# Why is a dating preference for Asian women so readily disparaged? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 8, 2013, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-a-dating-preference-for-asian-women-so-readily-disparaged/660506 "2013-06-08T21:52:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 10
**Author:** ![squeegee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/squeegee/32/14537_2.png) [@squeegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/squeegee)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2013, 6:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-a-dating-preference-for-asian-women-so-readily-disparaged/660506/181 "2013-06-16T06:06:48Z")
> [@Doggo](#): > > Why do you say I’m offended? I am just astonished that anyone on an anonymous forum would get offended about other people’s opinions. I’m not trying to engage in an argument, but isn’t that what you did in turn? ---
**Author:** ![Doggo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/87869e/32.png) [@Doggo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doggo)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2013, 6:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-a-dating-preference-for-asian-women-so-readily-disparaged/660506/182 "2013-06-16T06:09:22Z")
> [@pancakes3](#): > > A. I’m just objecting to the idea that Asian women are wholesale better looking than White women because they’re thin. > > B. Thinner may be better, unless you want a Karashian-esque buttock on your lady or a Christina-Hendrix-esque bust, or a Sophia Vergara-esque everything. > > C. Asian women are shorter. Shorter women don’t have very good looking legs. > > D. For many east Asian women being pale is a mark of beauty and they take great lengths to keep their skin white. It’s a cultural thing. I don’t know why you’re being so incredulous. > > I just find the defense of “oh come on… skinnier is better and asian women are skinnier!” to be a strange reconciliation of racial preference in attraction. Nobody is forcing you to date an obese woman if you choose a white woman just the same as nobody is forcing you to date a pale, moon-faced asian midget if you choose Asian. There is beauty in both races, and others. > > To take a stand and say “Asians are better because they’re thinner” suggests that you’re playing the odds somehow and preferring one race of woman over another because of a generalization rather than taking attraction on a case-by-case basis which to me seems entirely bizarre. Your statement that Asian women don’t have good looking legs is absurd. Northern Thai women have amazingly attractive legs, as do Chinese women, on the whole. ---
**Author:** ![Doggo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/87869e/32.png) [@Doggo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doggo)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2013, 6:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-a-dating-preference-for-asian-women-so-readily-disparaged/660506/183 "2013-06-16T06:10:46Z")
> [@squeegee](#): > > I’m not trying to engage in an argument, but isn’t that what you did in turn? You’re not trying to have an argument, but you keep responding, LOL. ---
**Author:** ![Doggo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/87869e/32.png) [@Doggo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doggo)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2013, 6:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-a-dating-preference-for-asian-women-so-readily-disparaged/660506/184 "2013-06-16T06:15:18Z")
> [@Mijin](#): > > Well, whatever it is, it is something that is less common among the Chinese population I have seen so far than it was in Europe. > > And I actually think it’s muscle mass. We don’t normally think of muscle as being something that makes women more attractive but I think it’s what’s necessary to give the right _kind_ of curves. > > Disclaimer: > I do not objectify women or condone anyone else doing the same. Personality and compatibility is important for me in dating, I’m just limiting myself to talking about non-facial physical features for the context of this discussion. Anyone claiming that East Asian women don’t have curves, has no real knowledge of East Asian women. Perhaps they are actually referring to breast size, and it is true that most East Asian women are on the small size, but as a part of the whole package, not a negative, unless one has a mammary fetish. ---
**Author:** ![Mijin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mijin/32/9369_2.png) [@Mijin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mijin)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2013, 6:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-a-dating-preference-for-asian-women-so-readily-disparaged/660506/185 "2013-06-16T06:45:32Z")
> [@Doggo](#): > > Anyone claiming that East Asian women don’t have curves, has no real knowledge of East Asian women. I didn’t say they didn’t have curves. I said that I am living in China right now, and the average chinese body shape is not doing it for me. There’s no right or wrong on this. I am attracted to what I’m attracted to, you are attracted to what you are attracted to. No-one’s going to talk anyone into changing what they find attractive. > [@](#): > > Perhaps they are actually referring to breast size, and it is true that most East Asian women are on the small size, but as a part of the whole package, not a negative, unless one has a mammary fetish. I made it _very_ clear in that post, that although I was just talking about body shape of course there are many other factors. Body shape is just the thing most relevant to the conversation right now. And if you must know, it’s more the lower body shape for me. ---
**Author:** ![Doggo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/87869e/32.png) [@Doggo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doggo)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2013, 6:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-a-dating-preference-for-asian-women-so-readily-disparaged/660506/186 "2013-06-16T06:54:47Z")
> [@Mijin](#): > > I didn’t say they didn’t have curves. I said that I am living in China right now, and the average chinese body shape is not doing it for me. > > There’s no right or wrong on this. I am attracted to what I’m attracted to, you are attracted to what you are attracted to. No-one’s going to talk anyone into changing what they find attractive. > > I made it _very_ clear in that post, that although I was just talking about body shape of course there are many other factors. Body shape is just the thing most relevant to the conversation right now. > And if you must know, it’s more the lower body shape for me. Yes, I misunderstood your post, apologies. BTW, the lower body shape of an attractive East Asian woman really “does” it for me, along with the legs, best seen under a pair of very short shorts, as is the fashion around here at present. ---
**Author:** ![Mississippienne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d2c977/32.png) [@Mississippienne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mississippienne)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2013, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-a-dating-preference-for-asian-women-so-readily-disparaged/660506/187 "2013-06-16T22:50:52Z")
I lived in Flushing, Queens until very recently (moved to a different neighborhood of Queens); Flushing is a gigantic Chinatown, also plus Koreans, and I saw tons of Asian ladies every day. At no point did I ever think that Asian women were more beautiful overall than any other group of women I’ve ever seen. They had the same ratio of beauties, pretty-in-a-cute way, plain Janes, and downright ugly girls as any other group. I could see a guy being attracted to the classic Asian facial features, but to suppose that they have some unusual amount of beauty not allotted to other women is preposterous. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2013, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-a-dating-preference-for-asian-women-so-readily-disparaged/660506/188 "2013-06-17T01:23:32Z")
> [@Doggo](#): > > Good grief! Have you ever been to East Asia? I was throwing it out as an example of another factor that could be measured objectively, like weight. I’m not making any value judgments about the teeth of East Asian women. And yes, I lived in Singapore for a year and I’ve been to Hong Kong and Japan. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2013, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-a-dating-preference-for-asian-women-so-readily-disparaged/660506/189 "2013-06-17T02:44:08Z")
> [@Doggo](#): > > Ah, the Grace Hotel! Do you know the saying " the Grace is the Place" nudge nudge. > Surely you haven’t been in LOS that long if you weren’t aware that Thai women are becoming heavier. Something to do with western diet, I’m sure. > They even have a Miss Jumbo pageant for the real large ladies. > > However, you are way less likely to see women waddling down the street in Thailand than in any western country ( unless they are tourists ). The Grace Hotel was the venue for Iraqi planners of a plot to blow up the American Embassy back during the First Gulf War. But it was uncovered by police before it could get beyond the planning stages, and the Iraqi Embassy was shut and the diplomatic personnel expelled. But I digress. Yes, Thais in general have become heavier over my decades here. But Bangkok and the Central region have always listed obesity as their No.1 health problem even back in the 1980s. (Each region has it’s specific top health problem – it’s liver fluke in the Northeast, iodine deficiency in the North and hookworm in the South.) That’s due mainly to it being the most prosperous part of the country. But even so, strolling down a Bangkok street is still quite a delight on the eye in terms of lovely ladies. ---
**Author:** ![Doggo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/87869e/32.png) [@Doggo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doggo)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2013, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-a-dating-preference-for-asian-women-so-readily-disparaged/660506/190 "2013-06-17T03:02:14Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > The Grace Hotel was the venue for Iraqi planners of a plot to blow up the American Embassy back during the First Gulf War. But it was uncovered by police before it could get beyond the planning stages, and the Iraqi Embassy was shut and the diplomatic personnel expelled. > > But I digress. Yes, Thais in general have become heavier over my decades here. But Bangkok and the Central region have always listed obesity as their No.1 health problem even back in the 1980s. (Each region has it’s specific top health problem – it’s liver fluke in the Northeast, iodine deficiency in the North and hookworm in the South.) That’s due mainly to it being the most prosperous part of the country. > > But even so, strolling down a Bangkok street is still quite a delight on the eye in terms of lovely ladies. LOL. The Grace ceased to be THE Place long before the Iraq war. My personal favourite place for burd watching is the top floor of MBK where uni girls go to hang out wearing short short short black microminis and white shirts at least 2 sizes too small. I could never be a teacher in a Bkk uni, as I’d be so overcome by all the pulchitrude in front of me! ---
**Author:** ![Doggo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/87869e/32.png) [@Doggo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doggo)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2013, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-a-dating-preference-for-asian-women-so-readily-disparaged/660506/191 "2013-06-17T03:05:44Z")
> [@Mississippienne](#): > > I lived in Flushing, Queens until very recently (moved to a different neighborhood of Queens); Flushing is a gigantic Chinatown, also plus Koreans, and I saw tons of Asian ladies every day. At no point did I ever think that Asian women were more beautiful overall than any other group of women I’ve ever seen. They had the same ratio of beauties, pretty-in-a-cute way, plain Janes, and downright ugly girls as any other group. I could see a guy being attracted to the classic Asian facial features, but to suppose that they have some unusual amount of beauty not allotted to other women is preposterous. There is no better place to enjoy beautiful East Asian women than in their country of origin. DDG females are so common where I live that they are unremarkable, and there are almost no westerners living where I do. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2013, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-a-dating-preference-for-asian-women-so-readily-disparaged/660506/192 "2013-06-17T03:05:53Z")
> [@Doggo](#): > > … as I’d be so overcome by all the pulchitrude in front of me! Bernard Trink, is that you??!? :eek: ---
**Author:** ![simple\_homer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9de0a6/32.png) [@simple\_homer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/simple_homer)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2013, 5:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-a-dating-preference-for-asian-women-so-readily-disparaged/660506/193 "2013-06-17T05:35:32Z")
> [@Mississippienne](#): > > I lived in Flushing, Queens until very recently (moved to a different neighborhood of Queens); Flushing is a gigantic Chinatown, also plus Koreans, and I saw tons of Asian ladies every day. At no point did I ever think that Asian women were more beautiful overall than any other group of women I’ve ever seen. They had the same ratio of beauties, pretty-in-a-cute way, plain Janes, and downright ugly girls as any other group. I could see a guy being attracted to the classic Asian facial features, but to suppose that they have some unusual amount of beauty not allotted to other women is preposterous. The more attractive women tend to stay in their home countries because they have more opportunities there. The Asian women that go to the USA tend to be the ones with few opportunities in their home countries so they seek there fortunes elsewhere. When I still lived in the USA and had not traveled much, I used to think that there were very few attractive Mexican women. But, when I visited Mexico city I realized that there are many gorgeous Mexican women, they live in Mexico, they do not travel to the USA to do the crappier jobs. I am now living in China, and I now realize that the Chinese women that many Americans would consider attractive, such as Lucy Liu, would be considered merely average here in China. ---
**Author:** ![Mijin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mijin/32/9369_2.png) [@Mijin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mijin)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2013, 5:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-a-dating-preference-for-asian-women-so-readily-disparaged/660506/194 "2013-06-17T05:57:07Z")
> [@simple\_homer](#): > > The more attractive women tend to stay in their home countries because they have more opportunities there. The Asian women that go to the USA tend to be the ones with few opportunities in their home countries so they seek there fortunes elsewhere. I think there’s two forms of immigration. One where Country A decides to allow in X people from Country B. This form results in a fairly average sampling. The other is where you have individuals just emigrating sporadically and not as part of a “wave”. These tend to be young, talented people going where they can make the most of their talents. They are more likely to have parents from two different countries (or at least two far away regions in the same country). In short: they are often good-looking IME. > [@](#): > > When I still lived in the USA and had not traveled much, I used to think that there were very few attractive Mexican women. > But, when I visited Mexico city I realized that there are many gorgeous Mexican women, they live in Mexico, they do not travel to the USA to do the crappier jobs. I’m not sure Mexico City is a fair sampling either, as it is bound to attract young, good-looking people from areas with less job prospects. As an aside, one thing I’ve noticed living in Shanghai is that a high proportion of the American expats here are good looking, and very few of them are fat. But again, it’s not a representative sample. ---
**Author:** ![China\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/779978/32.png) [@China\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/China_Guy)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2013, 6:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-a-dating-preference-for-asian-women-so-readily-disparaged/660506/195 "2013-06-17T06:09:15Z")
> [@simple\_homer](#): > > I am now living in China, and I now realize that the Chinese women that many Americans would consider attractive, such as Lucy Liu, would be considered merely average here in China. Lucy Liu is a dog. Joan Chen, on the other hand, was hawt in her younger days and a mature goddess. I was in a movie with her (Taipan), and once saw her with her kids at the pool at the Ambassy Court in Shanghai. She’s got a totally stereotypical Shanghaiese face. rawr! ---
**Author:** ![China\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/779978/32.png) [@China\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/China_Guy)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2013, 6:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-a-dating-preference-for-asian-women-so-readily-disparaged/660506/196 "2013-06-17T06:25:29Z")
> [@Mijin](#): > > I didn’t say they didn’t have curves. I said that I am living in China right now, and the average chinese body shape is not doing it for me. Dude, you’re in the happy hunting ground! Go to a party or club, there will be a bunch of hawt Chinese ladies, generally a decade or two older western men, and some western women of varying ages. Do not under any circumstance stare at one of the local Chinese ladies no matter how hot or dressed up to get messed up. Instead, Strike up a conversation with one of the gweilo ladies. Look her in the eye, have a good conversation , don’t so much as glance at any of the local hotties, drop the line “I guess they are attractive (casually point to Miss hot pants) if you like that kind of thing, me, I like a woman with a brain that I can talk to.”\* If you aren’t making the double backed beast 20 minutes later somewhere or at least snogging, you probably live 30 minutes away. It was like shooting fish in a barrel. Go after those smart, successful, single expat ladies that feel totally dissed by their male counterparts doing the obvious local bimbo that can’t even speak English beyond a body talk level. And those smart, successful, single expat ladies generally (maybe a 98% rate) don’t find local men attractive. Mijin, you can either play the field or find a sugar mama or both, hell, who is to say you won’t find your soul mate? \*I’m not proud to say that yes, I did in fact use this exact technique with about a 90% it rate dozens of times when I was single. Worked like a charm in Taiwan, HK, Tokyo and China ---
**Author:** ![China\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/779978/32.png) [@China\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/China_Guy)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2013, 6:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-a-dating-preference-for-asian-women-so-readily-disparaged/660506/197 "2013-06-17T06:31:33Z")
> [@Mijin](#): > > As an aside, one thing I’ve noticed living in Shanghai is that a high proportion of the American expats here are good looking, and very few of them are fat. But again, it’s not a representative sample. Where do you hang out? What kind of crowd? I was in Shanghai 12 years, and if you date to the Long Bar, then we’ve met and the expats there were not skinny. I saw few obese expats but plenty of overweight out of shapers packing at least a 30-40 pound premium to their ideal BMI ---
**Author:** ![simple\_homer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9de0a6/32.png) [@simple\_homer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/simple_homer)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2013, 6:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-a-dating-preference-for-asian-women-so-readily-disparaged/660506/198 "2013-06-17T06:59:31Z")
> [@Mijin](#): > > I think there’s two forms of immigration. One where Country A decides to allow in X people from Country B. This form results in a fairly average sampling. > > The other is where you have individuals just emigrating sporadically and not as part of a “wave”. These tend to be young, talented people going where they can make the most of their talents. They are more likely to have parents from two different countries (or at least two far away regions in the same country). In short: they are often good-looking IME. You forgot about the illegal immigrants. There are thousands, if not millions, of them , and they tend to be the more desperate people that are doing anything to find opportunities. ---
**Author:** ![Mijin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mijin/32/9369_2.png) [@Mijin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mijin)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2013, 7:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-a-dating-preference-for-asian-women-so-readily-disparaged/660506/199 "2013-06-17T07:19:32Z")
> [@China\_Guy](#): > > Where do you hang out? What kind of crowd? I was in Shanghai 12 years, and if you date to the Long Bar, then we’ve met and the expats there were not skinny. > > I saw few obese expats but plenty of overweight out of shapers packing at least a 30-40 pound premium to their ideal BMI Well, OK, here’s my complete situation: I’ve only been here so far 6 weeks I think. I live and work in Pudong (hence the “99% of people I see are han chinese” comment earlier). I haven’t been out much and I’ve only been west of the river a handful of times. But when I have, and I see a girl and think Dayam!, the next thing I hear is an American accent. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2013, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-a-dating-preference-for-asian-women-so-readily-disparaged/660506/200 "2013-06-17T14:04:21Z")
> [@China\_Guy](#): > > Dude, you’re in the happy hunting ground! Go to a party or club, there will be a bunch of hawt Chinese ladies, generally a decade or two older western men, and some western women of varying ages. Do not under any circumstance stare at one of the local Chinese ladies no matter how hot or dressed up to get messed up. Instead, Strike up a conversation with one of the gweilo ladies. Look her in the eye, have a good conversation , don’t so much as glance at any of the local hotties, drop the line “I guess they are attractive (casually point to Miss hot pants) if you like that kind of thing, me, I like a woman with a brain that I can talk to.”\* > > If you aren’t making the double backed beast 20 minutes later somewhere or at least snogging, you probably live 30 minutes away. It was like shooting fish in a barrel. Go after those smart, successful, single expat ladies that feel totally dissed by their male counterparts doing the obvious local bimbo that can’t even speak English beyond a body talk level. And those smart, successful, single expat ladies generally (maybe a 98% rate) don’t find local men attractive. > > Mijin, you can either play the field or find a sugar mama or both, hell, who is to say you won’t find your soul mate? > > \*I’m not proud to say that yes, I did in fact use this exact technique with about a 90% it rate dozens of times when I was single. Worked like a charm in Taiwan, HK, Tokyo and China You sly dog you. 😉 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-a-dating-preference-for-asian-women-so-readily-disparaged/660506.md?page=9) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-a-dating-preference-for-asian-women-so-readily-disparaged/660506.md?page=11)