Abstract
When women from relatively poor, developing countries use intermarriage dating sites to find partners from relatively wealthy, developed countries, it is generally assumed that economic opportunities are the main driving motivations. This study challenges that assumption through its focus on the work of women’s imagination in online cross-cultural relationships. The experiences of 24 Thai women are used to explore how they initiate, develop, and maintain relationships with Western men. The study is divided into three sections. The first section considers the motivating factors for women deciding to pursue cross-cultural relationships. The second section explores representations of Thai women in the intermarriage market. The final section highlights how love and intimacy are initiated, developed, and maintained across distance and time.
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Pananakhonsab, W. (2016). Introduction. In: Love and Intimacy in Online Cross-Cultural Relationships. Palgrave Macmillan Studies in Family and Intimate Life. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-35119-3_1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-35119-3_1
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