Taiwanese Women: What are they really like?

Based on what is often written on blogs, websites, and social media, Taiwanese women seem to have gained a negative reputation. This view of Taiwanese doesn’t seem to be held just by men in the West, but frequently by Asian expats as well. So what are Taiwanese girls really like?

Where Taiwanese girls get their reputation

As with anything, there are plenty of theories as to why Taiwanese girls have such a negative reputation.

If you aren’t familiar with Taiwan, it’s a large island near the coast of Mainland China. Taiwan is highly influential in this part of the world, but relations with mainland China have historically been tense. In fact, up until right around the turn of the century, individuals in Taiwan who wanted to visit mainland China had to go through Hong Kong, as direct travel was not possible.

Taiwan has grown more liberal with a new-found freedom of expression that has allowed the girls to become more active in music, art, beauty and fashion. As Taiwan moves into the 21st century, the transformation continues, giving Taiwanese girls more visibility and independence. The families hang onto tradition, so the girls are torn between traditional values of family, society and Confucianism, and the pull of independence, causing them to be more demanding of their relationships.

All in all, given this backdrop and mix, Taiwanese girls can, perhaps, be described as a blend of several Asian countries.

Taiwanese girls have quite a reputation

Taiwanese girls as a whole have gained a reputation for being difficult to please. But, just as with any other demographic, whether in Asia or any other part of the world, one must remember that there are millions of women in Taiwan, each one an individual.  It’s important not to get caught in a trap of overgeneralising.

Depending on the article or blog post and the point of view from which it’s written, men writing about Taiwanese women tend to attribute certain characteristics to Taiwanese women.  These characteristics include:

• Materialistic – Taiwanese girls are believed to be attracted to money.  They are thought to fall in love with a man’s ability to give them generous gifts and large allowances, rather than the man himself.  They are also seen to be focused on buying clothes and accessories.
• Narcissistic – Taiwanese girls, especially the younger girls, are thought to be self-centred and insecure.
• Introverted – Those who are not selfish are thought to be overly shy, whether in public or in intimate settings.
• Shallow – Taiwanese girls are seen as obsessive followers of soap operas, talk shows and fashion trends.

On top of this, it is believed that Taiwanese girls seek out foreign boyfriends, especially those who are relatively wealthy and/or attractive.  This makes for quite a list of stereotypes attributed to Taiwanese girls, mostly by men.  But that is really all they are, stereotypes.  While some may fit into some of these, it is far from descriptive of all Taiwanese girls.

Another view of Taiwanese girls

Just like anything else, there are more than just one view of Taiwanese women.  After all, if these stereotypes were true of all Taiwanese girls, foreign men would soon lose interest in dating them and marriages between Taiwanese girls and men of other nationalities would be rare, which is far from the case.

As a matter of fact, many foreign men live in Taipei who find dating Taiwanese girls to be quite worthwhile and more gratifying than dating girls from other Asian countries.  Some positive characteristics of Taiwanese girls include:

• Many Taiwanese girls, especially those in Taipei and other large cities, speak excellent English.
• Taiwanese families are more open to allowing their daughters to date foreign men than families in some other Asian countries.
• Taiwanese girls are open to foreigners and, having been exposed to people and customs of many other countries, have no problem taking the lead in many situations.
• University level education is quite common in Taiwan, so the girls have a high level of education and are able to hold their own in conversation on a variety of topics, perhaps more so than with Mainland or HONG KONG girls .
• Access to higher education, combined with high ambition, means that Taiwanese girls are able to have good careers and can be just as good as a business partner as they can a wife.

So we have a view of Taiwanese girls that is just as positive as the other is negative.

So which is it?

In light of these dramatically different views, how can one resolve these differences?

Just like any other culture, no two women (or men, for that matter) will be exactly the same.  Indeed, we like to pigeonhole people of different cultures into clearly defined boxes, whether it’s a sexy TV drama queen, or a traditional Asian wife .With Taiwanese girls, the stereotype leans toward either the self-centred, materialistic young Taiwanese lady or the intelligent, worldly, educated Taiwanese woman.

Just like people from any other culture, Taiwanese girls have multi-faceted personalities, and who they are in public may be dramatically different than who they are in private.  Of course, stereotypes persist because they often have some element of truth, but that doesn’t mean that they will necessarily fit every person.  The only way to find out is to get to know a few Taiwanese girls, then you can decide for yourself what you think of them.