News and Views

It was interesting in Thailand to note the prevalence of mixed relationships, almost always male Caucasians with female Asians. Walking down the street in Chiang Mai, especially, it seemed that white men were more likely to be with an Asian woman than with a white woman.

There seem to be mixed feelings about these mixed relationships too, though nothing was ever expressed openly. A lot of American and European men go to Thailand because of the reputation that it’s easy to find an easy girlfriend, and a lot of Thai girls think that white men have money. There is often an assumption that every mixed relationship is formed on those bases.

So there I am walking down the street with my Asian wife, thinking “I’m not the same as you guys. My relationship is a long term marriage based on love and mutual respect.”

But then I realize that I am falling into the same stereotyping error that I fear others are applying to me. Those couples are probably just as likely to be serious as any couples I see on the street in any city in the world. I think couples everywhere start out on more practical than romantic basis anyway, including physical and economic attractions, but what matters is how they develop and grow.

I certainly can’t imagine that I could have done better than I did with another woman of any race or background.