Russian women brides are often portrayed either as victims of domestic violence or as gold diggers in search of wealthy men, money and green cards. Rarely are they allowed to speak for themselves. Until now. In Dreaming of a Mail-Order Husband, six single Russian women who are in search of or have already found U.S. husbands via russian internet dating sites tell their stories.
Ericka Johnson, an American researcher of gender and technology, interviewed these women and others. The women, in their twenties and thirties, describe how they placed profiles on the Internet and what they think about their contacts with Western men. They discuss their expectations about marriage in the United States and their reasons for wishing to emigrate.
Each chapter presents one woman’s story and then links it to a discussion of gender roles, russian brides dating industry, and the severe economic and social constraints of life in Russia.