So. . . White men have an incurable case of Yellow Fever (hots for Asian women), right?
Well. . . Not really if you believe the result of a study titled An Economist Goes to a Bar reported by Ray Fisman at Slate online that reports on a “speed-dating experiment” that he counducted with two psychologists, Sheena Iyengar and Itamar Simonson, and fellow economist Emir Kamenica at a bar just off the Columbia campus.
One of the interesting findings of the study had to do with race.
Women of all the races we studied revealed a strong preference for men of their own race: White women were more likely to choose white men; black women preferred black men; East Asian women preferred East Asian men; Hispanic women preferred Hispanic men. But men don’t seem to discriminate based on race when it comes to dating. A woman’s race had no effect on the men’s choices.
Two wrinkles on this: We found no evidence of the stereotype of a white male preference for East Asian women. However, we also found that East Asian women did not discriminate against white men (only against black and Hispanic men). As a result, the white man-Asian woman pairing was the most common form of interracial dating—but because of the women’s neutrality, not the men’s pronounced preference.
Via Danwei
A white gaijin friend of mine once said, “I would have left Japan long ago if it weren’t for the women here, and you can quote me.”
This article is a joke. I mean, why do men stay in Japan? They find Japanese girlfriends who give them that “plus alpha” (to use a Japanese phrase) that they can’t get from stuck-up (’scuse me) white girls at home. Why do while females who come to Japan go home much sooner, often after only one year? They can’t find guys to date. Silly, but totally true.
Not to say that all white women are stuck up. But, some of you are, and some of you don’t realize that nagging and bitching in Japanese is much softer on the ear than it is in English. I’m just sayin’.
[…] and two psychologists conduct a speed dating experiment at a bar near Columbia University? A debunking of the white men-prefer-Asian women myth, that’s […]
“that nagging and bitching in Japanese is much softer on the ear than it is in English”..well Peter,whilst i agree with the majority of your sentiments,either you or I, must be suffering from a hearing impairment,because Arden, being the proto-typical Kakaa Denka Gunma Banshee, can out-nag,out-bitch,out-shriek,out-dish-smash and any other antic, guaranteed to scare the livin-bejasus out of you.
In a nutshell she can outdo ANY of her western counterparts, Tenfold.
Having said that, I wouldn’t have it any other way - and as the years roll on, I find it to be one of her more enduring traits.
Yours Humbly
remora.
You really needed a study to show that most men enjoy beautiful women of any race? And that the few that the few that fetish over one in particular are generally racist or just lameasses that think that think their chances of getting laid depend on the color of the girl’s skin.
And who said Japanese women where easy on the ears? Some of the most annoying girls I ever met were Japanese girls I met in college who had voices akin to nails on a chalk board. Besides all women have it in them to be a bitch.
I wonder what the women have to say about their preference for similar races of people?
Just an anecdotal observation, by the way, but of the four latina girls that I knew in high school that are currently wed or have a boyfriend I know of all of them are white.
[…] fever debunked by speed dating experiment. […]
naaaah I love Asian girls, even the not-so-cute ones. Possibly the reason I like Japan
This survey reflects the differences between men and women when they consider their life partners. Men mainly care about physical attributes and women are more concerned with points that are affected by culture and social issues. As the person who bears and is the primary caregiver for children in most cultures, women have to marry someone who will agree with how the children are raised and have similar values in terms of how money, religion, and education are handled. Men, who generally tend to be less invested in the day-to-day issues of their home life, don’t tend to get too invested in values or cultural background (yes, across all cultures, men care far less than women but not all men care less than all women - I’m talking general tendencies here, not specific couples).
Additionally, roles for men tend to be narrower and more clearly defined and are more flexible for women in developed countries. There’s a higher chance a woman will find a man who is tolerant of the choices she makes if she stays within her native cultural sphere of acquaintances. Since most men work and are the main breadwinners in all cultures, any woman they marry will condone their choices. The same cannot be said for women who stay at home in the U.S. or women who work in Japan (plenty of Japanese men still prefer stay at home wives, especially if they have children).
What is the issue, even if it were true? Gentlemen Prefer Blondes is a movie, and true for certain men (Rod Stewart), and completely unremarkable. Yet preferring the looks of an Asian woman is an issue?
I spent my entire mid-twenties in Japan, so it’s not exactly surprising that I married a Japanese woman. I don’t think that means I would never have married a caucasian, but thirty years later, I can’t imagine myself being married to one. It wouldn’t be right for me, not anymore.
Kudos to Peter for having the guts to say it. A lot of women see nothing wrong with putting their spouse/partner/date down. I find that unforgiveable. Underneath the cute, polite exterior, Mrs D is a rock. She would never, ever put me down in public, nor would I do anything disloyal to her. I was and remain a lucky guy, but I can’t say things would be the same if I had married any other of the billion plus Asian women on earth.
Very well put, MarkD.
I always have bristled a bit at suggestions that white males who marry east Asians are living out some kind of fetish.
Also, I am amused when someone from the States (usually a female) will make some remark about how Japanese women always defer to their husbands, unlike their American sisters who are more assertive.
As for how Japanese women are regarded by their sisters in the U.S., I am once again reminded of the explosive Little Brown Wren piece that appeared in the Tokyo Weekender in 1976.
I say to my Japanese wife “i love you daring”. She flips me off and returns with “i kill you bitch!!” In the sweetest possible way of course. Very not “deferring”.
To use a movie quote, “Most of the bitches I know are men.”
so far i’ve learnt that (in general) Japanese Men are Sissies (paul) and Japanese Women are Bitches - a pretty compact summary i’d say.
rem.
Check out the US Navy and rate of foreign (asian) marriages (or at least pairings). Possible that many men who join the Navy have a preference for asian women, but my experience is that the Navy is a pretty good cross section of Socie/Econ patterns in the US. And a dissproportionate number of them are touched with the yellow fever.
I agree with MarkD. I really hate the term yellow fever and its relatives such as asian fetish and so forth. Not only does it insult non asian men dating/marrying asian women, it also denigrates the asian woman as if they are some strange alien species. A fetish refers to an object, not a person.
What indeed is so wrong for any person to have a preference or liking for another race? As long as that preference does not come at the expense or put down of other races, who cares who dates or marries who. It’s no different than a preference for hair color, eye color, build, etc. etc.
Check out the US Navy and rate of foreign (asian) marriages
Where might we do that?
NAVPERSCOM has statistics on this (might not be public info though, kinda doubt it now that I think about it). Also every couple years Navy Times does a juicy little article on this and the implications of foreign marriage.
It is really interesting that women apparently go for their own race, but I think Shari’s comment nailed it. If you’re thinking about how life is going to be when you have a family, then of course you’re going to weigh how your children will grow up and what your parents will think.
As far as “yellow fever”, I’ve never really seen any evidence of it, but it sounds like guys with Asian wives/girlfriends go through some discrimination because of this supposed fetish. That sucks. It’s probably sour grapes and not true feminism driving that opinion in women.
You can take care of someone and still be their equal. And when you’re someone’s partner, you resolve issues with them in private, not in public. I wish more people, men and women, would get that.
“To use a movie quote, ‘Most of the bitches I know are men.’”
THANK YOU, gunrunner!
maybe Neil Tennant should do a remix of West End Girls specifically for East Asia….like this
“West-End Boys and East-End Girls…”
*I might try and rewrite the whole thing*
remora
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