Seriously? Farang? It's also thai for guava... Get over it...

If you're getting sweaty palms at the very mention of the word and now the fruit reference, it's really time to re-evaluate yourself.

Accepting it's usage is not ignorant nor is it giving pseudo support to racism...

I don't think Thai girls feel threatened by Farang girls. I think many have a natural shyness, or don't want to embarrass themselves not speaking perfect English, so they keep some distance. That doesn't apply as strongly with regards to Farang men because there is the potential for an affair/relationship/meal ticket there, so it's worth the risk and effort, especially after a couple drinks.

Perhaps also Farang men are more likely to speak some Thai, or at least have resided in Thailand long enough or often enough to be able to speak English in a way that communication gets easier. Farang girls staying long term in Thailand are still a bit of an anomaly, especially if they don't have a Thai boyfriend. And who wants to be seen with an anomaly.. Of course lesbian Thai girls have a lot less hesitation in approaching Farang girls.

Anyway one of the great things about Thailand is that there is no reason to lie about not being married / having a girlfriend, because Thai girls will throw themselves at men regardless. Perhaps even more so. For some reason that's unique about Thailand, I'm always surprised when female interest ends in other countries as soon as I -perhaps naively- talk about the wife and kids. That's why I like Thailand, no need to lie about such things.

The OP holds an interesting premise though, and I'm not ruling out that there may be some truth in it after all. Very worthy to explore, so maybe I'll try for a while saying that I have a Farang wife and see how that affects things. Interesting project. I will report back in a couple days.

Edited February 14, 201313 yr by WinnieTheKhwai

If I knew your name, I would call you by your name...as would most Thais. Hello Mr. forumuser. How are you Mr. forumuser? That's an interesting accent, Mr. forumuser. And so on. But that's not the point. We use the word "farang" interchangeably in normal conversation and it's never meant in a derogatory way. It just seems to me that some expats try to find a reason to attack the Thais, even for something as innocuous as the use of their own language. Again, pick and choose your battles.

I have nothing but contempt for racists, no matter the colour of their skin.

I share your contempt regarding racists. Now, I hope we haven't started another long, drawn-out pissing contest regarding the definition of what a racist is.

i only hate black rascists.

joking guys

Surely this all has to be situational socioeconomics.

Naturally a 'bar girl' is going to be threatened by a female farang in a bar with a male ferang - you've potentially cost her money by being with him in the bar.

At the other end of the spectrum, you have Thai women who come from "financially stable" families who could not care less about a female farang (pretty or otherwise) let alone feel threatened by one.

Why the hell would we be hanging out in bargirl bars? o.O

Im talking about nice places, wine bars, supperclub etc..not some dodgy low class joint down nana...lol.

Why the hell would we be hanging out in bargirl bars? o.O

Im talking about nice places, wine bars, supperclub etc..not some dodgy low class joint down nana...lol.

Simply replace "bargirl" with "wine bar girl" or "supperclub girl" and my point is still valid

as they all say, no no my wife worked there but she was a waitress, all the other girls were bargirls but she was a waitress.

I know because thats what she told me.

I think it should be the other way around. Farang women SHOULD feel threatened by Thai women.

That's silly. I don't feel threatened by Thai women at all.

I

Maybe its because the thai girls dont look at you as a threat since you are less attractive than the OP ?

I don't think farang people all look the same to Thai people but they obviously categorize us into the "farangs" which maybe makes you feel like you're being referred to as the same as every other farang... But I don't think we're all the same.

You don´t think we are all the same, but Thais in general think all white people are the same, we are all just farang to them, unfortunately.

And many of us, actually seem to like the idea of grouping ourselves together by calling ourselves farang all the time. I think it is very counterproductive.

We love to call ourselves farang, so I guess we get what we deserve. Personally I think it is a very stupid word, even though I know Thais do not mean anything negative when they call us that,

Well if you want to get your knickers in a twist over the use of a word then feel free. I personally think its the same as foreigner or westerner and I don't really care.

I don't actually group myself together however I guess we all have some common ground being Western and whatnot.

I'm sorry that you only know Thai people who refer to all Westerners as "Farangs" and not personally. You're obviously hanging out with the wrong Thai people.

"Well if you want to get your knickers in a twist over the use of a word then feel free. "

He does.

"I personally think its the same as foreigner or westerner..."

It is.

"...and I don't really care. "

You shouldn't.

"I guess we all have some common ground being Western and whatnot."

We do.

"You're obviously hanging out with the wrong Thai people. "

He is.

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Disagree strongly with this. The term is a slang word denoting a race. Therefore it is racist. I understand maybe "They don't mean anything by it..," usually, but neither did my grandparents when they used the term " n*gger."

Or actually they did, as it was quite acceptable to diminish and marginalize blacks with usage of this term, and " farang " is the same and means potato, I understand. It's no different from the term "eggplant "for blacks in USA .

Language is very important, it sets the stage for interaction. ( which is why I also resist the term " girls" for fully grown women.)

To be referred to by my race, especially in my presence is not just rude, it is racism.

I make a point of not accepting it, especially in professional situations.

Seriously? Farang? It's also thai for guava... Get over it...

If you're getting sweaty palms at the very mention of the word and now the fruit reference, it's really time to re-evaluate yourself.

Accepting it's usage is not ignorant nor is it giving pseudo support to racism...

Edited February 15, 201313 yr by MacChine

Disagree strongly with this. The term is a slang word denoting a race. Therefore it is racist. I understand maybe "They don't mean anything by it..," usually, but neither did my grandparents when they used the term " n*gger."

Or actually they did, as it was quite acceptable to diminish and marginalize blacks with usage of this term, and " farang " is the same and means potato, I understand. It's no different from the term "eggplant "for blacks in USA .

Language is very important, it sets the stage for interaction. To be referred to by my race, especially in my presence is not just rude, it is racism.

I make a point of not accepting it, especially in professional situations.

Seriously? Farang? It's also thai for guava... Get over it...

If you're getting sweaty palms at the very mention of the word and now the fruit reference, it's really time to re-evaluate yourself.

Accepting it's usage is not ignorant nor is it giving pseudo support to racism...

A small question. Do you know how many tens of thousands of posts have been written on Thai Visa re this topic? Over the past 10 years I must have read at least 10,000. Do you want to know what the old Thai hands feel about the issue? The guys who speak Thai and have a Thai family and who have lived here 20 years or so?

Disagree strongly with this. The term is a slang word denoting a race. Therefore it is racist. I understand maybe "They don't mean anything by it..," usually, but neither did my grandparents when they used the term " n*gger."

Or actually they did, as it was quite acceptable to diminish and marginalize blacks with usage of this term, and " farang " is the same and means potato, I understand. It's no different from the term "eggplant "for blacks in USA .

Language is very important, it sets the stage for interaction. ( which is why I also resist the term " girls" for fully grown women.)

To be referred to by my race, especially in my presence is not just rude, it is racism.

I make a point of not accepting it, especially in professional situations

Is farang not a blanket term for westerners (any colour you like), and that it's just some of the "white" variety of farang that seem to have a problem with it's use.

Kind of ironic really given the western history of white supremacy groups KKK, White Power and the like.

Seems when the shoe's on the other foot everyone's up in arms about it. Not that I'm saying that those of you who feel they are being slighted when being identified as the "F" word condone the above mentioned "groups".

And for the sake of splitting hairs: Potato in thai is "man farang", Guava is "farang"

Thais girls feel threaten by farang girls?

I wouldn’t think so. In fact many thais have more positive things to say about farang girls/women than about the farang men. The MAJORITY of thai girls/women think farang girls are cute to look at, easy going , more approachable, or fun to talk with.

Only if you have low self worth, or think TOO HIGHLY of yourself, or currently in a rocky relationship, then the thread topic may have some substance. From what I can see, thai girls are more jealous of other thai girls!..LOL

Disagree strongly with this. The term is a slang word denoting a race. Therefore it is racist. I understand maybe "They don't mean anything by it..," usually, but neither did my grandparents when they used the term " n*gger."

Or actually they did, as it was quite acceptable to diminish and marginalize blacks with usage of this term, and " farang " is the same and means potato, I understand. It's no different from the term "eggplant "for blacks in USA .

Language is very important, it sets the stage for interaction. ( which is why I also resist the term " girls" for fully grown women.)

To be referred to by my race, especially in my presence is not just rude, it is racism.

I make a point of not accepting it, especially in professional situations.

Seriously? Farang? It's also thai for guava... Get over it...

If you're getting sweaty palms at the very mention of the word and now the fruit reference, it's really time to re-evaluate yourself.

Accepting it's usage is not ignorant nor is it giving pseudo support to racism...

I can't believe I'd pay attention to this again after countless times in the last 25+ years but I'll not bother with the pointless debate about the sentiment behind the use of the word and only point out that people who don't even know the language, let alone the etymology of this particular word, have even less chance to have anything but a paranoid tinged perception of what that word is about.

It doesn't mean "potato". The word for potato AND guava have the same parts in common because they were both brought by the foreigners. The word Farang has ancient origins in the Indo-European language family and the are over a dozen variations of it used throughout the world with roughly the same meaning - foreigner of European descent.

The rest of your issues, I'll leave to you - but if you want to start interpreting things you need some knowledge.

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Disagree strongly with this. The term is a slang word denoting a race. Therefore it is racist. I understand maybe "They don't mean anything by it..," usually, but neither did my grandparents when they used the term " n*gger."

Or actually they did, as it was quite acceptable to diminish and marginalize blacks with usage of this term, and " farang " is the same and means potato, I understand. It's no different from the term "eggplant "for blacks in USA .

Language is very important, it sets the stage for interaction. ( which is why I also resist the term " girls" for fully grown women.)

To be referred to by my race, especially in my presence is not just rude, it is racism.

I make a point of not accepting it, especially in professional situations.

As some have pointed out, this topic has been done to death.

Nevertheless, it's only fair that I point this out: When you compare the word "farang" to the word "n*gger," you've lost all credibility. Because you clearly have no idea what you're talking about. Would you compare the word "westerner" to the word "n*gger?" Why not? Westerner and farang mean the same thing. Geez.

Edited February 15, 201313 yr by Berkshire

I don't think farang people all look the same to Thai people but they obviously categorize us into the "farangs" which maybe makes you feel like you're being referred to as the same as every other farang... But I don't think we're all the same.

You don´t think we are all the same, but Thais in general think all white people are the same, we are all just farang to them, unfortunately.

And many of us, actually seem to like the idea of grouping ourselves together by calling ourselves farang all the time. I think it is very counterproductive.

We love to call ourselves farang, so I guess we get what we deserve. Personally I think it is a very stupid word, even though I know Thais do not mean anything negative when they call us that,

Well if you want to get your knickers in a twist over the use of a word then feel free. I personally think its the same as foreigner or westerner and I don't really care.

I don't actually group myself together however I guess we all have some common ground being Western and whatnot.

I'm sorry that you only know Thai people who refer to all Westerners as "Farangs" and not personally. You're obviously hanging out with the wrong Thai people.

No its not the same as foreigner, westerner, american, etc. I dont get my knickers in a twist either.

I do think it is very ignorant of us to call ourselves farangs.

Most thai people call you farang (if you are white) as well, its just that you are unaware of it.

Disagree strongly with this. The term is a slang word denoting a race. Therefore it is racist. I understand maybe "They don't mean anything by it..," usually, but neither did my grandparents when they used the term " n*gger."

Or actually they did, as it was quite acceptable to diminish and marginalize blacks with usage of this term, and " farang " is the same and means potato, I understand. It's no different from the term "eggplant "for blacks in USA .

Language is very important, it sets the stage for interaction. ( which is why I also resist the term " girls" for fully grown women.)

To be referred to by my race, especially in my presence is not just rude, it is racism.

I make a point of not accepting it, especially in professional situations.

Very good post! 5 stars!

Farang has been done to death. Stop it! If you really feel strong about it go back to Falang-land.

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Farang has been done to death. Stop it! If you really feel strong about it go back

You seem to feel strong about this subject yourself, I think it is an important subject to discuss.

As macChine pointed out, language is very important, as it sets the stage for interaction.

Everyday here in Thailand, we see many people who are being scammed and ripped off, as a result of being alienated and grouped together based on such a shallow thing as ones skin color.

Of course Thailand is a racist country! The Thais are also very conscious about status and the colour of their skin. Who cares? Get on with life. The use of the term "farang" COULD intentionally be used in an offensive manner, but 99 times out of a hundred it isn't. So what? Those who worry about such things are just insecure, paranoid twits. Who cares what they think?

Of course Thailand is a racist country! The Thais are also very conscious about status and the colour of their skin. Who cares? Get on with life. The use of the term "farang" COULD intentionally be used in an offensive manner, but 99 times out of a hundred it isn't. So what? Those who worry about such things are just insecure, paranoid twits. Who cares what they think?

It is kind of funny and brings up the advantage of speaking Thai. The guy a couple of posts back who thought a person was being called a racist form or black and the students were calling him gay.

Some racist nonsense posts and replies have been removed.

Of course Thailand is a racist country! The Thais are also very conscious about status and the colour of their skin. Who cares? Get on with life. The use of the term "farang" COULD intentionally be used in an offensive manner, but 99 times out of a hundred it isn't. So what? Those who worry about such things are just insecure, paranoid twits. Who cares what they think?

As macChine pointed out, language is very important, as it sets the stage for interaction.

Everyday here in Thailand, we see many people who are being scammed and ripped off, as a result of being alienated and grouped together based on such a shallow thing as ones skin color.

Of course Thailand is a racist country! The Thais are also very conscious about status and the colour of their skin. Who cares? Get on with life. The use of the term "farang" COULD intentionally be used in an offensive manner, but 99 times out of a hundred it isn't. So what? Those who worry about such things are just insecure, paranoid twits. Who cares what they think?

As macChine pointed out, language is very important, as it sets the stage for interaction.

Everyday here in Thailand, we see many people who are being scammed and ripped off, as a result of being alienated and grouped together based on such a shallow thing as ones skin color.

I have very limited interest in your main thesis - nothing personal but it is so flawed and so old/worn out - but I do feel like pointing out:

1) I haven't been scammed or ripped off for decades (in fact, the only time I was in any significant way was by a Far...err..foriegner of European descent). Nor have any of my friends who are aware and sensible about our choices regarding whom we spend time with and how we spend it (and especially those of us who speak the language).

2) Dishonest Thai people rip off Thais whenever they can - if they do it with foreigners more (not sure they do) it's because they have more opportunities (see # 1).

3) Scams and rip offs happen all over the world. If they happen more often here than other places (and I don't know that that's the case), it's not because of a word.

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Edited February 18, 201313 yr by SteeleJoe

Of course Thailand is a racist country! The Thais are also very conscious about status and the colour of their skin. Who cares? Get on with life. The use of the term "farang" COULD intentionally be used in an offensive manner, but 99 times out of a hundred it isn't. So what? Those who worry about such things are just insecure, paranoid twits. Who cares what they think?

As macChine pointed out, language is very important, as it sets the stage for interaction.

Everyday here in Thailand, we see many people who are being scammed and ripped off, as a result of being alienated and grouped together based on such a shallow thing as ones skin color.

I have very limited interest in your main thesis - nothing personal but it is so flawed and so old/worn out - but I do feel like pointing out:

1) I haven't been scammed or ripped off for decades (in fact, the only time I was in any significant way was by a Far...err..foriegner of European descent). Nor have any of my friends who are aware and sensible about our choices regarding whom we spend time with and how we spend it (and especially those of us who speak the language).

2) Dishonest Thai people rip off Thais whenever they can - if they do it with foreigners more (not sure they do) it's because they have more opportunities (see # 1).

3) Scams and rip offs happen all over the world. If they happen more often here than other places (and I don't know that that's the case), it's not because of a word.

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In the interest of fairness and accuracy I will quickly add what I forgot...

No doubt, like anywhere, those who are outsiders are often (generally unconsciously I'd wage) a more appealing target and/ or one that is less likely to bother one's conscience. But even if no one ever uses the F word again, you will still be an outsider to Thais who don't know you (and some who do).

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couple of troll posts & a reply to them removed. Post similar again & you will be on an enforced holiday.m'kay.

Farang has been done to death. Stop it! If you really feel strong about it go back to Falang-land.

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I hear the word at least a dozen times a day, particularly out here in the wilds - from the kids, the teens and the adults.

If I were to be upset about it, I wouldn't get out of bed.

Disagree strongly with this. The term is a slang word denoting a race. Therefore it is racist. I understand maybe "They don't mean anything by it..," usually, but neither did my grandparents when they used the term " n*gger."

Or actually they did, as it was quite acceptable to diminish and marginalize blacks with usage of this term, and " farang " is the same and means potato, I understand. It's no different from the term "eggplant "for blacks in USA .

Language is very important, it sets the stage for interaction. ( which is why I also resist the term " girls" for fully grown women.)

To be referred to by my race, especially in my presence is not just rude, it is racism.

I make a point of not accepting it, especially in professional situations.

Seriously? Farang? It's also thai for guava... Get over it...

If you're getting sweaty palms at the very mention of the word and now the fruit reference, it's really time to re-evaluate yourself.

Accepting it's usage is not ignorant nor is it giving pseudo support to racism...

It's worth noting that many Thai people deliberately avoid using the term "farang". I have had conversations with a large socila mixture of such people who deliberately use the term "Thai script removed" or "Thai script removed".

It is comparable to the difference in education, manners and self awareness between people who use the word "gin" to a stranger vs. the word "taan" for "eat".

Whichever you hear more of says quite a lot about who you hang out with. Not saying this in a good or bad way, it just is.

Edited March 2, 201313 yr by metisdead
Thai script removed, this is the English language side of the forum. If you wish to post using Thai language, do so in the Thai language forum.

OxfordWill, I hang out with hookers and assorted desperates from lower Suk, and one of them mentioned that your bar tab is quite substantial - any chance you could pop by Golden Bar on your way to the Cockatoo Club this weekend ?

Please don't judge all thai women by the ones you see in the bar. Because decent women don't visit bars nor

climb to a man's lap easily and they don't steal other woman's bf whether he has thai or western girl. And I have no idea why you expect to see decent people in that kind of place.

By the way, it's nothing to do with race. It's all about the feeling that you are the one he is "formally" dating. It's your status that is threatening them, not race. They dare to steal a man from another thai woman because they think foreigners date thai women temporarily so there might be a chance for them if he changes his mind. Do you get it?

I am a thai woman and never get threatened by any western girl because they are not superior to me. If your initial intention of posing this question is to boot up your ego, I think it doesn't work at all.