Living the long-term consequences of Thai-Western marriage migration: the radical life-course transformations of women who partner older Westerners

Figures & data

Table 1. A ‘narrative arc' for Thai-Westerner partnerships (from her side).

Her background

Individual biographical life history

Motivations and risk-taking to partner a Westerner

2.  The stimulus – a ‘critical juncture’ in her life-course structural opportunities always present, but a key life event pushes a woman into risk-taking to partner Westerner as life-strategy 3.  Initiating encounters intentional strategies and risk-taking to meet Western man

Precarious ties and dependent connections

4.  ‘Starting out’: establishing bonds early days, when both could quit, but find sufficient in relationship to choose to stay, regular communications and periodic exchanges 5.  ‘Getting together’: building a partnership after first encounters, when relationship is recognised by partners and external community as ‘couple’, some regular patterns of exchanges

Settling and living everyday together

6.  Living together, formalisation, and social embedding of the partnership share a home and spend everyday life together, exchanges are daily routines and relatively formalised (with some degree of legal underpinning, e.g. registered marriage), recognised as a partnership by her natal family, socialise and recognised as a ‘couple’ where they live

Table 2. Sample of Thai women.

Woman code	Current Location	Her Age	Her Highest Educational Level	Divorced from Thai Man?	Children from Thai marriage	Years with Westerner	Registered Marriage with Westerner?	Age Gap to Western man	Children with Western man	Partner's Age	Partner's Nationality
A.	Phetchabun	46	Primary school	Yes	2	12	Yes	22	0	68	Swiss
B.	Udon Thani	47	Vocational college	No	N/A	15	Yes	16	1	63	German
C.	Phetchabun	56	4th grade school	Yes	3	25	Yes	25	0	71^c	British (English)
D.	Udon Thani	36	9th grade school	No	N/A	17	No	12	2	48	Austrian
E.	Udon Thani	37	University	No	N/A	12	Yes	20	0	57	British (Scottish)
F.	Udon Thani	53	University	Yes	2	15	No	15	2	68	American (US)
G.	Udon Thani	53	University	Yes	2	17	Yes	13	0	66	German
H.	Udon Thani	52	University	Yes, twice	3 (2 + 1)	12	Yes	10	0	62	American (US)
I.	Udon Thani	37	6th grade school	Yes	2	10	Yes	30	0	67	American (US)
J.	Phetchabun	60	Vocational college	Yes	2	16	Yes	18	0	78	Finnish
K.	Phetchabun	42	University	Yes	4	7	Yes	3	0	45	Dutch
L.	Udon Thani	55	Secondary school	Yes	1	15	Yes	10	0	65	Belgian
M.	Bangkok	32	University	No	N/A	7	Yes	13	0	45	Slovakian
N.	Bangkok	52	University	No	N/A	30	Yes	20	0	72	Dutch
O.	Phetchabun	50	University	No	N/A	10	No	13	0	63	Australian
P.	Udon Thani	34	University	No	N/A	8	Yes	28	2	62	Swedish
Q.	Udon Thani	59	University	Yes, twice^a	2	14	Yes	15	0	74	German
R.	Udon Thani	57	University	No	0^b	16	Yes	15	0	72	German
S.	Pattaya	45	Grade 6 School	No	1	7	Yes	16	0	61	Norwegian
T.	Pattaya	50	Grade 6 School	No	0	9	Yes	−3	0	47	British
	Means	47.7	–	–	–	13.7	–	15.6	–	62.7	–

^aMarried and divorced same man twice.

^bCares for nephew who has lived with her since a baby.

^cDied aged 71.