Thai Spec vs. Farang Spec

I heard these terms from a Thai person several years ago and thought they were somewhat humorous. If you don’t know what they are they are basically a way to describe what Thai guys are into versus what Farang guys are into in terms of women.

According to this Thai theory, Thai guys are into tall, white skinned girls and Farang guys are into short, brown girls. On the surface it would appear to be true if you hang out in Thailand and see what Thais consider attractive and what you see Farangs married to.

All Thai advertising features very white skinned girls who almost look like farangs. In fact, many top models in Thailand are luk kreung (ลูกครึ่ง) which is basically half farang and half Thai. Tata Young, Paula Taylor, Sririata Jensen, and Sonia Couling are luk kreung. Girls who aren’t luk kreung who are also considered highly attractive according to Thais are the Thai-Chinese blend (Thainese) coming from families where the parents several generations ago migrated to Thailand from China and mixed with the local population.

Luk kreung / Thai-Spec model Sririta Jensen
Luk kreung / Thai-Spec model Sririta Jensen

On the other hand, if you take a walk around Bangkok or anywhere else in Thailand you will mostly see farangs arm in arm with your typical Isaan looking girl. Darker skin, short, and clearly Isaan facial features.

Farang-Spec Girl
Farang-Spec Girl

I think for farangs we appreciate the dark skin as being exotic where the Thais (and most Asians) think it signals lower class or status. In other words, I think we’re open minded about skin color and such since we see so much racial mixing in our own countries and we consider a brown tone to be a sign of health as pasty white often signals some sort of illness.

That being said, I question whether or not these Thai/Farang specs are entirely accurate. I’m sure there are some guys who specifically prefer the Isaan look but I think for the vast majority of Farang guys it’s more an issue of who we are likely to interact with.

Whether it be go-go dancers in Nana Plaza or the girl serving us dinner at a local restaurant around the corner from your condo, chances are you meet far more Isaan looking women than you do Thai spec women. So the women you are likely to ask out and date are far more likely to be supposed Farang Spec than Thai Spec.

You also have to look at the social dynamics at play as well. A Thai-Spec girl probably has guys falling all over themselves to ask her out. She is not only getting attention from Thais but from farangs as well. And if she’s very attractive and very Thai Spec she is getting attention from very well heeled men both farang and Thai. This means she probably won’t spend a long time being “available” and will get snapped up and married very quickly which further reduces the number of available Thai Spec women.

But an attractive Isaan woman is in a different class. First off, if she comes from a poor family then status conscious Thai men won’t seriously consider her for anything more than a casual fling. That means her pool of available men is other Thai guys of her own class or farangs who are not as class conscious. That puts a disproportionate number of attractive Farang-Spec women in the dating pool for farang men.

So, farang men can either battle it out in the competitive pool for Thai-Spec women or they can look for love in the less competitive Farang-Spec arena. I don’t think it’s preference in type so much as most men simply find it easier to meet and date a Farang-Spec women than it would be to meet and date a Thai-Spec girl.

But just like men have their debates about blonds versus brunettes or asses versus boobs, there are men who really do prefer the Farang-Spec looking girls. Everybody is going to have their biases and preferences so it’s difficult to say that the Farang Spec and Thai Spec distinction is a myth but I don’t think it’s anywhere as near universal as many Thais believe it is.

[Farang-Spec photo taken from JonathanFun.com]

54 thoughts on “Thai Spec vs. Farang Spec”

  1. I had many hundreds of partyes and met hundred of thai teachers and they are so superficial gossipsilly gooses and I don’t think that anything which comes from their extremeky silly gossip world is really worth mentioning

  2. dark or white skin….it depends who is who and how much you like one or the other also according to her style and femminility
    in Germany they say: “at darkness all cows are black”,,, hahaha

  3. @Robert, all those tanning ADS are just proof of Americans being fed lies about how tan skin is better…..goes both ways! Americans are just as brainwashed about tan skin being better since media has such a huge control and ads are there to brainwash.
    Tanning ads feed us lies and are toxic. Hello!

    You showing Thai people about those ads is hyprotctical and untrue and shows your bitterness.

    However, that doesn’t change the fact that MOST American actresses are NOT tanned and actually have light skin and STIlL seen as beautiful by many Americans, obviously.

    Nowadays, most beautiful actresses in Hollywood are very fair. People who have eyes and aren’t brainwashed by tanning ads can see their beauty.

  4. @robert: and when I think about it, American girls who are fed the lie that they need to tan to look good should be shown pictures of the many Asian actresses and models who are envied for their white skin. They should be shown pictures of the many whitening products all over Asia so it would help their self esteem and actually appreciate their white skin since so many people in other countries will do anything to have it:)

    They should also be educated on history and how ancient China and Japan and even Europe loved their white skin before ads and media. Goes back to ancient Egypt as well.

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