Romance on a Global Stage: Pen Pals, Virtual Ethnography, and "Mail Order" Marriages

By the year 2000 more than 350 Internet agencies were plying the email—order marriage trade, and the business of matching up mostly Western men with women from Asia, Eastern Europe, and Latin America had become an example of globalization writ large. This provocative work opens a window onto the complex motivations and experiences of the people behind the stereotypes and misconceptions that have exploded along with the practice of transnational courtship and marriage. Combining extensive In...