Random Things You've Been Too Afraid To Ask About Mail Order Brides (14 items)

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  (#2) Women Were Needed To Tame The Wild West

  In the days of cowboys and the Wild West, the disparity between the male and female population was enormous. It didn't take long for men to realize that not only were women needed for their personal comfort, but also to help them tame the rough nature of the west. Without women to reproduce and add some semblance of civilization, there was little reason to build schools, churches, or many other buildings and institutions that would have been mainstays in the more developed areas of the United States. 
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  (#13) There Are Reports Of Abuse

  While both parties in a mail-order bride marriage are putting themselves at considerable risk, there are more cases of women being abused by their husbands than the other way around. The bride likely knows absolutely no one other than her husband, may not speak the local language, and has no money of her own. She is in an extremely vulnerable position. In some cases, this leads the husband to become neglectful, abusive, and controlling. Some mail-order brides have claimed they were not allowed to leave home, had no money of their own, and were not allowed to take language classes or seek employment. Some women also reported physical and sexual abuse from their new husbands.

  Russian native Oksana Makarova recalls her American fiance saying, "Oksana, I thought you'd be obedient. This is the impression you gave me in Ukraine." Soon, he turned violent towards Oksana and her toddler son. Fortunately, Oksana's story has a happy ending. She was able to safely remove herself and her child from the home, while maintaining her legal residency status in the U.S.
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  (#8) Scams Are Common

  Like with anything else on the Internet, online surfing for a potential bride can leave you open to falling for a scam. The FBI receives around 6,000 annual complaints about "romance scams," during which women extort vast sums of money from men – about $70,000 on average.

  Even the bigger online dating sites can be ethically murky. Some users report paying for each individual chat they conduct with a woman. If they fly overseas under the pretext of meeting these women in person, often the supposed brides-to-be are nowhere to be found. In other cases, the men go on a series of dates, only to go back to the United States alone, and with considerably less cash.
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  (#1) The Term Is Problematic

  Reputable marriage brokers and dating sites don't care for the term "mail-order bride"; it bears connotations of men picking women out of a catalog like they would a new microwave. Today, many prefer terms like "international matchmmaking," or "pen-pal relationship."

  The expression "mail-order bride" dates back to the days of the American frontier, when men would often place ads in newspapers looking for romantic partners to make the journey out west. They would correspond with women who responded, and propose marriage via letter.
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  (#3) Sometimes Their Letters Were Like Early Sexting

  What with the distance between them and the future of their relationship weighing in the balance, the communication between a man out west and a woman back east could become pretty serious. Not only were the conversations liable to wander into distinctly blue territory, but pictures would often be included in with the letters, some of which could be far more provocative than others. 
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  (#4) Asian Picture Brides Were Another Sort Of Mail Order Brides

  Men heading west weren't the only ones in need of a bride - in fact, a large industry opened up around Asian immigrants looking for brides back home, who became known as "picture brides". These marriages were orchestrated by matchmakers who would use photos of the intended couple and family recommendations to create matches.

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