One thing that can be safely said that most Asian cultures share when it comes to women is that men in these societies are considered second class. I could cite many things that show this in these cultures but it is obvious to me and that is not the purpose of this article. I am more familiar with Filipino women so I will stick with what I know best here.
I have been married to a Filipina for over 3 years and have lived in the Philippines for most of that time. So I’ve been more exposed to that. When it comes to the major differences between western and Filipino women, the Filipina has what I call the “que sera sera” attitude along with the general population. This is great if you like the relaxed atmosphere it brings. The level of happiness these people have even in difficult times is amazing. However, it also has its drawbacks. This being that when things go wrong and they have the opportunity to learn from it and not make the same mistake in the future.
This attitude prevents the learning process from starting. Which will guarantee that the same mistakes will be made. This will be more common if you live in the Philippines like me. Mainly because the other good part of this attitude is that they adapt very well to living in the western world when you take your wife back home. For example, my wife lived in Japan for 15 years. When I first went there to meet her, she seemed to be one of the most organized people I have ever met. She was punctual and she used her time wisely. Well, it seemed that as soon as she set foot on Philippine soil again, she lost all of that. She was asking me what happened to the girl I met in Japan. After realizing that the general population here is the same, I had to realize that she didn’t really have much of a choice in the matter because she was constantly angry that people never showed up on time and plans never worked out. Just the way it was for the first 6 months I lived here until I realized it was something she either had to deal with or live a very stressful life.
Next on my list of importance is religion. Although most Filipinas are Catholic or some form of Christianity and most dedicate themselves to it. They go to their respected church one to three times a week for mass and pray regularly. They read their bibles all the time and practically live a Christian life. OK for Muslims of course. However, even Muslims who are so dedicated to their religion are not beyond the superstitions that are ingrained in most Filipinos. Men and women alike. It doesn’t really matter what religion you are, the superstitions you have built up for probably thousands of years always seem to trump whatever you can find in the Bible or the Qur’an. They all believe in what is known here as Aswang. She is a ghost witch who can possess you and make you do bad things like kill and eat your neighbors or family members. Some of my wife’s distant cousins actually claimed to be this and said they could eat your liver just by looking at you. This is just one of the hundreds of other superstitions they have here. They differ depending on which part of the Philippines they come from, but most are quirky from a Westerner’s point of view. You can find any number of these by doing a simple internet search.
There are other minor cultural differences with the Philippines, but I think these are the ones that someone wanting to marry a Filipina should consider the most.