University of Kentucky UKnowledge University of Kentucky Doctoral Dissertations Graduate School 2007 VIRTUAL' BRIDES IN THE POST-SOVIET CONTEXT Michael Paul Begin University of Kentucky, [email protected] Right click to open a feedback form in a new tab to let us know how this document benefits ou.y Recommended Citation Begin, Michael Paul, "VIRTUAL' BRIDES IN THE POST-SOVIET CONTEXT" (2007). University of Kentucky Doctoral Dissertations. 511. https://uknowledge.uky.edu/gradschool_diss/511 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at UKnowledge. It has been accepted for inclusion in University of Kentucky Doctoral Dissertations by an authorized administrator of UKnowledge. For more information, please contact [email protected]. ABSTRACT OF DISSERTATION Michael Paul Bégin The Graduate School University of Kentucky 2007 1 ‘VIRTUAL’ BRIDES IN THE POST-SOVIET CONTEXT ABSTRACT OF DISSERTATION A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Kentucky by Michael Paul Bégin Lexington, Kentucky Director: Dr. Wolfgang Natter, Professor of Geography Lexington, Kentucky 2007 Copyright © Michael Paul Bégin 2007 ABSTRACT OF DISSERTATION ‘VIRTUAL’ BRIDES IN THE POST-SOVIET CONTEXT This project offers a multifaceted, interdisciplinary approach to understanding the contemporary post-Soviet ‘Internet bride’ phenomenon and the rationales, motives, and aspirations of the industry’s participants. As international marriage services have incorporated information and communications technologies (ICTs) to assist in the marketing of women of post-communist nations for correspondence courtship with Western men, the industry has furthered the globalization of marriage markets and the opportunities for communicative exchange among disparate nations and cultures. By way of case study, the project takes a special focus on the Belarusian/American segment of the industry, turning to personal interviews with participants and employing qualitative techniques to dissect marketing methods. The study gives primary consideration to processes and elements of globalization, postmodern consumer culture, and aspects of human sexuality (particularly sexual exchange theory), recognizing their interactive and mutually-constitutive nature that calls for their analysis through a Baudrillardian lens. KEYWORDS: correspondence courtship, cyberspace, postmodernism, globalization, inequality MULTIMEDIA ELEMENTS USED: GIF (.gif) Michael Paul Bégin January 9, 2007 ‘VIRTUAL’ BRIDES IN THE POST-SOVIET CONTEXT By Michael Paul Bégin Dr. Wolfgang Natter Director of Dissertation Dr. Richard Schein Director of Graduate Studies January 9, 2007 RULES FOR THE USE OF DISSERTATIONS Unpublished dissertations submitted for the Doctor’s degree and deposited in the University of Kentucky Library are as a rule open for inspection, but are to be used only with due regard to the rights of the authors. Bibliographical references may be noted, but quotations or summaries of parts may be published only with the permission of the author, and with the use of scholarly acknowledgements. Extensive copying or publication of the dissertation in whole or part also requires the consent of the Dean of the Graduate School at the University of Kentucky. DISSERTATION Michael Paul Bégin The Graduate School University of Kentucky 2007 ‘VIRTUAL’ BRIDES IN THE POST-SOVIET CONTEXT __________________________________ DISSERTATION __________________________________ A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Kentucky by Michael Paul Bégin Lexington, Kentucky Director: Dr. Wolfgang Natter, Professor of Geography Lexington, Kentucky 2007 Copyright © Michael Paul Bégin 2007 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I wish to acknowledge my advisors for their support and expert consultation: Dr. Matthew Zook, Dr. Wolfgang Natter, and Dr. J. P. Jones III. Many thanks as well to Dr. Stan Brunn, Dr. Anna Secor, Dr. Cynthia Ruder, Dr. Jeff Peters, and Dr. Mike Uebel for their valuable input. The following people also merit profuse appreciation: Ms. Elena Nesteruk (La Strada, Belarus), Ms. Liudmila Blizniuk and the Belarusian Association of UNESCO Clubs, Mrs. J. Beth Ciesielski (Bridges For Education, Inc.), Irina Belmuch, Laurent and Fernande Begin (thanks Mom and Dad), Les and Gwynne Gabbard, Jeff Hall, Jeff and Amy Craig, Jennifer Mabry, Barbara Duncan, Wayne Klumpp, Roy and Sherri Phelps, Maureen McDorman, Andy Grimes, Davide Girardelli, Adel Iskandar, Steve Ward, Maria Moreno, and the fine folks at the Union Block Café (Hammondsport, NY). This work was made possible by all those who kindly contributed their time as study respondents, or as 2004 BFE volunteers in Belarus. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS Acknowledgments………………………………..................................................iii List of Tables……………………………………………………...…………………….vii List of Figures……………………………….............................................................viii List of Files……………………………………………………………………………….ix Project Introduction…...………………………..............................................................x i.1 The post-Soviet ‘virtual bride’ phenomenon……………..…………….xiv i.2 Postmodern consumer culture, sexuality, and the ‘virtual’ bride…………………………………..……………………xv i.3 Problems and intentions………………………………………………xvii Chapter One: Contextualizing an Industry………………………...………..……...1 1.1 Country Descriptions…………………………...................................2 1.1.1 United States of America………………………………...........2 1.1.2 Republic of Belarus……………….……………….................4 1.2 The position of post-Soviet women.………………….…………………....9 1.2.1 Changes and Challenges…...…………………………………….10 1.2.2 New positions in new economies: image and identity in transition……….…………..…..……….13 1.3 Marriage online: tapping into the post-Soviet market………………16 1.4 Online opportunity? The Internet 'mail-order' process for women clients………………………………..................................................19 1.5 Seduced into participation? The online ‘mail-order’ process for men clients……………………………….....................................21 1.6 A look at marketing language……………………………….............24 Chapter Two: ‘Virtual Brides’ in Global Cultural Space…..…………………….30 2.1 Integrating the social and the spatial……………………….………..30 2.2 A dissolution of boundaries: integrative opportunities in thirdspace………………………..………………………………………..31 2.3 On sexuality…………………………………………………............32 2.3.1 Cyberspace, cybersexuality and seduction…………..……33 2.3.2 Cybersexuality and the ‘virtual bride’ industry………...…35 2.3.3 Sexuality and global cultural space………………….…….36 2.3.4 Sexuality, orientalism, and the postcolonial..……………..38 2.3.5 Sexual exchange theory……………………….…………..40 2.4 On postmodern consumer culture………………………….………..43 iv 2.4.1 Simulation and consumption………….…………………………...44 2.4.2 Seduction, postmodern consumer culture, and sexuality………………………………………………48 2.5 On globalization………………………………………………………….….50 2.5.1 Mediazation, cyberspace, and globalization………………51 2.5.2 Globalization, cyberspace, and global cultural space……………………………………………..................……..54 Chapter Three: Locating ‘Virtual Brides’ in a Globalized Milieu………………………56 3.1 Globalization and 'virtual bride' markets……………………..……..…..56 3.2 Case in point: a chat with ‘Helen’………………..…….……...……….........59 3.3 Marriage markets and ‘placeless’ place……………………………..61 3.4 Emigration and considerations of place……………………………..63 3.5 Working in Belarus……………………………….............................64 3.6 On positionality……………………………….….................................68 Chapter Four: Risk, Reward, and the ‘Virtual’ Relation: Random Takes...…………..…71 4.1 A hypothetical scenario (in two takes)…………………………….….….71 4.2 Criminal connections? Talking to an insider…………………………….73 4.3 Contending with hardships in ‘old’ worlds; mitigating them in ‘new’ spaces…………………………...………….………….….…79 4.4 From secondspace to thirdspace: connections to romance tourism……………………………………...…..….......…83 4.4.1 In the space between the imagined and the‘real’…………………..…………………………………...83 4.4.2 Case in point……………………………………………………....85 Chapter Five: Reading ‘Virtual Brides’……………………………………………..…87 5.1 Mordinson.com ………………..………………..…...............................87 5.2 Oksanalove.com ……………………….…….…...............................89 5.3 Chanceforlove.com …………………………….................................92 5.4 The struggle to correspond: ‘John’ and ‘Katya’……………….…...........95 5.5 Analysis of representation through sign…...……………………….…99 5.6 Analysis of utterance………………………………….........................104 Chapter Six: Project Conclusions………………………………...................................107 Appendix (Interview Transcripts)……………………………………............................119 Manager, “AngelikaMinsk” marriage agency………………………….120 ‘Liudmila’ (marriage agency client)………………………………...…126 ‘Natalia’ (marriage agency client)……………………………………..129 ‘Scott’ (former marriage agency client)………………………………..131 v ‘Helen’ (marriage agency client)………………………………………136 Inna (Introduction Manager, “Viktoria” marriage agency)…………….142 Irina Belmuch (Associate Interpreter, “European Connections” marriage agency)...…………………………………………………............…147 Elena Nesteruk (Program Manager, La Strada International, Belarus chapter)…………………………………………….............…152 ‘Lena’ (marriage agency client)………………………….…………….158 Oksana Boychenko (Owner/Director, “OksanaLove”