Bridal Diaspora

Abstract

In the electronic age the increase in Internet-mediated marriages constitute a new phenomenon among Filipinas who navigate the Web in search of (mostly) American spouses. This article discusses the notion of the ‘cultural logic of desire’ (Constable 2003) as the basis for Filipinas’ preference for American male spouses. This logic has been fashioned out of a specific historical relationship between the United States and the Philippines in which American cultural superiority and American benevolence provide the filters for Filipino women's marital preferences. This logic underlies these migration choices. The United States as the proverbial ‘land of milk and honey’ constitutes migrants’ first preference as a destination, and marriage as the most efficient route by which to realise migrants’ aspirations.