Love, money and obligation: transnational marriage in a northeastern thai village

Partnerships between Thai women and western men, often much older, are an increasingly common sight in cities across North America, Europe, and Australia. An alien sociologist landing at the massive gateway to the Suvarnabhumi Bangkok International Airport could easily deduce this as the most common type of family structure. While Thai-westerner relationships are remarkably prevalent, women in them are subject to stigmatizing stereotypes in Thailand and the West. Mia farang has the connation of a gold-digging prostitute in Thailand, while Thai women from all walks of life face similar sexualized discrimination in the West. An article of mine on women’s experiences was greeted on social media by a western man posting a picture of a Thai woman with an ATM machine superimposed over her body, backed by approving vindictive comments by others. My surprise was they bothered to read it at all. Love, Money and Obligation: Transnational Marriage in a Northeastern Thai Village, by Patcharin Lapanun, sets out to confront the idea that these relationships are just about money.