In the Bangkok Post a few days ago was a review of two books, one called "Why smart men marry smart women". I haven't read the book but the review stated that the authors found that highly educated women (ie BA/BS or higher) were more likely to marry than women with a lower education and were more likely to have a child in wedlock. It also stated that research found the same was true of men as well, a lower educated man was less likely to marry than a higher educated man.

So, does this mean that people with a lower education just aren't getting married but are still having children? Is it a class thing that people who can afford a higher education will marry similar such people? Or does it just mean that educated men (or women) find they have more in common with another educated person?

Or is it a refutation of Dorothy Parker's famous witticism: "Men don't make passes at girls who wear glasses" ?

I remember reading somewhere that Bangkok has the highest rate of Single women in Thailand.

I remember reading somewhere that Bangkok has the highest rate of Single women in Thailand.

I wonder why, some Thai men are like little kids in a candy store and if they have money ohhh then their in heaven. You have to admit I wonder why it's high because you have so many Thai men with mia nois.

Unfortunately then you have the foreign men that act the same as thai men when they see how plentiful the women are in bangkok.

DL

Not exactly that. Thai guys are known for treating their wife/gf like shit, beat them up, cheat and much more.

Not exactly that. Thai guys are known for treating their wife/gf like shit, beat them up, cheat and much more.

Instead of allowing the thread to degenerate into that great sport of some competitive farang men: Thai men bashing, I would prefer to consider SBK's original questions.

I am not sure whether the book referred to stats gathered in Thailand or worldwide. If indeed it was about Thailand, then I imagine class, family networks, peer pressure and peer-networks, intellectual compatibility and mutual interests would all be factors in decisions to marry a partner with a similar educational level.

It is tempting to consider the situation re education along country/metropolitan cultural lines: does the Bangkok middle class have more access to a pool of similarly-educated potential partners, more pressure to marry and to marry a partner from a similar background? Does the corollary hold true? ie that country folk are under less pressure to legalise a partnership before producing children, less likely to have an extensive education etc, less opportunity to meet a partner of the same "class"?

Too many variables IMO. Interesting post, though.

Not exactly that. Thai guys are known for treating their wife/gf like shit, beat them up, cheat and much more.

Ummm this is gonna be interesting. So you farang guys come to my country, enjoy the place, **** thai girls, and talk shi* about thai guys. Yes, you are really civilized.

What would you think if you hear something like this from local people here in bkk... farang guys come to thailand coz they can't get gf in their land to get laid. In other words, they just suck in their own countries. Or how about... farang guys in thailand are well known for using money buying love from women in rural areas.

I am sorry to make this thread uncomfortable.

Ok, for the original topic, my reply would be:

Well, I think we need to define the word "getting married" over here. I have read some previous posts you folks talked about how people here in LOS think about marriage. Here people are considered practically married when they live together having a relationship. So, I am not sure about the word “marry” in this research. If “getting married” in their meaning means having a wedding day, invite people to their ceremony, and get the paper work done, I would say this research is right. Otherwise, I don’t think it’s quite right from my experience here.

But if the research topic was changed to “Well Educated Women More Likely To Marry Educated Men, vise versa. Etc”, I would agree.

One time when I was in my college, my friends and I agree that the best place to look for gfs is library.

Not exactly that. Thai guys are known for treating their wife/gf like shit, beat them up, cheat and much more.

This is an unacceptable post for this forum. If you don't have anything other than this bs to contribute then please don't contribute at all, thank you

Sorry to be unclear, the book is based on American results, but, I think are indicative of a trend amongst educated people at least in western countries.

As for rural Thai people, well most of the ones I know do not have anything past high school and many don't bother to legalize their relationships as they are considered married in the eyes of society.

The low educated Thai women that I know don't even look at Thai guys so I am unsure what that bit about so many mia nois and so many women in BKK for these Thai guys. I think that's all a bunch of BS. I also don't necessarily buy all this nonsense about wife beating and the like. The reason these women don't look at the Thai guys is that they want farangs for economic reasons. They know full well that marriage with a Thai man will get them no where economically so in this regard these women have great common sense. I suspect that Thai men have exactly the same problems getting Thai women as farang men have getting farang women. same same

Not the discussion here, thanks anyway.

We will NOT engage in Thai male bashing here of any kind, understood?

Please re read my OP bearing in mind that is based on western results, thank you.

solid has a good point- many people are "married" in thailand without it's being official. maybe the lower classes don't bother because weddings are expensive.

I honestly wasn't trying to start a Thai male bashing thread. Just to those of who didn't know, plenty of Thai girls complain about their Thai bf's cheating and beating them up. No generalization, as they are everywhere of course.

Did you ever stop to think that the reason the women you meet who complain about it are there because they are the ones who have left their husbands and that plenty of women live normal happy lives but don't go into bars or go meet farang? And the idea that educated thai women won't marry thai men is absurd, there are literally millions of thai women married to thai men. I would think that the percentages of thai women married to farang men would be substantially lower and to be honest, many of the women married to farang are not highly educated.

No, the point of the article was to show that the old fashioned idea that a woman is an old maid by 30, or that men didn't like women who were educated was outdated and obsolete. I think times are beginning to change in Thailand but suspect that it lags well behind the west in this manner.

My husband was attracted to me because I was educated, intelligent, straightforward and not afraid to voice my own opinion. Not something that is necessarily encouraged in girls in Thai society. I think that Japan is a model of what can happen when the women's ideas change but the men's don't. Many Japanese women prefer not to get married anymore as they don't want to give up their independence in order to serve a man, as is expected by many Japanese men.

This book claims to show that western men have changed their ideas of women's roles in society and that most have grown up to expect women to work and share the financial burden. And that educated men prefer women of their own educational and social standing.

"So, does this mean that people with a lower education just aren't getting married but are still having children?"

Among the poor, informal unions(living together) are often regarded as an acceptable form of marriage, partly because couples are unable to afford the expense of sinsot and a wedding feast for hordes of relatives – people tend simply to live & have children together. And in many case the man, bound by no legal tie, often will go off with another woman, leaving the women the task of bringing the children up often unaided. The case of “runaway husband” is quite high among thais in rural/uneducated area.

"Is it a class thing that people who can afford a higher education will marry similar such people? Or does it just mean that educated men (or women) find they have more in common with another educated person?"

This may be a generalisation, but I found the below to be the case and often true in thai society ….

While the marriage among the middle class thai also put so much emphasis on age and education….. but the most significant factors of most thais middle class marriage are actually base on “Class” and "Occupation", which will bring repect. .

Because class and occupation in Thailand actual have the same and one common denominator and that is “respect”.

For example…. thais have so much respect if you are…. a teacher, doctor, nurse, engineer, police, govt official(except the case of dishonestly and corruption), etc

And about the “class”

Having a good standing class is very important.

In Thailand having money is not enough and not the only thing, the thais will also look into your backgrounds, education, your lastname, your contribution to the society, and good moral standing for example.

So having your bf/gf with all of the above will sure make the family of both side very happy and be willing to approve the union certainly, because most couple will not marry without the family blessing also.

Edited December 3, 200619 yr by teacup

I know that before my husband met me his mother tried to arrange a marriage with a "suitable girl" ie one who's family had substantial enough land-holdings to satisfy my mother-in-laws requirements.

Instead, she got me, landless

But, sorry, this book was based on North American statistics, not Thai but I suspect they would apply here as well, for very different reasons such as teacup has stated, but still apply.

Back to the OP. Interesting as if true the North America statistics are the direct opposite of what is happening in what Mr. Bush refers to as Old Europe.

In Europe and most especially in Germany and UK it is precisely the educated monied middle classes that has simply stopped breeding (and marrying). The only groups that are breeding are the underclass (not marrying either) and immigrants (marrying a lot). The social applications of this are just starting to be realised.

My friend who lives in London tells me THE dating event nowadays is a Law Society dinner where the are hordes of educated women desperately searching for educated husbands.

In UK Miss Parkers observation seems to be holding. Maybe all the nice daughters of Bayswater need to get themselves a green card as to quote Miss Parker again 'if all the girls who attended the Yale prom were laid end to end, I wouldn't be a bit surprised'.

In UK Miss Parkers observation seems to be holding. Maybe all the nice daughters of Bayswater need to get themselves a green card as to quote Miss Parker again 'if all the girls who attended the Yale prom were laid end to end, I wouldn't be a bit surprised'.

Completely off-topic here, but I do love Dorothy Parker. So catty yet so true

If you want to know what God thinks of money, just look at the people he gave it to.

Anyway, I also thought it was an interesting review as I was under the impression that it was more difficult for educated women but then, I am married, most of my friends back home are married, and I am out of the loop on the dating scene, as it were.

this is how i see it...amongst educated thai friends..most meet their partners at uni, many continuing their relationship for years, and at some point get married, to the same people they have been dating since uni. very often i hear female friends who didnt stay in relationship with their uni boyfriends say that it is harder to meet guys once they have started to work. (most of the time you dont want to be dating within the office, too many complications there). and for many thai women...meeting guys at bars is not really an option to be considered to find a partner. this partly explains the people of same education marry each other perhaps?

also even those that meet outside of uni (ie in work environment) tends to be friends of friends....who again in most cases would be people that work in the same office as your friends, once again confirming the same social class setting.

in simple terms, circumstances play a lot of role in determining who we meet in our day to day life, which will mostly be centred around what takes up majority of our time -- either studies or work

sports and hobby might be another factor...but if you notice...that isnt such a big part of thai lifestyle as yet. (maybe changing particularly in bangkok, but upcountry this is still not the case)

Don't think economic status has anything to do with marriage - plenty of poor people marry.