The mail order bride industry appears to be one of the few markets managing to buck the global economic downturn.
A leading marriage agency has told Sky News that the number of Russian and Ukrainian women joining has tripled since 2005, while the number of western men signing up has more than quadrupled in that time.
Jim DiGregorio, 68, from Arizona is one of them. He is very clear about what he wants. He signed up to the company AnastasiaDate.com to find a wife.
Polishing his shoes, he says: "I want an old fashioned girl brought up in a strict family." He's preparing for a social, where each western man will be out numbered by at least seven women
The agency charges £2,500 for a man to join its books
"She should come from a family where maybe Papa was in charge so she's used to a man being in charge," he says, adding: "I prefer to be captain of my ship."
He has paid £2,500 to attend a so-called Romance Tour in Ukraine. He says he likes Ukrainian and Russian women because they are "traditional and sexy" and would prefer to find one that is a third of his age.
US charity, the Tahirih Justice Centre, says the number of "mail-order marriages" in America has more than doubled since 1999. Some put it down to increased divorce.
Applying her mascara, 28-year-old Galina is equally clear about her intentions. Slim and stunning, she says she doesn't smoke, drink or eat much in order to preserve her looks. It is working. Galina will certainly be turning heads at the social.
The girls are happy to take part in a beauty contest
"I am waiting for my destiny: my man. Local men only want a fling. I am ready for a family."
It's these traditional values - and looks - that make Russian and Ukrainian women the most popular and sought-after in the mail order bride market.
The social is held in a swanky poolside bar. The women are dressed to impress and the outnumbered men can hardly believe their eyes. The age gap between the male and female participants is striking. The flirting is aided by translators.
Galina chats with Roger who is twice her age.
She tells him he looks like a celebrity. He returns the compliment and it doesn't take long before he asks, half joking, half serious: "So do you want to come back to the States and get married?"
Critics say it is degrading to women - mail order bosses disagree
Filtered back through the interpreter Galina responds with lots of laughter.
If the conversation fails - there are more obvious ways to attract attention. Champagne flows and the dance floor hots up with songs like 'Sex Bomb' providing a less-than-subtle soundtrack to some pretty provocative dancing.
The men gaze on, scarcely believing that the whole point is that they are actually allowed to take their pick of the gyrating women.
The people who run the company say this is just dating - others say it is one step away from trafficking.
Natalya Bitten is a women's rights campaigner based in Moscow.
She says: "This phenomenon is a variation of prostitution and human trade. It has the same logic in it - even if they claim the woman has chosen this - it is still the trade of a human being."
Broadly speaking, the idea of women's independence has yet to penetrate Ukrainian and Russian society.
In Moscow, the rise of the super rich has been huge but there is still an attitude that Western men are the key to wealth and happiness. In Russia 25,000 women sign up with an agency each year in the hope of bagging a foreign spouse.
The Fortunata agency in Moscow is unabashed about putting wealthy Western old men with young women.
Manager Tatiana Tasueva says: "If the girl is young and pretty why shouldn't she sell herself and make a profit. If she is beautiful why should she be poor?"
Back in Odessa, as if need of further titillation, the men are treated to a bikini contest.
One mutters: "I'm in heaven", voicing the thoughts of the speechless others. Some video the young line-up - others are lucky enough to have been picked as judges.
Many of the men say they're tired of aggressive and feminist Western women. But for a lot of these young women the West equals freedom - two ideals that down the line could become very much at odds.
Sent from my BlackBerry® smartphone provided by Airtel Nigeria.
No comments:
Post a Comment