Why are Thai men not interested in relationships with foreign women? And why don’t western women care about Thai men? After all Thailand is known for cross-cultural relationships and men come here by the tens of thousands to find female Thai partners. Why is this a one way street? Why do you rarely see Thai men with western women?

Who follows whom?

Thais are shy people compared to most westerners. Culturally it is not acceptable to show strong emotion, get angry, yell at people, confront someone head-on, or have an intense argument. On top of that in many Asian cultures the woman traditionally follows the man much more compared to the total equality concept that is prevalent in the west. And here we have a major sticking point.

Western women have no intention of merely following a Thai man, they have no qualms about speaking their mind, and they mostly insist on a good deal of independence, free thinking and freedom of choices. All this is so much opposed to the Thai relationship model that it would make most Thai men feel uncomfortable or even threatened.

No cheating allowed – period!

Thai men often have second wives and/or regular affairs with sexual partners. Whereas Thai women do not like that, they often put up with it. Western women would never tolerate such behavior. Many Thai men would feel that their lifestyle is too much restricted by a relationship with a western woman.

Who is the prettiest of them all?

A third reason is that Thai men do not find western women as attractive as Thai women. It is very rare that Thai men stare at western women or pursue them or harass them in any way. This is not the case everywhere in  Asia. In India for example women often experience unwelcome advances, and in Bali you typically see relationships between Balinese men and western women.

Kid in candy shop or relationship desert

There are Thai man/western woman relationships, but they are a tiny percentage compared to western man/Thai woman relationships. What all  this means is that western men are like a kid in a candy shop in Thailand in the relationship arena. Western women however are mostly limited to relationships with other westerners, so their available choices are much fewer than for their male western counterparts. Rather than being in a candy shop they often feel that they are in a relationship desert in Thailand.

The actual scenario

Let’s have a look at a fairly typical relationship between a western man and a Thai woman. The man has more money and supports his wife. Often he takes her to his home country and she has to adjust to a new culture. Because of her dependence on him for financial support and her challenge to adjust to a new environment in the west she relies on him for advice, education, integration, and her new way of life. She is happy to follow him since he is her life support in a strange new environment.

Exchange roles, and it breaks down

Now take that same story, but exchange the sexes. Reread that story but imagine that there is a western woman  who has a Thai husband. It it blatantly obvious that this would never work. It totally flies in the face of male psychology and ego. The whole concept is just unthinkable from a Thai man’s point of view.  

Feminine and sweet despite equality

Thai women have equal rights and enjoy more freedom than in many oriental cultures. There was never a women’s liberation movement in Thailand and men generally do not  feel challenged by women. Despite their legal equality, Thai women have an amazing talent of being feminine, of retaining a female sweetness. They do not feel obligated to compete with men on their turf by wearing male looking business suits and ties and going head-to-head with their male co-workers. Rather than hiding their femininity, Thai women like to display it.

Because of those characteristics it feels natural for Thai women to adjust to their western partners and even sometimes follow them to another country. But the other way round this is not working at all. A naturally shy Thai man who is nevertheless endowed with a typical male ego, in a relationship with a self confident and assertive, educated and financially independent western woman – it is mostly not a workable concept, and it rarely happens.

Not all relationships in Thailand are made in heaven

The relationship scene in Thailand is definitely somewhat one-sided. That does not mean that women do not enjoy Thailand, but they are not likely to find a lover or husband here, and they would not want to. There are countless thousands of men who come here to find a partner or wife, but I am fairly certain that there is not one single woman who comes here looking for relationship heaven. Thai men and western women are just not a match made in heaven.

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