HaifongWangchuck wrote: ↑Thu Nov 28, 2024 8:34 pm

John Bingham wrote: ↑Thu Nov 28, 2024 5:11 pm Where was that? Pakistan?

No, I came of age in Southeast Asia. You'll find most of the world is like this outside of the West and her vassal states

Bluejeanbaby wrote: ↑Thu Nov 28, 2024 6:51 am
To suggest that children or adolescents are not considered precious by their parents in SE Asia or in most parts of the world because they may be sent to work is laughable, however poverty is not.

HaifongWangchuck wrote: ↑Wed Nov 27, 2024 10:48 pm

Alex wrote: ↑Wed Nov 27, 2024 8:50 am

Tommie wrote: ↑Tue Nov 26, 2024 8:20 pm Many years ago I was told by a reputal drunk in a bar in Sihanoukville that there is an equation on how young a girl can be for the relationship to be accepted in SAE. It goes something like this:
Divide your age in half + 7 years. So if the guy is 68 years old the girl must be minimum 34 + 7 years old = 41.

I don't think this "rule" is what's "accepted in Southeast Asia". It's a rule expats in SEA have come up with, nothing to do with what the locals find acceptable. It does produce sensible numbers though.

Has anyone ever actually heard of a marriage or relationship being rejected by Khmer people because of an age gap? It's not that usual, but it's not entirely common to see even Khmer men in in their 30s or 40s dating teenage girls, and certainly no one will object if their families don't: In fact, just today my Tuktuk driver was a man of 41 married to a girl who is almost 17; they told me their friends joke but everyone (including their families) has been supportive, with only strangers ever making rude comments:

HaifongWangchuck wrote: ↑Fri Nov 29, 2024 10:55 pm

Kammekor wrote: ↑Fri Nov 29, 2024 8:42 am

My neighbors blocked a relationship (marriage) between their youngest daughter (20 yo) and a man from a village about 30 km from here (mid/late 30's).

It wasn't the age gap itself so much, but with the age cap came previous failed relationships / marriage (and everything that comes with failed marriages) which made them stand in the way.

I am sure if the guy would have been loaded their decision would have been different.

But alas, you even admit that the problem wasn't the actual age gap (or any relating perceptions thereof), but the fact that the man had a long history of failed, unstable relationships that made him seem like an unreliable partner. Such a holistic approach that takes age into consideration but doesn't pathologise it like the Anglophonic world seems far healthier of an approach, too.