Episode 5: Dating, Relationships... Marriage?

The Discussion continues at theyreallsobeautiful.com
Looking beyond personal ad profiles and first dates, how do cross-cultural relationships with or without the "tarnish of 'yellow fever'" work in the long term? Interviews with interracial couples, as well as experts and those on the hunt for love reflect on what it takes for initial attraction to evolve into real and lasting commitment. One couple -- an Asian American husband with a Caucasian wife -- agree that "race has never been significant" in their relationship, but "culture gets in the way". A Thai immigrant says she can "tune to the same channel" with her white American husband, yet also confesses their marriage is still a secret to her potentially disapproving parents. Owner of the dating site, Yourasianconnection.com and Chinese Yenta, Julia Ma, reflects on the difficulties of finding marriage (with Asian women) in a high-speed Silicon-valley life where people don't have time to get to know each other. Communication in a cross-cultural relationship is key, she states, but does anyone penetrate their stereotyped expectations before experiencing an actual relationship? Circling back to our original interviews, various men with "yellow fever" declare how much they dream of marrying an Asian woman. At the end of this sequence, we meet Steven (the main character of Seeking Asian Female and) one of the many men with "yellow fever", who stumbles over his Freudian slip: "I'm looking for a mate and looking at Asian women to be that mate -- one mate. I only want one mate."