One of the most frequent questions Thai women ask foreigners is “Why do foreigners like dark-skinned Thai women.” The supposed proclivity for dark-skinned women is unfathomable, for the low-class folk, mostly laborers and migrant workers are dark skinned. Why would “rich foreigners” be so attracted to females that most Thai consider low-class?
Americans spend big money each year to tan their skin; Thais spend huge sums to whiten it. In the west, tan skin is a sign of health, fitness, and prosperity. If you have a tan, you must have the time and money to lie around by the pool or at the beach. For those afraid of skin cancer, spray-on tans are all the rage.
When was the last time you saw a Thai Airways flight attendant with dark skin? Rarely will you ever see a TV, or movie star with anything but Lilly white skin–even if airbrushed or whitened with bright lights. After showering, Thai women make it a point to put baby powder on their face and body, and regularly use whitening creams and other cosmetics purported to make their skin lighter and more beautiful. In some circles, white skin is even viewed as a sign of superior intelligence.
Dark-skinned Thais were ecstatic when Barrack Obama won the U.S. Presidential election, thinking it meant an end to discrimination, but it did nothing to sway Thailand’s former Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat, who made no bones about his own partiality for fair skin, saying, “We will continue to prefer the whitest men and women in television, film, and bed.”
So just why are dark-skinned Thai women so appealing to foreigners?
1) Dark-skinned Thai women are opposite of what most men are accustomed to in the west.
Whether in Boston, Massachusetts or in Glasgow, Scotland, the look of a mocha-skinned Thai woman strikes most western men as exotic and extremely alluring. If you are used to white women in the 125lb. – 150lb. range, a dark-skinned beauty built for speed is about as good as it gets.
There are Thai women whose skin makes them resemble Malaysians, Tahitians, Cambodians, Burmese, Laotians, and perhaps this variety of skin tones and looks makes them even more enthralling.
2) Most single males visiting or living in Thailand initially meet women from the lower stratus of Thai society.
When men come to Thailand, one of the most common places they visit is the beer bar, go-go, or discotheque. There are men coming with their families, or wives, or girlfriends, or who are strictly coming for business, but the entertainment areas of Thailand; Nana Plaza, Patpong, Soi Cowboy, Pattaya, or Phuket, are teaming with foreigners looking for lust and love in all the wrong places.
The majority of women working in these so-called places of ill repute come from the rice producing North Eastern Issan province, the poorest region of the country. Predominately dark-skinned and wide-nosed, Issaners are the first women to be called upon to work in bars. Agents travel from village to village in search of young women willing to earn money at all costs.
Upon arriving at their place of employment, these fresh-faced ladies-for-hire are taken under the wing of a Mamasan who then teaches them a few basic English phrases as well as what to do and not do with prospective customers.
Once an expat learns a little about the culture and the language, most use the bars for what they are intended. The further out of the bars you get, the better chance to hook up with regular Thai women, whether light or dark-skinned. Nothing wrong with having a fondness for dark-skinned women, but on the other hand, there are plenty of gorgeous white-skinned Thais too. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and there’s plenty of beauty to go around.
3) TV and Movie stars are light-skinned Thais, luk krueng (Thai-foreigner mix), Korean, or Japanese.
Ask any Thai where the most handsome men and beautiful women are in Asia and most will say Japan or Korea. Korean and Japanese soap operas and singers are popular with the more affluent, younger generation of Thais. Vietnam also receives high marks.
White skin and silky black hair are appealing to Thais and anytime the masses are fond of light-skinned celluloid heroes, there is a tendency to want to “Be like Mike.”
When it comes down to it, the preference for one shade of skin versus another is all a matter of personal taste – try telling this to a Thai woman, though.
Nick Gatsby has lived in Bangkok for nearly ten years. He has done everything from teaching English to exporting Thai goods to his current love, photographing and writing about Southeast Asia.
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I like the dark skinned Thai gals, but lately I have been dating allot of the light skinned ones. Oddly the light skinned thai gals tent to have less baggage and BS
I have always thought it was funny how even if people are the same race they can find a way to discriminate against each other based on skin color