This book,
Thailand Fever, and a few others are very helpful in understanding what's going on. It is a very easy and quick read. It also has a format, in which your partner can read in Thai, and you can read the parallel English text. It contains sections that separately address the (western) male directly and the (Thai) female. As seanes says, the information applies to the culture and not merely to relationships with working girls, which they discuss directly.
The books content makes explicit what you already observed, if you've traveled there and interacted with anybody. But, then some of it is surprising ... mostly the extent to which cultural values are ingrained--both ours as well as theirs.
In the end, the book is depressing, if you are looking for a real, long-term cross-cultural relationship. And, I'm a pretty open minded and flexible person. But, it has been done successfully.
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Originally Posted by dearhunter
I recommend it just to understand the culture.
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