Why Do Farangs Like Thai Girls With Dark Skin ?

[daifuku1616]

First, you should remove the word "Thai" in all of these replies and replace it with "Asian". This is absolutely a universal Asian (not just Chinese) thing.

To most Asian men, the color of a woman's skin is an important part, if not the most important part of that woman's beauty. That is just how it is. Asian women (and men – not only Chinese - even Indians and Indons, and etc) can get very sensitive and caught up in self pity over this. Trust me, all of the "skin whitening" creams used in Thailand are used elsewhere in Asia. In Japan, it even takes on aspects of cleanliness and purity (white = clean and clean = beauty so white = beauty). I have been to Indian weddings where very heavy makeup renders the couple white (once it seemed to go wrong and they looked a bit bluish – but everyone was pleased). Want to complement an Asian woman? Don't call her pretty, call her fair (Warning – if she IS dark, and self-conscious about, she will think you are tormenting her).

When I was working in Thailand, I was the only western expatiate - all the other expatriates being Asian. When involved in Asian "man talk" (discussing which girls in the office were attractive), if I suggested a girl even "slightly" dark was pretty, it was always: "she is nice, but it is a shame she is not fair" to a very dismissive "ugh, too dark". Now that I work in Malaysia (as well as our operations in China, Singapore and Indonesia), I can absolutely confirm this. Asian men are just hard wired this way. I fully understand the "fair skin means they do not work in the field argument" – and maybe it started that way, but now it is deeper than that. It is not racist or discriminatory, it is just how their culture is and what their culture sees as attractive (reminds me of a discover channel program where in some African tribe, obesity in woman was attractive to men. Women fattened themselves to get a good husband – imagine the husband's horror if she lost weight after marriage!). I have seen plenty of male Asian coworkers very very happy when they landed their fair skinned princess although in my opinion a few looked like they fell out of the ugly tree (…face first…..and hit every branch on the way down).

Westerners tend to look (though it is automatic) at the facial structure, eyes, smile, overall build (and other things related to our hard wired evolutional survival preferences) when assessing beauty and skin color is generally not a big part of the equation. I do not think that "westerners prefer dark skin", it is just that there are a lot of darker skinned girls, that westerners find attractive and the locals do not find as attractive.

There are a lot of fair skinned Thai girls with classically "beautiful" features that westerners would find very pretty, but frankly, the typical westerner does not have a chance with them without having time, effort and good social status (involving variables of reputation, manners/politeness - critical in some so called good Asian families - class is not necessarily a financial matter, job title, income, education and family background).

This even holds for the bar scene, the girls with light skin end up gravitating toward the part of the market that serves Thai/Asian men (much more lucrative actually) and darker skinned girls gravitate to the Farang part of the market as they are not as valued in the in the Asian oriented sector.

Granted, all things being equal, most westerners may prefer their ladies a bit more tan, and there is the occasional dark skin enthusiast, but generally it has more to do with the far larger supply of available darker skinned girls who are pretty to western taste. As for the Thai belief westerners like dark skin, it seems to come from the fact that to them a typical western man will be (happily) seen in public with ladies that are just too dark for local tastes. I know this sounds harsh.

Best post so far. Spot on on everything.

It is indeed an Asian thing and not only restricted to Thailand.

In Thailand, there's a saying, "Khao, Suay, Mui, Sex" meaning Fair, beautiful, chinese looking and sexy.

Notice the emphasis on being fair skinned above all other criteria.

However, come to think of it, this is a really good match made in heaven.

Imagine if farangs go for fairer skin girls, this will inevitably piss off many thai males and there will be war.

But so far, their paths are indeed separated clearly in black and white. Thank god for that

Lastly, about the chinese conspiracy, it's just typical chinese character to meet the market demand. If your company's clientele is mostly made up of Asians, it's worth to bank your star or choice of actress having fairer skin, period.

[Heng]

Funny that no one is considering who the gals like.

[jasreeve17]

Funny that no one is considering who the gals like.

They like me because I'm gorgeous, though limited in funds.

They like you because you're a land owning fascist rich bloke, but not much to look at.

Come the revolution, and land re-allocation, I'll still be gorgeous, and you'll be single...

(just in case the revolution doesn't come, I'm planning further steps down the slope: Cambodia then Bangladesh then Swaziland, not sure after that, but those Swaziland chicks have beautiful bone structure...)

[wolf5370]

Undoubtedly there is a perception that whiter is better, an obvious nonsense but such prejudices are common the world over, it is an unfortunate human trait.

Almost all regions have the conception that white is better. It's like that in South America as well and in the Middle East. Even in African-American communities. It has to do imo. with the simple fact that the dominant people of the last 1000 years have had pale skin (Europeans. Japanese, Chinese).

I would have thought it was more to do with light and darkness - day and night. In the day we thrived and at night we were prey. Therefore, light is good, dark is scary and bad. "Moses brought the people out of darkness" etc etc etc. Why people stretch the analogy to skin colour is beyond me though - seems to me its just an excuse, and certainly no religious foundation I know (in any mainstream religious text).

[keenyao]

Thais ask me this question all the time and i am unable to give any satisfactory answer.

I say, "why don't thais like darker shades of skin ?" they say it looks dirty, and are amazed at why farangs are attracted to dark skinned females. truly amazed. and they seem to think or expect me to have the answers.

does anyone have an explanation for this (perhaps false) perception ? BTW this sterotype that farangs love dark skin is huge, up there with the walking ATM stereotype.

I think because most of girls with dark skin come from North East wich is the best place of Thailand.

Who needs those whites-poshy-snobby-wannabe-western girls from Bangkok ?

[Thai at Heart]

If you meet Thai women as rentals in the beach resorts, by definition they are darker skinned because they have been cavorting on the beach with clients for months.

Work here for a while in the smoghole of Bangkok, and amazingly the girls are generally whiter because they are tied to a desk in Bangkok, commuting on the train and walking in darkness under the BTS.

I don't care either way, but as for being sokhaprok, that is just ignorance. Just about every Thai woman I have ever known, if you put her next to a swimming pool for one hour in the mid afternoon (factor 50 on), they all tan. As for me, I just roast gently and go lobster red.

Careful what you wish for with these so called "hi-so" (ghastly wannabe phrase) pale skinned women. They could turn into the waxworks on the society pages of the Nation or Thailand Tatler. Maybe I will start another thread asking "Why do wealthy women in Thailand refuse to grow old gracefully".

I do wonder at what age they discover hairspray, Dame Edna glasses and enbalming potions as skin care.

[Geekfreaklover]

Six pages. This troll post seems to have legs.

[MrHammer]

Thais ask me this question all the time and i am unable to give any satisfactory answer.

I say, "why don't thais like darker shades of skin ?" they say it looks dirty, and are amazed at why farangs are attracted to dark skinned females. truly amazed. and they seem to think or expect me to have the answers.

does anyone have an explanation for this (perhaps false) perception ? BTW this sterotype that farangs love dark skin is huge, up there with the walking ATM stereotype.

I think because most of girls with dark skin come from North East wich is the best place of Thailand.

Who needs those whites-poshy-snobby-wannabe-western girls from Bangkok ?

What's so great about Isaan? Seems like a dull place to me with limited vegitation.

[F1fanatic]

Thais ask me this question all the time and i am unable to give any satisfactory answer.

I say, "why don't thais like darker shades of skin ?" they say it looks dirty, and are amazed at why farangs are attracted to dark skinned females. truly amazed. and they seem to think or expect me to have the answers.

does anyone have an explanation for this (perhaps false) perception ? BTW this sterotype that farangs love dark skin is huge, up there with the walking ATM stereotype.

I think because most of girls with dark skin come from North East wich is the best place of Thailand.

Who needs those whites-poshy-snobby-wannabe-western girls from Bangkok ?

What's so great about Isaan? Seems like a dull place to me with limited vegitation.

But it has the advantage of being where the vast majority of women come from that are with farang men!

[MrHammer]

Thais ask me this question all the time and i am unable to give any satisfactory answer.

I say, "why don't thais like darker shades of skin ?" they say it looks dirty, and are amazed at why farangs are attracted to dark skinned females. truly amazed. and they seem to think or expect me to have the answers.

does anyone have an explanation for this (perhaps false) perception ? BTW this sterotype that farangs love dark skin is huge, up there with the walking ATM stereotype.

I think because most of girls with dark skin come from North East wich is the best place of Thailand.

Who needs those whites-poshy-snobby-wannabe-western girls from Bangkok ?

What's so great about Isaan? Seems like a dull place to me with limited vegitation.

But it has the advantage of being where the vast majority of women come from that are with farang men!

I have nothing against Isaan women, dated several, but if Isaan was so great why didnt they stay?

[cdnvic]

I have nothing against Isaan women, dated several, but if Isaan was so great why didnt they stay?

All over the world people leave great places for economic reasons. Location is very subjective anyway. One person's paradise is another's purgatory.

[Bukseeda]

MC2 can you change your avatar mate? Every time I read one of your posts for a split second my mind tells me it's Thaksin Shinawatra posting.

I agree - that guy's ugly. Ai na liam!

Edited September 17, 2009 by Bukseeda

[Bukseeda]

In my opinion the Thais miss the point. I've been out with Thai guys before and when a woman walks past they comment on how fair her skin is. Whereas a westerner might comment on her legs etc. The fact is that colour of skin is higher up on their list of what's attractive.

[oevna]

In my opinion the Thais miss the point. I've been out with Thai guys before and when a woman walks past they comment on how fair her skin is. Whereas a westerner might comment on her legs etc. The fact is that colour of skin is higher up on their list of what's attractive.

This is true. I've seen very plain-looking women (in my opinion) being sought after by Thai men because they happen to have light skin. But then there are some ladies with incredible figures, beautiful faces and dark skin who are completely ignored (except for by the farangs). So, call it what you will. If someone finds them attractive and you don't agree, who cares? Less competition for the women you are interested in.

[Heng]

Funny that no one is considering who the gals like.

They like me because I'm gorgeous, though limited in funds.

They like you because you're a land owning fascist rich bloke, but not much to look at.

Come the revolution, and land re-allocation, I'll still be gorgeous, and you'll be single...

Sounds like it could be a great deal, but let's not rush to trade places quite yet.

Hey, I heard the revolution is right around the corner, you can finally quit your job.

[MrJohnson]

^however doesnt explain why westerners like dark skin.

but do westerners like dark skin????? Do they??

[MrJohnson]

Is there farang racism against whiter skinned Thai girls? It's like some people assume that lighter skinned girls must somehow be part of an evil chinese agenda. Let's be honest here, lighter skinned girls are usually better educated here and with better jobs and so not as likely to want a foreign man unless he is on her level socially and economically.

Good point, Old Chap.

[thithi]

farang put on the tanning lotion ... Thai put on the whitening lotion.

we think dark skin is dirty ... but helllllllllllllllo white ones are also dirty!

[bkkjames]

farang put on the tanning lotion ... Thai put on the whitening lotion.

we think dark skin is dirty ... but helllllllllllllllo white ones are also dirty!

Do tell more Thithi.

[jasreeve17]

Funny that no one is considering who the gals like.

They like me because I'm gorgeous, though limited in funds.

They like you because you're a land owning fascist rich bloke, but not much to look at.

Come the revolution, and land re-allocation, I'll still be gorgeous, and you'll be single...

Sounds like it could be a great deal, but let's not rush to trade places quite yet.

Hey, I heard the revolution is right around the corner, you can finally quit your job.

Oh the joys of loafing around all day; driven between Paragon and Emporium, maybe a detour to Yaowat for some shark fin soup and a game of majong... then back home to my lovely white skinned lady... perfect; bring on the revolution.

(Actually, after my initial foolish dippings into the darker oceans, I'm finding myself increasingly attracted to those lovely white skinned Chinese-looking ladies - alas, I'm clearly unworthy...)

[IanForbes]

First, you should remove the word "Thai" in all of these replies and replace it with "Asian". This is absolutely a universal Asian (not just Chinese) thing.

To most Asian men, the color of a woman's skin is an important part, if not the most important part of that woman's beauty. That is just how it is. Asian women (and men – not only Chinese - even Indians and Indons, and etc) can get very sensitive and caught up in self pity over this. Trust me, all of the "skin whitening" creams used in Thailand are used elsewhere in Asia. In Japan, it even takes on aspects of cleanliness and purity (white = clean and clean = beauty so white = beauty). I have been to Indian weddings where very heavy makeup renders the couple white (once it seemed to go wrong and they looked a bit bluish – but everyone was pleased). Want to complement an Asian woman? Don't call her pretty, call her fair (Warning – if she IS dark, and self-conscious about, she will think you are tormenting her).

When I was working in Thailand, I was the only western expatiate - all the other expatriates being Asian. When involved in Asian "man talk" (discussing which girls in the office were attractive), if I suggested a girl even "slightly" dark was pretty, it was always: "she is nice, but it is a shame she is not fair" to a very dismissive "ugh, too dark". Now that I work in Malaysia (as well as our operations in China, Singapore and Indonesia), I can absolutely confirm this. Asian men are just hard wired this way. I fully understand the "fair skin means they do not work in the field argument" – and maybe it started that way, but now it is deeper than that. It is not racist or discriminatory, it is just how their culture is and what their culture sees as attractive (reminds me of a discover channel program where in some African tribe, obesity in woman was attractive to men. Women fattened themselves to get a good husband – imagine the husband's horror if she lost weight after marriage!). I have seen plenty of male Asian coworkers very very happy when they landed their fair skinned princess although in my opinion a few looked like they fell out of the ugly tree (…face first…..and hit every branch on the way down).

Westerners tend to look (though it is automatic) at the facial structure, eyes, smile, overall build (and other things related to our hard wired evolutional survival preferences) when assessing beauty and skin color is generally not a big part of the equation. I do not think that "westerners prefer dark skin", it is just that there are a lot of darker skinned girls, that westerners find attractive and the locals do not find as attractive.

There are a lot of fair skinned Thai girls with classically "beautiful" features that westerners would find very pretty, but frankly, the typical westerner does not have a chance with them without having time, effort and good social status (involving variables of reputation, manners/politeness - critical in some so called good Asian families - class is not necessarily a financial matter, job title, income, education and family background).

This even holds for the bar scene, the girls with light skin end up gravitating toward the part of the market that serves Thai/Asian men (much more lucrative actually) and darker skinned girls gravitate to the Farang part of the market as they are not as valued in the in the Asian oriented sector.

Granted, all things being equal, most westerners may prefer their ladies a bit more tan, and there is the occasional dark skin enthusiast, but generally it has more to do with the far larger supply of available darker skinned girls who are pretty to western taste. As for the Thai belief westerners like dark skin, it seems to come from the fact that to them a typical western man will be (happily) seen in public with ladies that are just too dark for local tastes. I know this sounds harsh.

Very good post, KLExpat. I agree with you. It's very obvious on the Thai movie channels where all the Thai movie stars are fair skinned. Even the Bar gals I associate with agree. I know two VERY pretty Thai gals with relatively dark skin and they have a girl friend who is not as pretty (by my standards) and doesn't have as good a figure (by my standards), but she is much fairer skinned. The two darker skinned girls both think their fair skinned friend is prettier (by their standards).

I don't care about their skin tone, I just love the beauties, and being able to call them my friends makes me a lucky guy.

[Boo]

post deleted. Don't make pathetic insults to non thai women when attempting to express your appreciation for thai women. It is possible.

[Heng]

Funny that no one is considering who the gals like.

They like me because I'm gorgeous, though limited in funds.

They like you because you're a land owning fascist rich bloke, but not much to look at.

Come the revolution, and land re-allocation, I'll still be gorgeous, and you'll be single...

Sounds like it could be a great deal, but let's not rush to trade places quite yet.

Hey, I heard the revolution is right around the corner, you can finally quit your job.

Oh the joys of loafing around all day; driven between Paragon and Emporium, maybe a detour to Yaowat for some shark fin soup and a game of majong... then back home to my lovely white skinned lady... perfect; bring on the revolution.

(Actually, after my initial foolish dippings into the darker oceans, I'm finding myself increasingly attracted to those lovely white skinned Chinese-looking ladies - alas, I'm clearly unworthy...)

Oh the joys of taking the bus to work, coming home to my rented concrete shoebox (but hey, I've got cable and the internet), darn-it, thought my gal would be back from her job at Tesco Lotus by now. Let's put off the revolution for a few more lifetimes at least....

(Actually, there's plenty to go around, not sure what all the hubbub is about, bub)

[jasreeve17]

Heng said: "Oh the joys of taking the bus to work, coming home to my rented concrete shoebox (but hey, I've got cable and the internet), darn-it, thought my gal would be back from her job at Tesco Lotus by now. Let's put off the revolution for a few more lifetimes at least....

(Actually, there's plenty to go around, not sure what all the hubbub is about, bub)"

That hits far too close to the bone... Let's hurry the revolution up!

As an aside, Plus quoted you as the voice of reason (well kind of) on another thread? What a crazy world we live in - to greater or lesser extents.

Edited September 18, 2009 by jasreeve17

[FarangForce5]

Don't get me wrong, I love (skinny) women of all types. But I am far more attracted to a light skinned asian (Thai) woman than a tan or dark one. It's really not much different than white women back in the US. They are born with light skin, and maybe they get more tan with age or maybe they don't. It really depends on what they want cause they can make a concious effort to avoid excessive sun exposure, or make sure to wear sun lotion when necessary (YES, I am aware that most Thais do not have access to or cannot afford proper skincare products, at least not amongst the rural majorities). I personally think caucasian farang women with tans look gross and unnatural. Although I understand that Thais can get tan much easier than farangs (because of the climate here) but I still prefer the more natural light skin that they were born with.

If I want someone with dark skin I'll start dating black women again. Until then I will stick with the light skinned asians, whom I feel are FAR superior in physical beauty to their burnt skin counterparts.

[wolf5370]

post deleted. Don't make pathetic insults to non thai women when attempting to express your appreciation for thai women. It is possible.

Glad you did, but how about the zillions of pathetic insults to Thai women in half the threads these days, equally deserving?

PS: I t wasn't my post deleted - just to clarify that!

/edited - typing with elbows just doesn't seem to work/

Edited September 18, 2009 by wolf5370

[jcon]

No it's just a Thai thing, nor is it even just an "Asian" thing - for those of you who think so, then I'd suggest that you travel the world a bit more before making ignorant statements.

South America - Lighter is more desirable - everybody knows it, and you'll hear the same things you'd hear in Thailand. European-blooded loiras from Florianapolis are much more sought after than some preta from Rio. Argentina - same thing.

North America - same thing. Halle Berry. Jessica Alba. Do you think they'd be as 'hot and famous' if they were as black as Wesley Snipes?

Southern Europe - same dam_n thing.

Northern Europe - hey do you think that the Swedish really say what's in their heads regarding the immigrants in Stockholm. Come on.

Caribbean Islands - same thing. Ever asked a Dominicana if she was "black?" She'd give you a 10 minute speech on how she's Dominican, not black. Ever called a Dominicana Haitian? Prepare to get your head chopped off. Who are the best hair straighteners for "African-type" hair in NYC. Washington Heights, NYC - Dominicans... they have the same skin whitening crap as we have in Asia.

Africa - Ok, I've never been but I suspect it's the same there. Some dear travelled member please correct me if I'm wrong but I'll be willing to bet that an Egyptian would not like being called Sudanese....

It's worldwide, and to not see that is ignorant. Right or wrong, I don't have the answer nor do I pretend to. But I can't stand it when people always talk about the issue as if it's so specific to Thailand. It's not.

[OxfordWill]

Funny that no one is considering who the gals like.

Funny that no one is considering the starving in africa.

Oh, wait, no its not.

[Heng]

Heng said: "Oh the joys of taking the bus to work, coming home to my rented concrete shoebox (but hey, I've got cable and the internet), darn-it, thought my gal would be back from her job at Tesco Lotus by now. Let's put off the revolution for a few more lifetimes at least....

(Actually, there's plenty to go around, not sure what all the hubbub is about, bub)"

That hits far too close to the bone... Let's hurry the revolution up!

As an aside, Plus quoted you as the voice of reason (well kind of) on another thread? What a crazy world we live in - to greater or lesser extents.

And yet as depressing as it sounds (to me anyway), there are billions who would want to trade places with you. That's how one can always be happy, as it's easy to see (if you try) how much worse it could be.

Of course I can be "the voice" (do you hear it?... that's not just the sound of the couple next door fighting again)... but you should also look to see if the thread merits it or not.

[Heng]

Funny that no one is considering who the gals like.

Funny that no one is considering the starving in africa.

Oh, wait, no its not.

I think some credit is due to the fine darker skinned gals who prefer... well, whoever. They too apparently have some preferences in guys and they go out and get what they want.

It's kind of a loaded question to begin with, almost like they are in the mood to annoy farangs on that particular day. It's like saying... 'wow, that's great that you just happen to find dark skinned Issanites with children from previous marriages as your dream gal.'