Chicago: Smell the Glove

And FINAL Jeff.

http://www.volgagirl.com/2006wd/russian_brides_womensday2006.html

http://i2.tinypic.com/qnwfme.jpg

"western-oriented man" should probably be "Western-oriented man"?

No longer an exclusively socialist holiday, International Women's Day is now a time to rally support for women's rights around the world, commemorate the progress we've made, and honor the efforts of individual women who have helped bring about greater equality for all.

i have that annoyance at people who use your name a lot. i have a neighbor who has stopped by a couple of times, who i really just met. he immediately wanted to call me by a nickname, which i nixed. i go by 'julia', 'julie', or 'jules', (or JA, come to think of it), and isn't that enough?

and then he would pepper his conversation with my name, which is just all schmoozey and salesmanlike. it's one of those things they tell salespeople, isn't it--that you should use a person's name a lot to make them feel important or something?

i like being addressed by my name, but not when it seems all artificial and smarmy like that.

And no, being marketed, packaged, sold, and shipped like so much exotic Beluga cavier is not a more "pro-woman" step from their current situation, which may not be as great as say, my US current situation.

Ask yourself - what is a man who seeks a Russian mail-order bride really looking for in a mate?

occidentally-oriented/accident-prone = LOL

I totally (and obviously) agree with you about what happens to them after they get sold and married and all that. But I don't actually know about what their current, pre-marriage situation is. My question boils down to: Why do these women do this? And I realize they might not have much of a choice in the matter. But then I think, surely a horribly abusive situation in the U.S. offers more of a chance of escape than a horribly abusive situation in Russia?

Or do they never end up getting married off, and are just trotted out as escorts to desparate and horny Westerners? That could be the worst case scenario.

JUST ANOTHER MANIC MANDAY.

BECAUSE THEY ARE GIRLS

Not really.

Chris - the women are lied to, kidnapped, sold by their families. And it's generally easier to escape from an abusive relationship in a country where you speak and read the language, have other family or friends, know your way around, and are a legal resident than one in which you have only ever lived as a slave.

Trafficking in Human Beings: From Himalayan villages to Eastern European cities, people – especially women and girls – are attracted by the prospect of a well-paid job as a domestic servant, waitress or factory worker. Traffickers recruit victims through fake advertisements, mail-order bride catalogues and casual acquaintances.

Upon arrival at their destination, victims are placed in conditions controlled by traffickers while they are exploited to earn illicit revenues. Many are physically confined, their travel or identity documents are taken away and they or their families are threatened if they do not cooperate. Women and girls forced to work as prostitutes are blackmailed by the threat that traffickers will tell their families. Trafficked children are dependent on their traffickers for food, shelter and other basic necessities. Traffickers also play on victims’ fears that authorities in a strange country will prosecute or deport them if they ask for help.

Bill To Curtail 'Mail-Order Bride' Abuse Advances in CA: Many women find themselves victims of domestic violence after participating in largely unregulated 'International Marriage Broker' industry matchmaking.

. . .

Nationwide there have been several dozen cases of domestic violence and even murder committed against women who come to the United States as mail order brides. There are at least seven documented cases in California; many more are believed to go unreported. California is believed to have over 70 marriage brokers operating in the state.

Trafficking and sexual exploitation: Girls as young as 13 (mainly from Asia and Eastern Europe) are trafficked as “mail-order brides.” In most cases these girls and women are powerless and isolated and at great risk of violence.