Myths and Facts about Filipino Women

As a man married to a Filipina I have been asked many times if it is true that Filipino women make the best wives in the world. Don’t get me wrong now, I will not start bragging about my own wife nor I will dissuade you from dating a Filipina girl. I am just going to tackle some of the statements you hear or read about Filipino women so you can better distinguish the myths from the facts.

“Filipino women are very well educated" – FACT

College education has always been of a great importance for the Filipinas. Pride in accomplishment at school is instilled in Filipinas since their early childhood and the statistics shows that female college enrollment even exceeds that of the male.

“Filipino women are religious." – FACT

Being the only Christian nation in the Far East (the Philippines is 83% Roman Catholic), it is common amongst Philippine families to raise their children in the church. Your perspective Filipina bride would most likely dream of a church wedding and it is likely that her family even forbid her to get married without one.

“All Filipinas are submissive and obedient." – MYTH

Generally Filipino women would never engage in a loud quarrel but their patient, non-confrontational and understanding nature should not be mistaken for submissive. All their life Filipinas have been taught to act like a real Lady – to be refined in both tastes and manners and always speak politely, with a gentle tone of voice. Arguing, along with public criticism, is just not acceptable and even if you are off your rocker your Filipina will not confront you just to save you from embarrassment.

“Filipina’s only purpose in life is to fulfill their husband’s wildest dreams and never lose his attention." – MYTH

As already mentioned, in reality most Filipinas have advanced degrees of education and professional lives. It could hardly be presumed that they live only to fulfill some man's wild desires. And yet, nobody can deny the warmth, loyalty and faithfulness of Filipina wives. Since there is no divorce laws in the Philippines, Filipinas have always paid high regard for the sanctity of marriage and make every endeavour to preserve the love in their family.

“Money is always secondary to the stability of a loving marriage." – FACT

Living in a society that finds divorce unacceptable, Filipino women will always put the stability of their marriage first, before money and they will always be more willing to sacrifice career than a family.

“Filipina women don't believe in divorce." – MYTH

Raised with high values of honesty and fidelity, Filipino women are very patient and willing to stand by their husbands during hard times. This is not unconditional, however, so don’t equalize the illegality of divorce in the Philippines with unwillingness of Filipinas to divorce if they could. A Filipino woman in an honest and loving relationship will never consider divorce as an option but if her husband abuses her verbally or physically she will resort to it if given the opportunity.

“Filipinas are excellent home keepers." – FACT

Filipino women are very focused on family needs and are exceptional mothers. Their home is a great source of pride for them and they do their best to create a warm and loving environment for their family. For the Filipina even yelling at home would mean de-facing her home so you will probably never find a Filipina woman screaming or breaking dishes.

“Filipina women prefer men who are many years their senior." – FACT

Filipinas are, at a minimum, tolerant of much older husbands. This fact is confirmed by the statistics – with 80% men older than their Filipina wives by at least a year, more than 40% are at least 10 years older and about 15% are more than 20 years older. What makes them desirable despite the significant age gap is that Filipinas perceive older men as more mature, less promiscuous, and financially stable.

“Filipinas seek Western men for marriage because there are twice as many females as males in the Philippines." – MYTH

The population difference is about 700,000 (age 15-65) in a country with a population of about 73,000,000 – that is a difference of less than 1% which proves that such a statement is just inconsistent. Filipino women seek Western men for a husband for many of the same reasons Western men want them for a wife – for a stable, loving and lasting relationship.

Jonas P. is a retired American living in the Philippines. He and his Filipina wife have made a Filipino Dating site about Filipina women, their culture and the famous Filipina personality.