Western men are going abroad to find traditional wives

A few years ago Mike got fed up with dating in America. “So many women there have been brainwashed to think it’s OK to treat men like crap,” he says. He could work remotely, so he moved to Thailand, where his money stretched further, and he met the sort of woman he was seeking. He is now engaged to a Thai woman, Pafan. (Both asked for their surnames to be withheld.) The couple often post videos for their thousands of followers. In one viral clip captioned “Point of view: you have a Thai girlfriend”, Pafan kneels on the floor clipping Mike’s nails. He says his followers are mostly American men, many of them “in awe” of how she caters to him.

Mike is one of a rising number of “passport bros”: young Western men who travel abroad in search of better dating prospects. Online forums, YouTube channels and TikTok accounts rank countries according to their women, advising which are the most “feminine”, “traditional” and likely to pamper men. Thailand, Brazil, Colombia, the Philippines and Vietnam are among the most popular. “It’s the ultimate life-hack in 2026,” says Austin Abeyta, a passport bro in Da Nang, Vietnam.

If all this sounds like the 1950s have collided with the modern manosphere—where dating frustrations translate into broader grievances about women online—you are not wrong. Men rejecting American women for “not offering what they value isn’t new”, says Beth Bailey, a historian at Cambridge University. American women’s roles changed during the second world war as millions entered the workforce. Some veterans sought more traditional partners abroad: almost 100,000 married foreign women, says Ms Bailey. Other men sought “mail-order bride” arrangements. In the case of passport bros, they do not bring women to America but instead travel overseas themselves, aided by remote work and digital-nomad visas.

Why the resurgence now? Some claim the dating landscape is stacked against men. They say apps such as Tinder and Hinge favour only a handful of highly desirable profiles, while others are left competing for scraps. “It’s a very labour-intensive game…without a good prize at the end,” says Mr Abeyta.

There has also been a broader cultural shift, with some young men becoming more conservative and seeking compliant partners. A recent study by Ipsos, a think-tank, surveying around 30 countries, found that more than half of Gen Z men believe women’s rights have gone far enough; around a third think that wives should always obey their husbands.

Economics play a part, too. Moving abroad can make it easier to live out more traditional roles. In America supporting a household on a single income has become more difficult. “I don’t mind dating a poor woman,” says Justin, another passport bro. “You’re more likely to get the traditional roles that way.”

Some critics argue that passport bros exploit women and contribute to sex tourism. Others say that women are with them for a Western passport. But money may play as big a role. “I have no desire to live in America,” says Jewel Clyte, Mr Abeyta’s Filipina girlfriend. Their partnership has offered her more financial security than a partner from the Philippines might.

There is nothing wrong with finding love abroad. But Ms Bailey warns that large gaps in income can lead to “disproportionate levels of power”. For passport bros and their riveted followers, however, that power imbalance may be what is so seductive. ■

Our reporters travelled to Vietnam to research this story. Hear what they discovered on “The Weekend Intelligence”, available at www.economist.com/audio/podcasts