Abstract
This chapter reports on a study of Germany-based matchmaking agencies operating on the Internet, investigating how they are organized and how they advertise their commodities. Matchmaking has rapidly grown into a big international business that is now operating on the Internet. This has engendered media debate in different countries regarding the sexual behavior of its users, consequences of the resulting marriages, and on successful international policy for regulating the related migration. Being a new phenomenon, matchmaking on the Internet has largely remained unresearched until very recently. This analysis is a preliminary attempt to address online introduction services in one industrialized western country, Germany. It examines the size and extent of the German computer dating business. One goal is to explore regional manifestations of the trade. For example, which are the primary sending and receiving countries? The chapter also highlights features typical for the advertising on these web sites, keeping in mind gender, ethnic, and race aspects. Finally, it is examined whether matchmaking agencies provide equal opportunities to different kinds of people in this transaction, and whether such services have an impact on gender and ethnic equality.
The earlier version of the article entitled “German Matchmaking Web Sites — Online Trafficking in Women?” was linked to the web site http://www.vifu.de/students/vartti designed jointly by Riitta Vartti and Titiek K. Hendrastiti as a result of their semester at the International Women’s University (IFU), from July 15 to October 15, 2000. The homepage was produced as an end product in IFU’s project area “Migration”.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Butler, B. (1997). The international marriage market and the internet: Facilitators of romance or ruin? Computers Law. Fall. [On-line, no longer available]:http://www.wings.buffalo.eduillaw/Complaw/ComplawPapers/butler.html.
Cahill, D. (1990). Intermarriages in international contexts. A study of Filipina women mar- ried to Australian, Japanese and Swiss men. Quezon City: Scalabrini Migration Center.
Cahill, D. ( 1993, August). Marriage for migration: the Filipina bride phenomenon as a significant learning experience for the international community. Paper presented at the International Conference on “Migration and Global Change,” Tallinn, Estonia.
Caldwell, G., Galster, S., Kanics, J., Steinzor, N. (1999). Capitalizing on transition economies: The role of the Russian mafiya in trafficking women for forced prostitution. In P. Williams (Ed.), Illegal immigration and commercial sex. The new slave trade (pp. 4273 ). London: Frank Cass.
Chew, L. (1999). Global trafficking in women: Some issues and strategies. Women’s Studies Quarterly 1999, 12, 11–17.
Cunneen, C. Stubbs, J. (1997). Gender, ’race’ and international relations: Violence against Filipino women in Australia (The Institute of Criminology Monograph Series Number 9 ). Sydney: Sydney University, Star Printery Pty Ltd.
del Rosario, V. O. (1994). Lifting the smoke screen: Dynamics of mail-order bride migration from the Philippines. The Hague: Institute of Social Sciences.
Hughes, D. M. (1999). Commercial use of the internet for sexual exploitation, part 1 [Online]. Available: http://www.uri.edu/artsci/wms/hughes/ppcpt1.htm.
Hughes, D. M. (2000 in press). The internet and sex industries: Partners in global sexual exploitation. Technology and Society Magazine,[On-line], Spring, 2000. Available: http://www.uri.edu/artsci/wms/hughes.
Jimenez-Tan, M. C. (1998). Sex trafficking and the globalization of the sex industry. In Gabriela, A National Alliance of Women’s Organizations (Ed.), Building women’s unity and solidarity against globalization. 7 11 ’ Wome’s International Solidarity Affair in the Philippines 1998, 19–21 August, Cavite (pp. 59–63 ). Manila: Gabriela, A National Alliance of Women’s Organizations.
Järvinen, M. (1993). Of vice and women: Shades of prostitution: Vol. 13. Scandinavian Studies in Criminology. Oslo: Scandinavian University Press.
Knaus, K. Reiter, G. (1999). Combat of trafficking in women and forced prostitution: International standards. Ludwig Boltzmann Institute of Human Rights: Vienna.
Mendoza, D. A. (1998). Sex trafficking of Filipino women in the United States. In Gabriela, A National Alliance of Women’s Organizations (Ed.), Building women’s unity and solidarity against globalization. 7` h Women’s International Solidarity Affair in the Philippines 1998, 19–21 August, Cavite (pp. 64–68 ). Manila: Gabriela, A National Alliance of Women’ s Organizations.
Mânsson, S. A. (1995). International prostitution and traffic in persons from a Swedish perspective. In M. Klap, Y. Klerk, J. Smith (Eds.), Combating traffic in persons. Proceedings of the Conference on Traffic in Persons, held from 15–19 November 1994 in Utrecht and Maastricht. SIM Special No. 17 (pp. 109–124 ). Utrecht: SIM.
O’Connell Davidson, J. (1998). Prostitution, power and freedom. Ann Arbor: The University of Michigan Press.
O’Grady, R. (1998). Opening address in Child Pornography on the Internet Experts Meeting, Lyon, France. May 28–29, 1998 [On-line]. Available: http://www.ecpat.net/eng/Ecpat inter/projects/preventing_pornography/prevent. asp.
Plumridge, W., Chetwynd, S. J., Reed, A., Gifford, S. J. (1997). Discourses of emotionality in commercial sex: The missing client voice. Feminism Psychology, 7 (2), 165–181.
Rothe, A. (1997). Männer — Prostitution — Tourismus. Wenn Herren reisen…. Münster: Verlag Westfälisches Dampfboot.
Ryan, C. (2000). Sex tourism: paradigms of confusion? In G. Shaw A. Williams (Eds.), Tourism and sex: Culture, commerce and coercion (pp. 23–40 ). London and New York: Pinter.
Ryan, C. Hall, C. M. (2001). Sex tourism: Marginal people and liminalities. London: Routledge.
Scholes, R. J. (2001). The “mail-order bride” industry and its impact on U.S. immigration [On-line]. Retrieved November 14, 2001, Immigration and Naturalization Service, U.S. Department of Justice, Appendix A. Available: http://www.ins.usdoj.gov/graphics/aboutins/repsstudies/Mobappa.htm.
Skrobanek, S., Boopakdi, N., Janthakeero C. (1997). The traffic of women: Human realities of the international sex trade. London and New York: Zed Books Ltd.
Williams, Phil. (1999). Trafficking in women and children: a market perspective. In P. Williams (Ed.), Illegal immigration and commercial sex: The new slave trade (pp. 145–170 ). London: Frank Cass.
Wilson, W. T. (1998). Fantasy islands: A man’s guide to exotic women and international travel ( 2nd ed. ). Alameda, USA: Roam Publishing.
Editor information
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2003 Springer Fachmedien Wiesbaden
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Vartti, R. (2003). Equal partners online? German matchmaking web sites and trafficking in women. In: Morokvasic, M., Erel, U., Shinozaki, K. (eds) Crossing Borders and Shifting Boundaries. Schriftenreihe der Internationalen Frauenuniversität »Technik und Kultur«, vol 10. VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften, Wiesbaden. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-663-09529-3_9
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-663-09529-3_9
Publisher Name: VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften, Wiesbaden
Print ISBN: 978-3-8100-3493-9
Online ISBN: 978-3-663-09529-3
eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive