4 Common Mistakes Men Make When Dating Foreign Women

We all have that one friend who exclusively dates outside of his own culture. That one guy who wants to date a woman from every race – a mission that’s at the top of his bucket list.

One day he’s dating a Latina, then a couple months later on Instagram, you see him in Thailand with his new love interest, and you’re wondering how long ago he broke up with that cute Filipino girl in his hometown – a man on a mission to smell every flower while he can still smell them.

There’s something truly admirable about this guy.

He associates his dating endeavors with warm memories and future stories to tell his friends and family – something he derives immense joy and pride from, and rightfully so.

He’s fully in control of his life and he dates who he wants to date.

More power to him, right?

Understandably, dating foreign women is usually something that lots of men aspire to achieve.

Not everyone’s the same, but a common thing that unites most of us humans is the desire for new experiences.

There’s no saying what comes next after this life, and for many of us, that lingering uncertainty comes with an aspiration to experience anything and everything while we’re still here breathing.

One of those experiences includes being romantically involved with someone from a different nation or culture. The fresh, trivial euphoria associated with a pleasantly new experience has spurred the social lives and dating habits of many a man throughout history, and to this day serves as a driving force for many people in the international dating circuit.

But for every different race of woman that this friend has dated, surely he’s had his fair share of misunderstandings with them – whether he mentions it to his friends or not.

The reality of men and women is that despite opposites attracting each other, their ideas and habits can conflict with one another just as often, and arguments are inevitable.

Either this man is a dating god and never fights with his multicultural partners or, more likely, he just doesn’t talk about the times that it didn’t work out. Again, that’s understandable.

What is also understandable is the fact that there’s a certain method or formula that needs to be applied when dating women from different cultures, and not everyone gets those right one hundred percent of the time.

Different women from different cultural backgrounds may have specific social aspects to them that are highly unique to their culture, thus setting unique guidelines to follow so as to not upset them. However, these can be broken down into more generalized concepts that apply to nearly all non-Western women in general.

When you’re dating a foreign woman (assuming that you’re a Western man or a man from a different culture as hers), there’s a generalized set of facts and trivia to take into account so she doesn’t dump you for something you were completely oblivious to.

Here’s 4 common mistakes men make when dating foreign women:

Inadvertently being insensitive and unaware

When you don’t know too much about a culture, it’s best to tread lightly with the jokes or remarks you make around your foreign love interest.

Things that may seem light-hearted or innocent in your mind can be perceived as insensitive or discriminatory to some women depending on the subject matter, their opinions on certain things, how seriously they take themselves, and how sensitive they might be.

Even someone who has a rudimentary, entry-level understanding about a certain cultural background can slip up sometimes without even knowing it.

You might be having a casual conversation, she opens up about a sensitive part of her nation’s history, and you unknowingly show disregard or indifference towards that event and its implications on her people.

For example:

You don’t want to make witty remarks about any wars, disasters, occupations, genocides, or anything of the sort, because you don’t know if any of her family members were directly affected by that or not.

Obviously, you’re not supposed to make any Hiroshima jokes around your Japanese girlfriend, slavery jokes around your black love interest, or illegal immigrant jokes around your Latina lover.

And that’s just on the extreme side of the spectrum. More subtle offenses could include sharing a funny yet semi-dark or insensitive meme on Facebook, laughing at someone else’s discriminatory remark, or not speaking up when someone says or does something offensive in her presence.

Being oblivious towards her culture’s views on chivalry and courtship

In the early stages of the dating process, it’s easy to get carried away or rush things.

You might come from a more liberated background, and you might want to take things to the next level with her in bed when her culture doesn’t condone it until marriage. Or you might show a little too much affection in public when she might not feel ready yet.

You might ask her to pay for something despite her culture seeing men as providers, or you might ask her out when things are just getting started.

All of this is easily avoidable through adequate research.

It’s so easy – the information is at the tip of your fingers, and communicating with your girlfriend about her culture shouldn’t cost you anything at all. Proper communication and some extensive research should have you well-equipped enough.

Not meeting her parents

Most parents of foreign women (even if they’re in the West) would like to meet you, know more about you, and assess whether you’re the right man for their daughter or not. Purposely avoiding meeting her family specifically when she wants you to is a big no-no.

Aside from you disappointing her and her family, her parents are probably going to make false assumptions about you and view you in a negative light, and they may encourage their daughter to break up with you.

Prepare for that meet and greet. And we can’t stress this enough - do your research beforehand. If you don’t want to offend your foreign girlfriend, you definitely don’t want to offend her parents, either.

Being unclear about your intentions

Generally, no woman likes being used or led on. If you do not communicate your ideas for the future with her or fail to be transparent about your intentions, she might assume that you’re only in it for instant gratification.

If you’re planning on marrying this woman, be 100% clear about it. Maintain good rapport in the early stages of dating, prove your seriousness to her, and strive to be the best man you can be for her.

Many people make the mistake of justifying miscommunication due to a language barrier, but if you truly love her, you’ll work around it.

In conclusion, don’t make any excuses for not being transparent.

Be genuine, do your research, and strive to not only be a good boyfriend or husband, but a decent human being overall.

Happy dating, everyone!