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strong>Sept. 8, p22

After dating many Caucasian guys, locally known as bule, since she was a teenager, 27-year-old writer Elisabeth Oktofani settled down when she married a Canadian three years ago.

'€œI had many relationships with bule and reached a point when I couldn'€™t care less if I dated a bule or not. But then I finally found a peace of mind with my husband, who turned out to be bule,'€ Fani said.

Your comments:

This is an interesting topic '€” one that should be explored. Perhaps you can examine the other side of the equation next '€” what drives some Western men to exclusively seek out Asian (especially Southeast Asian) women?

Dolly Jolly

People here love a good stereotype. I'€™ve had a guy at a hotel in Lombok ask my wife, directly and with an air of contempt, if I was her bule boyfriend.

Even though we both have wedding rings, when we are in Jakarta shopping malls we constantly hear other women saying, quite loudly to one another, '€œshe doesn'€™t look very Indonesian'€.

It is clearly a reference to my wife'€™s fair skin. Apparently I am supposed to go for darker women here? My wife is Sundanese and most definitely 100 percent Indonesian. Of course, we get the usual questions from random people, including personal questions!

Nate

If there is an English version, I might read it. I want to try to understand them. But seriously, someone has to write the other side of the story.

Cleon

I know and have had foreign friends since I was very young, and also working in an environment surrounded by many expats and foreigners gave me '€˜common'€™ feelings when around them. I could put on the tightest dress I have in my closet, or I could act provocatively, but if happens that my boyfriend is Caucasian, then society will call me a bule hunter.

But I refuse to be called that and that'€™s also what has inspired this writer to write her book.

The book wants to deliver a different understanding and explanation about Indonesian women who date Caucasian guys, not to give steps of '€œHow to Catch Bule Guys'€ like many people assume.

I got engaged to one by the way, and I paid for half of my wedding preparation and also the other daily expenses we both enjoy. I refuse to be called a bule hunter, it just happens I fell in love with one.

Lulu

No doubt it'€™s a controversial topic. But I have read the book and it'€™s an excellent attempt to capture a complicated subject in a novella.

Indra

This book is targeted at Indonesian readers, clearly. The title would not create the same impact if it was '€œCaucasian Hunter'€. I can imagine a lot of Indonesian, would want to buy this book thinking it contains tips and tricks, the dos and don'€™ts to '€œget'€ rich bule husbands.

Chotto Matte

I think the major problem is the '€œus versus them'€ mentality; just indicating that they are so-called bule hunters is what creates the stigma. Finding your significant other transcends any concept of race, religion, financial status, or even sex.

It'€™s interesting that the author chose also to focus on the perspective of prostitutes, which may imply the author thinks that bule-hunter tradition (if you can call it that) has roots in prostitution.  

Even her interview indicated that dating and marriage with non-Indonesians involves '€œdeals'€ created in nightclubs and hotels. Interesting, I suppose.

Deddy K.