International Review of Humanities Studies

Abstract
This study explores the process of constructing the image of the “ideal wife” in intercultural marriages, using the video Younger Singapore Men Looking for Vietnam Brides as a case study. It analyzes the economic and cultural motivations of Singaporean men in choosing Vietnamese wives. By applying Judith Butler’s theory of gender performativity and Henri Tajfel’s social identity theory, the study examines how Vietnamese brides are symbolized as the “ideal partner” and how this phenomenon reflects modern gender role conflicts and identity reconstruction. Through an analysis of interviews in the video and relevant comments, the research reveals the dynamic interaction between gender expectations, economic considerations, and cultural identity. This study also offers a new perspective on understanding gender culture and social structures in cross-border marriages in Southeast Asia.
References
Bélanger, D., & Linh, T. G. (2011). The impact of transnational migration on gender and marriage in sending communities of Vietnam. Current Sociology, 59 (1), 59-77.
Butler, J. (1990). Gender trouble: Feminism and the subversion of identity. Routledge.
Choi, K. H., & Mare, R. D. (2012). International migration and educational assortative mating in Mexico and the United States. Demography, 49 (2), 449–476.
Constable, N. (2005). Cross-border marriages: Gender and mobility in transnational Asia. University of Pennsylvania Press.
Chua, B. H. (2000). Consumption in Asia: Lifestyles and identities. London: Routledge.
Glodava, M., & Onizuka, R. (1994). Mail-order brides: Women for sale. Fort Collins, CO: Alaken.
Jo, H., & Hoang, T. V. H. (2017). A comparative analysis of the motivation for marriage and relations with their family in Vietnam depending on marriage methods: A case of Vietnamese marriage migrant women. Development Policy Studies. https://doi.org/10.22417/DPSS.2017.4.10.1.143,
Kim, H. (2010). International marriage migrants in South Korea: The politics of gender, race, and class. Asian Ethnicity, 11(1), 1–17. https://doi.org/10.1080/14631360903506786.
Li, W. J. (2015). 朱迪斯·巴特勒性别表演理论研究 [Judith Butler’s gender performativity theory research] (Doctoral dissertation, 广西师范大学).
Liu, D. (2018). 跨境通婚群体的身份认同研究——以桂越边境地区“越南新娘”为例 [A study on identity recognition of transnational marriage groups: Taking "Vietnamese brides" in the Guangxi-Vietnam border area as an example] (Master’s thesis, Chongqing Technology and Business University). https://doi.org/10.7666/d.D01424432.
O'Harrow, S. (2021). Vietnamese women and Confucianism: Creating spaces from patriarchy. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003135203-10.
Piper, N., & Roces, M. (2003). Wife or worker? Asian women and migration. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers.
Tajfel, H. (1978). Differentiation between social groups: Studies in the social psychology of intergroup relations. Academic Press.
Tuyet, T. T. N. (2021). Vietnamese migrant women working abroad: Risks and challenges for accessing support services. Social Work and Policy Studies: Social Justice, Practice and Theory, 3(1), 1–14.
Wang, Y. H. (2010). From “Farming Daughters” to “Virgin Brides.” Asian Journal of Women's Studies. https://doi.org/10.1177/097185241001400205,
Wang, H. Z. (2007). Hidden spaces of labor: Migrant women and the politics of urban space in China. Stanford University Press.
Xue, Y. (2017). 中国“越南新娘”的权力视角分析 [An analysis of "Vietnamese brides" in China from a power perspective]. 中华女子学院学报, (2), 8.
Yeoh, B., Leng, C. H., & Dung, V. (2013). Commercially arranged marriage and the negotiation of citizenship rights among Vietnamese marriage migrants in multiracial Singapore. Asian Ethnicity. https://doi.org/10.1080/14631369.2012.759746
Zhou, P. L. (2013). 江苏的越南新娘 [Vietnamese brides in Jiangsu]. 环球人物.
Recommended Citation
Jie, Li
(2025)
"THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE IMAGE OF THE “IDEAL WIFE” IN INTERCULTURAL MARRIAGES: A CASE STUDY ON THE YOUTUBE VIDEO “YOUNGER SINGAPORE MEN LOOKING FOR VIETNAM BRIDES,"
International Review of Humanities Studies: Vol. 10:
No.
1, Article 14.
DOI: 10.7454/irhs.v10i1.1373
Available at:
https://scholarhub.ui.ac.id/irhs/vol10/iss1/14
Included in
Anthropology Commons, Art and Design Commons, Creative Writing Commons, Cultural Heritage Law Commons, Education Law Commons, Film and Media Studies Commons, History Commons, Intellectual Property Law Commons, International and Area Studies Commons, Legal Writing and Research Commons, Linguistics Commons, Museum Studies Commons, Philosophy Commons, Urban Studies and Planning Commons