# Why so many more White Male/Asian Female couples? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [August 4, 2003, 6:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-so-many-more-white-male-asian-female-couples/192842 "2003-08-04T06:12:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![Abe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f1d935/32.png) [@Abe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Abe)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2003, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-so-many-more-white-male-asian-female-couples/192842/121 "2003-09-12T04:07:35Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by shijinn \* > what i had wanted to do was to clarify that the segment was smaller than implied, but no…, here in Great Debates it’s all about the debate instead of staying on the topic at hand, The segment was not any implied size at all, it was simply mentioned. And it would be great if you managed to keep the debate in mind instead of sliding off the road so egregiously. You’re accusing me of behaviour only you can see, and you haven’t yet demonstrated that I have said a single objectionable thing. > [@](#): > > assuming you’d meant all women i will have to question this. are you saying there are no equivalent places where the poorer western women might socialise with the richer folks? not even hostesses? I didn’t mean all women, as a simple reading without prejudice will show. I have no idea what you mean by the second and third sentences quoted above. However, you will note that the phenomenon I discussed earlier (and one of the reasons why prostitutes and hostesses made it into the discussion) was the crudely called “yellow fever” many men exhibit when they come to Asia. Which of course has to do with the OP. > [@](#): > > again i’m highlighting what i saw - you put forth as the ‘first thing’ that some asian women do consider westerners to be more desirable targets, then in the same paragraph gave an example of how western prostitutes are valued more. Why, apart from convenient misrepresentation, do you portray me as saying that “the ‘first thing’ that some asian women do consider westerners to be more desirable targets”? Apart from the basic incomprehensibility of your argument, do you know what you are discussing? If by your own admission you don’t know about prostitutes and hostesses, why do you insist on this foolish and unnecessary strategy of equivocation? What are you saying in the above quoted paragraph? Is there a point? Why are you surprised that I should mention local prostitutes, hostesses, and even Western prostitutes? And are you able to actually discuss some of the material here? For example, can you actually challenge any of my claims instead of airing your indignance? > [@](#): > > i personally find that a very odd example to give, comparing a prostitute to a businessman. The comparison is all in your head. However there is nothing “weird” about the juxtaposition of the two, especially when they converge so (relatively) frequently. > [@](#): > > moreover, there is no need for you to give a lengthy explanation (in your previous post) about prostitution in general because i have at no time disputed your experiences with that. You fail to understand my approach: if I mentioned prostitution and whatnot when you didn’t, it is simply to explain and support a point, hopefully beyond the understanding you have displayed so far. > [@](#): > > my quotes was to **highlight** what you said which i took issue on, what is the sense of quoting everything that you’d posted? There is of course no need to quote everything I posted, however you ought to take my argument as a whole rather than complain about certain portions of it that, had you read without knee-jerk, you would have understood the first or even second time round. And, I am sure, you wouldn’t have had issues with. > [@](#): > > you had put forth the ‘three things’ to support what **Kreg** and **Giggle Gaggle** had said, peppered with disclaimers here and there. So perhaps you would like to address the argument at long last? So far you have only complained without much cause, referring to vague accusations of racism and stereotype. You mention my cautionary notes as if I am making some racist points and trying to cover my back. I am rapidly losing patience with that tack of your argument, especially because it is so poorly supported. > [@](#): > > now instead of merely implying you have come out to specifically state that an asian country’s major attraction to these ‘business men’ are prostitutes, in a thread about white male / asian female couples, while trying to add on to what Kreg and Giggle Gaggle had said. if you been clear in your original post that all you’re interested in was prostitutes i would not have bothered with it. however it was not, and i felt it necessary to clarify on the implications that is insensitive to the genuine interracial couples that is directly related to this thread. First, don’t imply “all” I am interested in is prostitutes when the argument you have been presented wth is obviously a good deal wider than your field of vision. Secondly, it’s obvious you have very little inkling of what implications really are or are not contained in my post, or indeed in this entire thread. Hopefully I clarified what gaggle and kreg stated so poorly, though I doubt you will be convinced of anything until you have swallowed an entirely PC version of reality that conforms to your sensitivites. Unfortunately the world doesn’t usually work like that. Stereotypes and preconceptions may be the basis of a relationship as easily as honest love. ---
**Author:** ![shijinn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cc9497/32.png) [@shijinn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shijinn)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2003, 5:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-so-many-more-white-male-asian-female-couples/192842/122 "2003-09-13T05:16:20Z")
> [@](#): > > Originally posted by \*\*Abe \*\* > … First, don’t imply “all” I am interested in is prostitutes … all else aside, i honestly do not know how that got through my preview; that is uncalled for and i do not wish to imply anything with that. i am beginning to see exactly why some people avoid GD! the implication i see in your original post is that it is easy to get local girls here as long as you’re a westerner with a fat wallet. i want to stress that the kind of girls you’re gonna get is among a niched minority viewed with embarrassment by the rest of the population. you don’t seem to understand or agree with my view, and likewise you think i don’t understand your view. since we both do not understand each other despite the past few posts and if it is true that i am the _only_ person to see it then nothing more need be said on the matter as i am mainly worried that people would get the wrong impression. shijinn ---
**Author:** ![Abe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f1d935/32.png) [@Abe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Abe)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2003, 12:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-so-many-more-white-male-asian-female-couples/192842/123 "2003-09-13T12:09:22Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by shijinn \* > all else aside, i honestly do not know how that got through my preview OK, happens to anyone. > [@](#): > > the implication i see in your original post is that it is easy to get local girls here as long as you’re a westerner with a fat wallet. i want to stress that the kind of girls you’re gonna get is among a niched minority viewed with embarrassment by the rest of the population. Actually, this is exactly what I have been going on about. When I was discussing that part of the story, I was talking (and I signaled this, before and after the fact) about a segment of men (Western, moderately or decidedly well-off expats) living in Asia. More specifically, men who particularly _like_ Asian girls (many even cite women as one of the reason they live in Asia). It’s not surprising that in talking about this specific group of men certain types of women should be discussed more prominently, such as the type that you described as “viewed with embarrassment”. As I said then and since, that in no way suggests that other women are of like type. My comments also don’t include – obviously – mixed couples who get together for other reasons. That doesn’t mean they don’t exist, they were simply not the subject. ---
**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:** [September 13, 2003, 12:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-so-many-more-white-male-asian-female-couples/192842/124 "2003-09-13T12:28:39Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by shijinn \* > \*\*the implication i see in your original post is that it is easy to get local girls here as long as you’re a westerner with a fat wallet. i want to stress that the kind of girls you’re gonna get is among a niched minority viewed with embarrassment by the rest of the population. > \*\* shijinn, that was well said and I’m sure I’ll be repeating it in the future. ---
**Author:** ![sjgouldrocks](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@sjgouldrocks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sjgouldrocks)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2003, 12:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-so-many-more-white-male-asian-female-couples/192842/125 "2003-09-13T12:46:55Z")
The supposed disparity does not really exist. The perception is nothing more than a product of arbitrary cultural delusions. ---
**Author:** ![Testy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c37758/32.png) [@Testy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Testy)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2003, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-so-many-more-white-male-asian-female-couples/192842/126 "2003-09-13T13:04:22Z")
Several posters have pointed out that wealthy white guys can easily pick up Asian girls. That is certainly true, but I don’t consider the phenomena to be unique to Asia. As far as I can tell, wealthy guys are rarely without female companionship regardless of their race and location. The bar for “wealthy” is just lower in some Asian countries so the phenomenon is more common. “Gold digger” is a **western** term for women marrying wealthy men for their money. Why should it be a surprise, or even cause for comment, that Asia has them too? Regards Testy ---
**Author:** ![MoronosaurusRex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e19adc/32.png) [@MoronosaurusRex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MoronosaurusRex)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2003, 5:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-so-many-more-white-male-asian-female-couples/192842/127 "2003-09-14T05:41:56Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Surreal \* > \*\*Here are the data on inter-racial couples from the U.S. census department- > \*\* Thanks for posting this Surreal! Very interesting. I hadn’t realized that even by 1992, 5% of all US marriages were interracial. I also wonder why they don’t have stats (other than B/W) post 1990, but that’s another story. Let’s see if I can list all the interracial couples I know and can think of right now, where both parties are below 35. I’ll list them in M/F order, as I’m a MCP. I’ve included approximate heights where I can, since some people have asked about that. Male / Female : SAsian 5’8 , White 5’9 White 6’1 , SAsian 5’2 White 5’11, EAsian 5’5 White 5’11, EAsian 5’4 SAsian, White 5’9 I’ve replaced the term Asian by South Asian and East Asian. If I knew more Arabs in mixed couples I’d use West Asian, though that’s not a standard abbrev. I’ve not split White further, into say, Jewish/Goy. Now for flamebait… A single SAsian male myself, I think the stereotypes expressed about chauvinist Asian males and tolerant (of male behaviour) Asian females reflect reality to a large degree, particularly the former. This does not apply to third-generation immigrants, of course, and not that much to second-generation. If I was forced to put numbers on them, I’d say they were 90% and 60% true. That leaves plenty of room for exceptions. (I wish I was an exception…) ---
**Author:** ![MoronosaurusRex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e19adc/32.png) [@MoronosaurusRex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MoronosaurusRex)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2003, 5:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-so-many-more-white-male-asian-female-couples/192842/128 "2003-09-14T05:50:28Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by friedo \* > \*\*…the white girl/black guy stereotype too… \*\* This should get me into trouble… let me just say that I really really hope there’s an anthropologist in the house (someone who knows what current Interracial Marriage theories are). Regarding B/W couples, I heard one pre-1970 theory that it was partly due to social equalization : The social standing of males was higher than females, and of whites higher than blacks, so white females were more equal to black males than white males were to black females. This sounds dodgy to me, but if I was forced to invent explanations, I could give two. (1) people tend to mate with people who rank similarly on an attractiveness scale. Why can’t people also tend to mate with people who rank similarly on a social scale? (2) social standing isn’t the real reason so much as it is the number of people one can potentially mate with. Social standing is correlated with this number. Whatever the case, such a theory doesn’t apply to the White/Asian case. On the other hand, one could argue that social equalization be only a valid factor when the social status of the two groups in question was very different. (I’m presuming social status is correlated with economic success.) Once again, don’t shoot the messenger. As for shooting interpreters, well, that’s different. Fire away. ---
**Author:** ![feistyALgal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5e9695/32.png) [@feistyALgal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/feistyALgal)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2003, 4:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-so-many-more-white-male-asian-female-couples/192842/129 "2003-09-15T04:58:32Z")
Ava, So do you cook, clean and do your bf’s laundry? I’ve read somewhere that many Asian women do not like what is expected of them (old traditions) while they navigate in the modern world, nor do they want the responsibility to take care of an Asian Husband’s parents (which is expected in many Asian cultures), so they choose Caucasian men. What it sounded like it boiled down to is this: Women are treated with much less worth in the Asian culture, and expected to give selflessly of themselves and be the caretakers of the husbands’ parents… but more and more asian women are chosing not to get married, because they love the freedom that they are experiencing now… and because of their navigation through the modern world, suddenly, they are in demand (to repopulate a fast-aging society), but have grown up in a culture which glorifies the asian male and treats women with much less respect (if any at all). Asian women are wising up, and are realizing they don’t have to take that crap. And asian males are having a hard time finding women who willingly will be treated with such subservience. They are reaping what they sowed – Valuing males over females… and making it very obvious that this is the case. ---
**Author:** ![Esprix](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/esprix/32/7899_2.png) [@Esprix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Esprix)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2003, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-so-many-more-white-male-asian-female-couples/192842/130 "2003-09-15T20:05:51Z")
**Gay Guy** checking in - I’m Caucasian (American, Scottish heritage), and my SO is Pacific Islander (Filipino). Mmm… Filipino… 😉 Esprix [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-so-many-more-white-male-asian-female-couples/192842.md?page=6)