From ‘mail-order brides’ to ‘passport bros,’ the international dating industry often sells traditional gender roles

For many American men, the draw of the international dating industry is the idea of 'more traditional' women. Kurgenc/iStock via Getty Images Plus

Fifteen years ago, when I started studying the international dating industry, few people took the subject seriously. The term “mail-order bride” was treated as a punch line – something outdated, associated with lonely men and poor women who migrated from Eastern Europe, Asia or other places to meet their new husbands in the United States.

But I’ve seen firsthand how ideas about gender, intimacy and global mobility have shifted. In 2025, a man going abroad to look for love might call himself a “passport bro” – and celebrate his lifestyle on TikTok.