Page 370 - Handbooks of Applied Linguistics Communication Competence Language and Communication Problems Practical Solutions

348 Ingrid Piller

shopping cart”), usually with discounts for bulk buyers. The liberalization of the
telephone market has also meant that even frequent and long international tele-
phone calls to conduct a romantic relationship have become affordable from
many industrialized countries. Indeed, some mail-order bride websites also
offer telephone deals: “[W]e have found a pre-paid phone card company that
offers incredibly low rates for all of your domestic and foreign calling needs.
Calling the Philippines used to be very expensive to say the least. Now, it can be
done at a very attractive price. Do your wallet a favor, and take a moment to
check out these cards through our link.” 8
Thus, websites offer far greater choice to their customers, both quanti-
tatively (number of potential partners) and qualitatively (extended basis on
which a choice is being made). While the internet offers many advantages for
cross-cultural intimate communication, it also has well-known dangers. Mail-
order bride sites often function as “shop-fronts” for organized crime and lure
women into prostitution, and even if they do not, the danger of entering an abus-
ive relationship is high. The mail-order bride industry is poorly regulated, and
most of the regulations aim to prevent immigration fraud rather than protecting
the women who enter a country as mail-order brides, and who are oftentimes de-
pendent on their new husband in many ways, not least for their residency status.
Unsurprisingly, the incidence of domestic violence in such marriages is higher
than in marriages resulting from other encounters (O’Rourke 2002). Intimate
cross-cultural encounters on the internet can thus easily become a vehicle of ex-
ploitation as in this case of a Russian mail-order bride in the US:

My internet meeting with Ed led to my being victimized in three ways. I was a victim
of domestic violence, of sexual assault, and trafficking … There were no pimps or or-
ganized crime rings. In my case, the internet was the vehicle for my sexual exploi-
tation. It enabled Ed, a sexual predator, to lure me across the world into a situation in
which I had no choice but to submit to his sexual demands. I was not his first victim,
and I will not be his last. I have heard that he has a new Russian bride, and my heart
bleeds for her. 9

6. Increased international cultural exchange

Globalization is also characterized by an increase in international cultural ex-
change, in particular through cultural exports emanating from “cultural centers”
such as the movie industry in Hollywood and Bollywood, or the music industry
in London, New York, and Hong Kong. Increased international mobility and
increased international data flow explain the increase in cross-cultural intimate
relationships as a function of increased chances for cross-cultural encounters.
However, at the same time, the fact remains that some people actively seek out a
partner from a different cultural background as the mail-order bride phenom-