old asian couples

On old asian couples and fleeting love.

Tuesday, July 7th, 2009 | posts | 3 Comments

I’m going to start off with a generalization: Old Asian couples are rarely romantic.

This generalization comes from years of observation. I’ve seen it all around the world. Old Asian couples rarely PDA. And I’m not going to let it go by excusing them because well, they’re old. I see plenty of caucasian (white) old people who are sweet sweet sweet. Not every white couple I see displays such affection. But I’d venture to say that it’s more likely you’ll see an old white couple being romantic than an old asian couple. Perhaps, my friend Ana Liao (who writes a relationship blog, Nice Girl Organization) can weigh in here, too.

For more than 20 years, I’ve observed asian seniors sitting across from each other at a dim sum restaurant, only to be reading the newspaper and totally ignoring each other. I’ve seen old asian men never holding open doors for their old asian wives, hobbling behind them and old asian men never taking the hands of their wives when they’re walking in the mall, or in the street. 

And this latest example on the New York City subway: Senior asian woman turns on her walkman (yes, a walkman), puts on earphones and opens a book to read, ignoring her husband beside her who repeatedly tries to strike up a conversation.


“Old Asian couples are rarely romantic.” Discuss.

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