MAIL ORDER BRIDES in modern times
John Broward, who is considered the founder of the modern mail order brides business, was importing Oriental bowls and vases when he decided to diversify in 1974. "He was bringing things over from the Orient, ceramic things, and one of his friends said, "I'd like to meet a woman from there,' " said the manager of agency one of about 200 mail order brides agencies that match American men with foreign women. Mail order brides brokers' work continues an American tradition that dates back to the days when lonely frontiersmen in the Old West corresponded with adventure-seeking women from Eastern cities. The practice died out as the West became populated, but was renewed, the brokers say, in the 1970's, when men who considered themselves casualties of the American women's movement began looking overseas for traditional mail order brides.
Mail order brides must adapt quickly
The companies offer no guarantees and, not surprisingly, some mail order brides matches often fall apart. The exotic charm of a distant correspondent can fade abruptly in the reality of culture shock and life with a stranger. Some of the prospective mail order brides end up being deported. And the women, who are often quite young and speak little English, also risk isolation and abandonment if not outright abuse from men they have known only through letters. Those who run mail order brides agencies say most American women are critical of their trade because they feel threatened by romantic competition from foreign women. About 100 mail order brides came to New York to marry last year. "American women call it sexual slavery," he said, "but they really just think there aren't enough men to go around."
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