Why are some Indonesian women exclusively attracted to Western men? A writer answers this question in a new book that gives us a glimpse into the lives of women who pursue Western men.
Indonesian women who have Western partners or husbands are often met with negative, sometimes harsh judgment from people around them, from gold diggers to exotic-looking harlots. Published by Rene Books this year, it is based on her interviews with several women with Western partners to understand their motivation in pursuing the men. No stranger to the issue, Fani has been married to a Canadian man for three years.
After spending some time doing her research, she concludes the three things driving Indonesian women to pursue Western lovers: money, sex and love. So, the stereotype that some Indonesian women go after Western men for their money is not a hundred percent wrong after all. They can now travel to different places. But things could turn ugly for these women when they have too high an expectation. Unfortunately, as I have said before, a lot of westerners are not as prosperous in their own countries.
Real disappointment follows the high expectation when they find out that their European or American lives are not as glamorous as they had fantasized.
And then there is the darker side of this phenomenon: human traffickers who recruit Asian women by deceiving them with promises of romance with Western men. Money and a lavish lifestyle, however, are not the sole reasons why some Indonesian women are so intent in finding a Western lover.
