Englishman pays five million baht dowry as he marries Thai man he met on Facebook

[Falcon]

No comment other than "a fool and his money..."

[ghworker2010]

why would anyone pay that much for a sinsot is beyond me. Its completely excessive and the low class thai family will now only respect the englishman for his money. He should have tried to get the respect through love not money

[gk10002000]

funny thing about sin sod, in western cultures, traditionally the dowry for a woman was paid by the woman's father because he was happy to get her married off. In general the woman was not a bread winner.

[Morakot]

[Mook23]

Circus...

[JAG]

I really don't care what homosexuals get up to in private, and I wish them well, but I do get a little exasperated by their claims that their relationships, whatever their secular legal status are the same as a marriage between husband and wife. They're not.

[Mook23]

I really don't care what homosexuals get up to in private, and I wish them well, but I do get a little exasperated by their claims that their relationships, whatever their secular legal status are the same as a marriage between husband and wife. They're not.

i don't assign value to being "married" (never was married) but a solid love-relationship based on respect and friendship and occasional passion is great. this OP is nothing like that sofar. if these two gentlemen are still happy together in let's say 10 years or so and there was mutual and well-balanced giving & taking, then great. sofar i have seen 1 guy showing off his toyboy and another guy showing off the price he charged. maybe that's well-balanced according to the 2 protagonists, for me it's poor taste.

[Pattaya28]

Is that Tony Hadley from Spandau Ballet ?

[smotherb]

why would anyone pay that much for a sinsot is beyond me. Its completely excessive and the low class thai family will now only respect the englishman for his money. He should have tried to get the respect through love not money

So, there are two reasons to respect an Englishman?

[Jingthing]

I really don't care what homosexuals get up to in private, and I wish them well, but I do get a little exasperated by their claims that their relationships, whatever their secular legal status are the same as a marriage between husband and wife. They're not.

Yeah dude. It's two men or two women not a man and a woman. That's different.

Next ...

[namatjira]

I wonder if they shaved their balls ?

[Jingthing]

I wonder if they shaved their balls ?

That is relevant in what way?

[lkv]

I wonder if they shaved their balls ?

Very good question. Hard to tell. But you know, there's this cream in Boots/Watsons called hair removal cream. You should try it sometimes. Would make your girlfriend/boyfriend happy.

[nausea]

"After 'a' Bangkok meeting"- only mad dogs and Englishmen.

[Jingthing]

Well, as I said, I think the dowry part is foolish and ridiculous, but perhaps these kinds of events will nudge Thailand towards legalizing same sex marriage. If not out of respect for the equal civil rights of their GLBT citizens, but for potential FINANCIAL benefits. As far the gold digging issue, well, if you're a foreigner interested in marrying a Thai, saying dowry NO WAY, is a great way to filter that out, and save yourself both money and grief.

Yep, this would probably be the END of most such potential marriages where "big money" deposits are demanded. Who wants to marry a "bad" farang who doesn't respect "Thai culture"? Ha ha. Bad but maybe smart.

As far as this payment being a "tradition" -- that is absurd. There is NO "tradition" in Thailand of a foreign man marrying a Thai man. It's not even recognized IN ANY WAY under the laws of Thailand. As far as Thailand is concerned, these are two SINGLE men, even after they get legally married in England (assuming that will happen).

Is this Thai man saying he's a play acting girl? That seems silly. He's a man. Perhaps this would be more apt in the case of a TRANSGENDER Thai ... but that man is obviously not a transgender person.

Why should same sex couples in Thailand (or anywhere) copy the most ridiculous customs of heterosexual so called customs?

I can of course understand helping out a family financially over the course of the relationship, if they really need it and if you can really afford it, of course. But this lump sum payment ... give us a break!

Slippery slope of course. The next guy might expect TEN million.

[Morakot]

Circus...

Clearly, you haven't been to a wedding in Thailand...

[bangon04]

So nobody told this Englishman:

To keep this boy, he has to keep the carrot dangling on the stick, not handing it all away

Don't be a cynic. Of course he will keep him - at least until he gets permanent residency in the UK.....

[Bluespunk]

I wonder if they shaved their balls ?

Why?

[Mook23]

Circus...

Clearly, you haven't been to a wedding in Thailand...

Jup. Deliberately not. I'm not too much of a "sanook" maker... I skip songkran too and all other events where infantile behaviour is supposed to be "fun".

I do like funerals

[arunsakda]

I wonder if they shaved their balls ?

That is relevant in what way?

Totally irrelevant. From what I read plenty of straights are shaving their scrotums, and in pure numbers way more hereros are having anal sex than the Gay world , there is data on this going back to Masters and Johnson.

Still we have to endure all this snickering infantile rubbish thanks to homophobia and subtle bigotry.

[Morakot]

Is this Thai man saying he's a play acting girl? That seems silly. He's a man. Perhaps this would be more apt in the case of a TRANSGENDER Thai ... but that man is obviously not a transgender person.

Why should same sex couples in Thailand (or anywhere) copy the most ridiculous customs of heterosexual so called customs?

Is this a rhetorical question? I thought you live here.

Homosexuality in Thai culture is utterly heteronormative. Nothing vaguely like what happens on North America or Western Europe.

Suggest to Thai people that two toms (masculine homosexual female), or two maen (masculine homosexual male), go out with each other; they would be puzzled and might think you lost your mind.

[tubby johnson]

Soon a medical breakthrough will enable homosexuals to give birth anally.

Money better spent on cancer research and hereditary diseases.

[Morakot]

Circus...

Clearly, you haven't been to a wedding in Thailand...

Jup. Deliberately not. I'm not too much of a "sanook" maker... I skip songkran too and all other events where infantile behaviour is supposed to be "fun".

I do like funerals

In that case we have this moving story for you.

[OMGImInPattaya]

I suspect most of the snide comments here are because many here would like to have 5M baht to spend on anything ?

[Mook23]

Circus...

Clearly, you haven't been to a wedding in Thailand...

Jup. Deliberately not. I'm not too much of a "sanook" maker... I skip songkran too and all other events where infantile behaviour is supposed to be "fun".

I do like funerals

In that case we have this moving story for you.

unfortunately i'm not easily moved either.

[Jingthing]

Is this Thai man saying he's a play acting girl? That seems silly. He's a man. Perhaps this would be more apt in the case of a TRANSGENDER Thai ... but that man is obviously not a transgender person.

Why should same sex couples in Thailand (or anywhere) copy the most ridiculous customs of heterosexual so called customs?

Is this a rhetorical question? I thought you live here.

Homosexuality in Thai culture is utterly heteronormative. Nothing vaguely like what happens on North America or Western Europe.

Suggest to Thai people that two toms (masculine homosexual female), or two maen (masculine homosexual male), go out with each other; they would be puzzled and might think you lost your mind.

I'm aware of what you say. What you are describing is IGNORANCE and HOMOPHOBIA of the Thai kind.

I don't agree with westerners coming here and making a big show of supporting that very RETRO view. Basically it's an endorsement of Thai homophobia in this case backed up with 5 million baht.

Many EDUCATED Thai gays and lesbians (more likely to be Bangkokians) understand that too. With lesbians, that butch-femme thing may be more common but in my experience among Thai gay MEN (who are not transgender) the masculine to masculine thing is very common, the majority actually, even if their culture doesn't get it.

Those are two cisgender GAY MEN. No matter the show wedding.

[Mook23]

meanwhile some surgeon paid >20.000.000thb dowry. thai innovation, mister PM's latest urge, has formally started!

[Morakot]

I'm aware of what you say. What you are describing is IGNORANCE and HOMOPHOBIA of the Thai kind.

I don't agree with westerners coming here and making a big show of supporting that very RETRO view. Basically it's an endorsement of Thai homophobia in this case backed up with 5 million baht.

Many EDUCATED Thai gays and lesbians (more likely to be Bangkokians) understand that too. With lesbians, that butch-tom thing may be more common but in my experience among Thai gay MEN (who are not transgender) the masculine to masculine thing is very common, the majority actually, even if their culture doesn't get it.

Those are two cisgender GAY MEN. No matter the show wedding.

Thanks JT for clarifying this!

[Jingthing]

I am also wondering what (if anything) this kind of arrangement with two similar age cisgender MEN says about COLONIALISM. You've got the one MAN from a rich country doing a "white man's burden" thing with payment to the other MAN from the perceived non-white poor country. Maybe some academics can comment on that one.

[arunsakda]

JT I tend to think the sane way and always wonder why Farangs fly halfways around the world to take Thai prosties but they won't in their own country. Then you look at sports greats like Kobe and Tiger Woods who almost ruin their lives WITH SOME WAITRESS PULLED FROM BENNIGANS.

The mind boggles.