Sending for a wife by mail order

Press, 13 April 1984, Page 22

Sending for a wife by mail order

Shopping by post, long one of the United States’ favourite pastimes, has taken on a new twist American males, disturbed by “women’s lib” and perceiving a “loss of femininity” in contemporary American womanhood, are ordering submissive brides by mail in droves from the Far East Last year, more than 3000 women from Malaysia, Thailand, and, above all, the Philippines — a United States fief for much of the century — came to this country on K-l A K-l requires, the hohMilto wed an American dpzen within 90 days or leave the United States. Ten years ago, only about

40 K-ls were issued annually to Asians. The most prosperous operator in brides-by-mail — there are a dozen services across the United States — is California’s “American-Asian Worldwide Services”, run from a home in 4 San Fernando Valley, Los Angeles, by Louis Florence, aged 46, and his Manila-born wife, Tess. “We’ve brought 782 brides to the United States since we started jp in 1979,” says Mr Florence. “To &r knowledge not one marriage has ended in divorce.”

From WILLIAM SCOBIE in Los Angeles

He divides his United States clients into two classes. Half are younger, unmarried white males, disillusioned by the search for a demure, docile American bride; and half are “very bitter” over-40 divorcees still determined to find a new mate. John Line, aged 41, typifies the latter class. A satisfied customer of “American-Asian”, be says: “I got sick of hard-bitten American ladies acting up like men. Women in this country seem to have lost their feminine graces in the chase

after so-called independence.” When “American-Asian” advertised on his behalf in Manila newspapers, 270 responses came in. He answered 70 and in 1982 flew to the Philippines to meet his chosen one, Felina, aged 21. Love bloomed. The marriage survives in raciallymixed Baldwin Park, Los Angeles, where Felina helps out in John’s cabinet-making business. "Asians make good wives,” reports the much-married Mr Line. “They’re clean, they’re workers, they love, honour and obey. Felina Jps improved the quality of work doming out of my shop. My other wives wouldn’t set foot in it.”