# 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:** 8
**Author:** ![even\_sven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dfb087/32.png) [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2013, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-a-dating-preference-for-asian-women-so-readily-disparaged/660506/141 "2013-06-14T15:12:36Z")
> [@BrianJ](#): > > I’ve been thinking about this lately. > > While I do think that the existence of men who think both that Asian women are all submissive and that they prefer dating submissive women are well within the realm of possibility, my guess is they are in the extreme minority of mixed race couples. > > What I think is far more likely, (and no, I’m not accusing any posters in this thread of this) is that this idea some form of passive-agressive racism on the part of the accusers. > > As in " I think interracial relationships are abnormal, therefore the participants in those relationships must be in them for abnormal reasons". Does that count for posters who are in interracial relationships? How about for posters who have had long term relationships with people of Asian descent? ---
**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 14, 2013, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-a-dating-preference-for-asian-women-so-readily-disparaged/660506/142 "2013-06-14T15:18:28Z")
You mean do people in interracial relationships get a pass on making assumptions about other interracial relationships? ---
**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 14, 2013, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-a-dating-preference-for-asian-women-so-readily-disparaged/660506/143 "2013-06-14T15:26:49Z")
When I was 32 I dated a white American woman that was 22. None of my family and friends said anything negative about her. When I was 36, I married an Asian woman that was 26. Many of my friends and family that were women insisted upon making negative comments about us. The message that I took from this is that many white women are intimidated by Asian women and that they hate white men for having the freedom of choice to choose a woman that is different. ---
**Author:** ![fjs1fs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/9e8a1a/32.png) [@fjs1fs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fjs1fs)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2013, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-a-dating-preference-for-asian-women-so-readily-disparaged/660506/144 "2013-06-14T15:29:39Z")
> [@Sleeps\_With\_Butterflies](#): > > You think this is about the difference between many and most? The mind boggles. > > Let’s try it again but read slower this time. Looks are subjective. What you find drop dead gorgeous can be just okay or even ick to other people. Whippity doo that hundreds of thousands of western men think it’s true. Hundreds of thousands of western men probably also don’t agree. Maybe millions of men think Swedish women are the hottest around while millions more may be unimpressed. > > To pretend that you can factually say that a group of people are hotter than another group of people (especially as wide a group as “Asian women”) is nutso crazypants or hopelessly daft. Facts when it comes to attractive? Hell you could take the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit edition and show it to a hundred thousand men and each model will have numerous guys thinking she’s the hottest thing ever while simultaneously having numerous guys think she’s a dog. That’s what’s so awesome about different tastes. > > Now, this little side conversation has gone on long enough for me. If you want to continue to act like you can say these things as if they are fact rather than just your opinion then I say bless your heart and don’t let things like logic stop you. Be you! Sleeps, I think we all agree and acknowledge that attractiveness is subjective. I think I heard a brilliant phrase about beauty and eyes of the beholder, etc.. However, most people would agree that obesity (and even just fatness) is a detractor from one’s attractiveness. I’m saying most, because sure there are some people who like the fat look. I don’t have statistics to back it up, but my observations (and again, “most” would probably agree) have been that Asian women tend to have a much lower incidence of obesity. If all else is equal (which all else probably is, and that’s where the "taste’ factor comes in–i.e., with regard to hair color, height, eye shape, accents, etc.), then on average, Asian women are more attractive as a result of their lower incidence of obesity. I still won’t go so far as to call this statement a “fact,” but I think it’s a reasonable explanation. ---
**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 14, 2013, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-a-dating-preference-for-asian-women-so-readily-disparaged/660506/145 "2013-06-14T15:33:06Z")
You can’t draw any conclusions from that. Obesity is one arguably “universal” beauty-nullifier, but there are clearly others. Maybe Asian women are more likely to have poor dentition, disfigurement, and so on. ---
**Author:** ![pancakes3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ba9def/32.png) [@pancakes3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pancakes3)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2013, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-a-dating-preference-for-asian-women-so-readily-disparaged/660506/146 "2013-06-14T15:33:44Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > Where are those statistics from? I’ve read that a lot throughout the years and confirmed it on wikipedia that had a census bureau cite. ---
**Author:** ![fjs1fs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/9e8a1a/32.png) [@fjs1fs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fjs1fs)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2013, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-a-dating-preference-for-asian-women-so-readily-disparaged/660506/147 "2013-06-14T15:38:29Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > You can’t draw any conclusions from that. Obesity is one arguably “universal” beauty-nullifier, but there are clearly others. Maybe Asian women are more likely to have poor dentition, disfigurement, and so on. Show me stats on that that come any where CLOSE to the percentage of Americans who are overweight and I’ll be convinced. I’m a white man who doesn’t really “discriminate” based on race, and I was married to a white woman for 11 years. Now 48, divorced and dating, it seems that maybe 20% of the white women I"ve seen online in my age group have what I would consider “fit” physiques, wheras maybe 60% of the Asian women meet that criteria. As a result, three of the last five women I’ve dated (including the current one) are Asian. Of course this 60% vs. 20% figure is highly subjective, but I thnk most would agree that the disparity in obesity is much greater than the disparity in dentitions, disfigurements and so on that you mentioned. ---
**Author:** ![Koxinga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/4af34b/32.png) [@Koxinga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Koxinga)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2013, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-a-dating-preference-for-asian-women-so-readily-disparaged/660506/148 "2013-06-14T15:39:28Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > You can’t draw any conclusions from that. Obesity is one arguably “universal” beauty-nullifier, but there are clearly others. Maybe Asian women are more likely to have poor dentition, disfigurement, and so on. :dubious: Now that, I think, is just about as offensive in its implications as the submissive geisha trope. What, you think an Asian woman is more likely to have her origins in some kind of malnourished third world poverty? ---
**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 14, 2013, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-a-dating-preference-for-asian-women-so-readily-disparaged/660506/149 "2013-06-14T15:44:38Z")
What wikipedia page (I don’t doubt it, just want to read about it myself)? ---
**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 14, 2013, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-a-dating-preference-for-asian-women-so-readily-disparaged/660506/150 "2013-06-14T15:45:57Z")
> [@Koxinga](#): > > :dubious: Now that, I think, is just about as offensive in its implications as the submissive geisha trope. What, you think an Asian woman is more likely to have her origins in some kind of malnourished third world poverty? No. I’m saying we have no idea what other issues Asian women may have more frequently. I was just throwing poor dentition out there because Americans generally have far better teeth (at least cosmetically) than people in other countries, including other wealthy countries. ---
**Author:** ![pancakes3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ba9def/32.png) [@pancakes3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pancakes3)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2013, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-a-dating-preference-for-asian-women-so-readily-disparaged/660506/151 "2013-06-14T15:54:54Z")
> [@Koxinga](#): > > :dubious: Now that, I think, is just about as offensive in its implications as the submissive geisha trope. What, you think an Asian woman is more likely to have her origins in some kind of malnourished third world poverty? Asians are also less buxom, don’t have the legs, have rounder faces, and in some countries - not as tan. There are definitely considerations other than weight. > [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > What wikipedia page (I don’t doubt it, just want to read about it myself)? > **[Interracial marriage in the United States | Census Bureau statistics](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interracial_marriage_in_the_United_States#Census_Bureau_statistics)** > > The number of interracial marriages has steadily continued to increase since the 1967 U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Loving v. Virginia, but also continues to represent an absolute minority among the total number of wed couples. According to Pew Research, among all newlyweds, intermarried pairings were primarily White-Hispanic (43.3%) as compared to White-Asian (14.4%), White-Black (11.9%), and Other Combinations (30.4%). According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the number of interracially married coup... ---
**Author:** ![fjs1fs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/9e8a1a/32.png) [@fjs1fs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fjs1fs)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2013, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-a-dating-preference-for-asian-women-so-readily-disparaged/660506/152 "2013-06-14T15:56:07Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > No. I’m saying we have no idea what other issues Asian women may have more frequently. I was just throwing poor dentition out there because Americans generally have far better teeth (at least cosmetically) than people in other countries, including other wealthy countries. These items that “we have no idea” about make for a very weak argument that they might be strong enough to counter the pretty much agreed upon points about comparative incidences of obesity and their contribution to overall attractiveness of the two groups being compared. ---
**Author:** ![Koxinga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/4af34b/32.png) [@Koxinga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Koxinga)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2013, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-a-dating-preference-for-asian-women-so-readily-disparaged/660506/153 "2013-06-14T15:59:22Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > No. I’m saying we have no idea what other issues Asian women may have more frequently. I was just throwing poor dentition out there because Americans generally have far better teeth (at least cosmetically) than people in other countries, including other wealthy countries. Ah, so, who knows what issues afflict these mysterious dragon ladies of the East? [Koxinga goes outside his door to check, returns] Ahem. It’s hot pants. I can report that these poor benighted young women of the Orient are afflicted by an unseemly preponderance of hot pants in the hot sticky summer months. Now if you’ll excuse me . . . ---
**Author:** ![fjs1fs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/9e8a1a/32.png) [@fjs1fs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fjs1fs)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2013, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-a-dating-preference-for-asian-women-so-readily-disparaged/660506/154 "2013-06-14T16:01:30Z")
> [@pancakes3](#): > > Asians are also less buxom, don’t have the legs, have rounder faces, and in some countries - not as tan. There are definitely considerations other than weight. > > [Interracial marriage in the United States - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interracial_marriage_in_the_United_States#Census_Bureau_statistics) I’m not sure if Anyone said that weight was the ONLY issue. I sure didn’t say that. But I think many would agree that it’s the BIGGEST issue (no pun intended). Here are some points: 1. Most would agree that thin is better than overweight or obese. 2. I don’t think I can make an obvious comment about whether round faces are preferable to the other shape faces. 3. I don’t know what “don’t have the legs” means! All the Asian women I’ve known have had legs–and on average better legs than their more obese Caucasian counterparts (on average–I’m not trying to hate on White women at all) 4. Tan? This is coming out of left field. Where are your stats that Asians in general have “worse tans” than Caucasians? (which I would put squarely in the subjective category even if some stat backed up this ridiculous assertion) ---
**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 14, 2013, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-a-dating-preference-for-asian-women-so-readily-disparaged/660506/155 "2013-06-14T16:16:59Z")
> [@pancakes3](#): > > Asians are also less buxom, don’t have the legs, have rounder faces, and in some countries - not as tan. There are definitely considerations other than weight. You have obviously never been to China. Chinese women are famous for their great legs, and many of them are buxom also. Why would tan be so important ? Some men like tan and some don’t. I love the peaches and cream complexion of many Asian women. ---
**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 14, 2013, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-a-dating-preference-for-asian-women-so-readily-disparaged/660506/156 "2013-06-14T16:24:02Z")
> [@pancakes3](#): > > [Interracial marriage in the United States - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interracial_marriage_in_the_United_States#Census_Bureau_statistics) Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![pancakes3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ba9def/32.png) [@pancakes3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pancakes3)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2013, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-a-dating-preference-for-asian-women-so-readily-disparaged/660506/157 "2013-06-14T16:27:01Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![pancakes3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ba9def/32.png) [@pancakes3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pancakes3)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2013, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-a-dating-preference-for-asian-women-so-readily-disparaged/660506/158 "2013-06-14T16:31:51Z")
> [@simple\_homer](#): > > You have obviously never been to China. Chinese women are famous for their great legs, and many of them are buxom also. I’m actually Taiwanese born and raised and happen to find asian women very attractive. I also freely acknowledge that there are many Asian ladies that are very well endowed, leggy, and otherwise attractive outside of stereotypes. However, you can’t say that the majority of the women in China are FAMOUS for their legs. Feet, maybe? Legs? Compared to the… Swedes? Russians? > [@](#): > > Why would tan be so important ? Some men like tan and some don’t. > I love the peaches and cream complexion of many Asian women. Well, the point is that it shouldn’t be important. Like I said earlier - why not take it case-by-case rather than choose based on generalizations? ---
**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 14, 2013, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-a-dating-preference-for-asian-women-so-readily-disparaged/660506/159 "2013-06-14T16:34:43Z")
ETA: This post is responding to **fjs1fs** and **simpler homer** I don’t know why you guys are trying to hard to fight over this point, but it doesn’t work. You can’t claim “well obviously, bodyweight is the most important factor so we can say asian women are more attractive”. You’ll never get agreement on what is the most important factor, and even if you did, you don’t know if all the other factors combined might actually mean asian women are less attractive on average. Furthermore, it could be the case that obesity is very unattractive but below that there may be little or no correlation between weight and attractiveness. As I mentioned before, I’m living in China, in an area where 9,999 out of every 10,000 people I see is Han Chinese, and at the moment Chinese women leave me cold. The only ones I come close to feeling any attraction for are the ones with a slightly chunkier, Western-style physique. I’m sure my preferences will shift eventually but nevertheless, it’s very odd for me to hear people attempt to prove that thinner is objectively better so asian women are more attractive. ---
**Author:** ![Koxinga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/4af34b/32.png) [@Koxinga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Koxinga)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2013, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-a-dating-preference-for-asian-women-so-readily-disparaged/660506/160 "2013-06-14T16:43:24Z")
> [@Mijin](#): > > The only ones I come close to feeling any attraction for are the ones with a slightly chunkier, Western-style physique. Ah, you need to find yourself a good Shandong woman. Six feet tall and some real meat on their bones, they’ve got. It’s the Manchu influence. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-a-dating-preference-for-asian-women-so-readily-disparaged/660506.md?page=7) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-a-dating-preference-for-asian-women-so-readily-disparaged/660506.md?page=9)