are different, i.e., not seeking a wealthy partner, is deluding himself.

It hs always been thus......unfortunately.

No western women want the cash too, but they don't expect their provider to be around after that. The quest for the perfect "mate" in life is not ease no matter where you go.

I guess that is why the muslims believe after death they hit the jack pot in female bliss....

They may have something there?

[F4UCorsair]

Dakhar, I'm sorry to spoil their party; they'd be deluded too!!

Any western man who thinks western women are different, i.e., not seeking a wealthy partner, is deluding himself.

It hs always been thus......unfortunately.

No western women want the cash too, but they don't expect their provider to be around after that. The quest for the perfect "mate" in life is not ease no matter where you go.

I guess that is why the muslims believe after death they hit the jack pot in female bliss....

They may have something there?

[Burr]

My Ex was a real stay at home house keeper.

She kept the house, hope she enjoys.

You guys been keeping up with "The Hulk" That pour guy is catching hel_l.

[greens]

The vast majority of thai are dark skinned,the minority hi-so stick their heads in a washing machine to whiten face.Its true that the minority middle class racist thai man look at whiter skin as a sign of class,but they finish up paying far more money in a relationship.

Seems to be a trait in BK farang men too,as the racism is spreading to non thai,and this is not good for Thailand.

There was an even worse survey a couple of years ago conducted by the head of the maternity department in Khon Kaen who concluded that Thai women married to foreigners were losing their "Thainess" because they ate pizza and put up Christmas lights.

This survey states the obvious which would generate the same answers the world over if conducted amongst the lower income sectors of society. It is a ridiculous question when upper class/wealthy Thai's have absolutely no interest in marrying down to ask a rural woman would you rather marry a man who earns 20, 40 or even 60k baht per month or a foreigner on 25,000 GPB (or more) per year. Are city bankers on 100k+ GBP per year scouring the council estates for their bride?

The answers would largely be the same the world over.

It would be of far greater interest to know what it perceived to be wrong with Thai men than what is good about foreigners, but then that would entail a bit of introspection and wouldn't make for such a shocking headline.

Absolutely!!

[humfurry]

A few weeks my wife and I were visiting her relatives in Surin. While we were waiting for the train home...a local girl asked my wife..."How can I find a farang husband?" My wife looked her straight in the eye and said "I bought him on Ebay, isn't that where everyone gets a farang husband".

[bonobo]

A few weeks my wife and I were visiting her relatives in Surin. While we were waiting for the train home...a local girl asked my wife..."How can I find a farang husband?" My wife looked her straight in the eye and said "I bought him on Ebay, isn't that where everyone gets a farang husband".

Classic!  

[Bruce1]

It's quite common for properly designed surveys with 1000 people to have an error rate of as little as 2% so this survey could be broadly correct if it was carefully designed for factors such as age, background and geographical distribution to reflect the larger Isaan community.

I suspect if you took the same survey in many poor areas around the world the results would be broadly similar. Women would want a man who could give them a better life and treat them well. Nothing surprising there. Look at The Philippines for example. It basically exports a huge number of women, ostensibly as nurses or maids, to get the repatriated income.

Racism is certainly alive and well in Thailand. The Bangkok Chinese elite look down on their darker skinned neighbours in the north and south. You only have to see the way the country divided over Thaksin to know that is true.

Look at the models on TV and in the ads. They are all light-skinned Chinese types. Light skin is regarded as a sign of beauty in the Bangkok-conbtrolled media. I laugh because the models are often lighter skinned in the ads (thanks to Photoshop, I suspect) than the western women they try to copy.

If the Isaan women are happy to get older farangs who treat them well, and the farangs are happy to get Isaan women who probably treat them better than western women would, then everyone is happy, so what's the problem?

[Boo]

I've been asked by one or two of the older women my mother in law knows if I know any old farang men who want good wife, women who are well over 40, none of the younger ones have ever asked but I would tell them the same I tell the older ones, "why, they are no different to thai, some good, some bad, you might get unlucky & how would you know?"

Interestingly, neither of these women speak English.

[webfact]

I've been asked by one or two of the older women my mother in law knows if I know any old farang men who want good wife, women who are well over 40, none of the younger ones have ever asked but I would tell them the same I tell the older ones, "why, they are no different to thai, some good, some bad, you might get unlucky & how would you know?"

Interestingly, neither of these women speak English.

I know a couple in Ubon. She doesn't speak any language except Thai and Isaan and he only speaks Italian (except 10 or 20 Thai words).

They live in harmony for more than 10 years! It works if the chemistry is right!

[Boo]

never said it wouldn't. Only telling you what I say to these women.

The "idea" that farang men are better is only that, an idea. Anyone who thinks that all thai men are bad & that all farang men are good will be on a road to a lot of upset. Anyone with half a working brain will know that nothing is black & white.

There are plenty stories about farang men are fleeced, taken advantage etc of by thai women but as already said by another poster, the thai boards are populated with plenty of stories from the other way round too.

[H2oDunc]

Been married 3 times to western women. No more! Now I am just going to find a woman I cannot stand and buy her a house!

[AsiaCheese]

Marry a man because of his wealth, no different to prostitutes! They must love money more than everything, very greedy!

There's always this super-thin line, right?

[warfie]

Englishmen were the favourites, gaining 32 per cent of respondents' votes, while Americans and Germans trailed behind with 21 and eight per cent respectively.

Australians not even mentioned... :whew: we're safe!