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Cross-cultural communication in intimate relationships 355

with cross-cultural intimate relationships (see also Reisigl in this volume). I have
singled out three aspects of globalization that mediate cross-cultural intimate re-
lationships and have exemplified those with data from previous research and,
particularly, mail-order bride websites. These aspects of globalization are in-
creases in three domains: international mobility, international data flow, and in-
ternational cultural exchange. These provide increased chances for partners from
different cultural backgrounds to meet but they also turn on the desires of indi-
viduals to meet a cross-cultural partner. Internationally disseminated ideologies
of gender, race, and family pitch (in the present case study) American men
against American women, and Filipinas against Filipinos, and other Asian
women. These positionings find their parallel in international economic relation-
ships: in the same way that other forms of labor have been outsourced from in-
dustrialized countries, sexual, reproductive and emotional labor is being out-
sourced. In the same way that other international outsourcing has removed
employment regulations from the control of the state and the unions and has
weakened workers’ rights internationally, “intimate outsourcing” is weakening
the cause of gender equality internationally. It is within this larger framework
that individuals pursue their personal happiness.

Notes

1. http://uscis.gov/graphics/shared/aboutus/statistics/; last accessed on 29/09/2004.
2. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Globalisation; last accessed 29/09/2004; see also Bou-
chara in this volume.
3. E.g. End Child Prostitution, Child Pornography and Trafficking of Children for Sex-
ual Purposes at http://www.ecpat.com/eng/index.asp; Coalition Against Trafficking
in Women at http://www.catwinternational.org/.
4. http://www.blossoms.com/cgi-bin/htmlos.cgi/28173.1.418454620598222596; last
accessed on 30/09/2004 All quotes from mailorder bride websites are verbatim.
5. http://www.russianbrides.com/client_comments8.html; last accessed on 30/09/2004.
6. http://www.russianbrides.com/faq1.htm; last accessed on 30/09/2004.
7. http://www.filipinaheart.com/success.cfm; last accessed on 30/09/2004.
8. http://www.manilabeauty.com; last accessed on 01/10/2004.
9. http://action.web.ca/home/catw/attach/catw2003report.pdf; last accessed on 30/09/
2004.
10. All the names are pseudonyms. The transcription conventions are as follows:
Intonation and tone units
, clause final intonation (“more to come”)
. clause final falling intonation
Paralanguage
@ laughter (one @ per syllable, i.e. @@@ = “hahaha”)
Translation
italics translations of speech that was originally in German are in italics.