Mail Order Bride Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Mail Order Bride - Essay Example The mail order brides generally belong to second and third world countries such as Ukraine, Russia, Colombia, Mexico, Philippines, Africa, India, and Malaysia, however, some mail order brides also belong to first world nations such as Sweden, Japan, and Canada. The husbands generally belong to the developed nations such as United States, Canada, United Kingdom, and Australia. At present about 150,000 potential spouses advertize on the internet. The males who advertise their intend to marry someone in another country are known as mail order grooms (Wikipedia). The first process is the tradiational process which involves preparation of actual paper catalogues by the prospective brides and advertizing them in magazines such as Car and Driver, Stereo Review, and Rolling Stone, to get men to order them. These paper catalogues are distributed world wide through the maganizes (Ho). The scond process is the more recent one in which the women are solicited by an agency through a newspaper advertisement and their catalogues are advertized on the internet. However, in this process there is an inherent assumption by the advertisers that the women who apply belong to economically challenged classes, so there are cases of exploitation by the husbands in this process (Ho). Once the women is accepted by the agency, she undergoes a rigourous screening process which includes an in-depth questionnaire. The prospective mail order brides are interviewed on the basis of various factors including physical appearance, family background, eduction, work experience and other character refrences. However, apart form asking about themselves they are also asked about their desired match (groom) in oreder to make a perfect match. After the woman has successfully qualified all the screening rounds, the agency reviews her choices and looks for a suitable groom. In recent times the mail order bride business has gained momentum due to the increase in emmigration to developed nations from developing nations. Presently there are more than 200 agencies having operations in mail order business in the US. The companies in this business generate margins by charging both the counterparts for their communiactions and also for the services provided (Ho). Current size of the Mail Order Bride Business in the US Currently, there are more than 400 companies operating this business in the US (as compared to 200 such agencies under operation in 1996) and the revenue generated is more than $500,000 annually. The main target markets for mail order brides are the developing countries like Philippines, Former USSR and other Asian countries. In 2002, there were several thousand Filipina mail order brides in Canada and more than 5,000 such brides arrived to North America annually (MCCLELLAND, 2002). Also, currently there are over one million women from the former USSR who desire to become mail order brides for foreign men (MailOrderBrides.com). Also according to one of the web-sites there are more than 100 new profiles added each week (Bridesbymail). The main reason for targeting these markets is the stereotype of the women in these nations, as most of the women in these nations are known to be submissive, loyal, soft spoken and