*Mind you, this is just my personal opinion. So you are not required to agree with me in any way. Thanks Barenaked for asking your question.*

When some acquaintances back home heard that I live in Taiwan, you’d only have to wait a few seconds for that scream, “OMIGOSH!!! Really?! You’re so luckeeeee!!!”

*roll eyes*

Oh brother.

This was during the height of the Meteor Garden fever in the Philippines. As a person with no TV whatsoever (I’ll probably explain why in a different post), and who doesn’t even care that much to watch local channels if ever (I’m an HBO type of gal), I had yet to watch an episode of Meteor Garden.

It’s true.

Sad, isn’t it?

Furthermore, when Meteor Garden was super hot in the Philippines, it was already considered “out” in Taiwan. The fever has already come and gone, and though the cast members were still famous, people were no longer gaga over Meteor Garden.

That’s why, I was caught in surprise when people would email me asking if I’ve already watched Meteor Garden and ask me to get some info about the cast.

For the life of me, I have NO idea who Jerry Yan was ’till my Filipino friends starting emailing me.

Then, surely, comes the follow-up question: “My gosh, you’re so lucky you’re in Taiwan!!! You’re surrounded by all the cute men!!!”

I WISH!!!

A lot of people assume that since the male cast members of Meteor Garden are all cute, most of the people living in Taiwan are cute as well. Because they hear songs from Wang Li-Hong (super cute guy), they assume a lot of Taiwanese guys look like him.

*roll eyes*

If only it was true!

Hence, when given this comment, I have this ready reply: “The guys from Meteor Garden are some of the ONLY FEW cute men in Taiwan.”

Cute men in Taiwan are the exception.

Taiwanese guys on the average, are not cute.

That’s why I dated a Japanese man.

*shrug*

===================================
All right.

So I didn’t just date my ex for his looks.

But I mean it, cute guys here are a rarity. Whereas my head was turning left and right when I visited Japan last year (there was a lot of cute men in the MRT station), my head almost never turns around in Taiwan.

And before people would lambaste me as being shallow and utterly focused on appearance alone, all I can say is this, I’m just telling you my truth. If you don’t believe me, come to Taiwan and decide for yourself. If you think Taiwanese men in general are cute, good for you!

But I’ve been here for more than two years, and my verdict is: NO.

I can’t really put my finger on it.

Is it because they don’t have that good of a fashion sense?

My friend and I have cited that Taiwanese don’t really have good fashion sense. Women look cute and they’re much more daring as compared to Filipinos (the fashion almost never changes back home), but for some reason, something’s just not right. For example, bra straps show when wearing tank-tops (a fashion no-no) or skirts with pants and purple stripped, knee-length socks.

Eeeeeew.

Taiwanese women like to copy from the Japanese and the Korean. But they don’t really do a lot of personalizing. If it looks good on the model, they’ll wear it — even if it doesn’t fit their body type.

For men, a lot of them wear shirts tucked in jeans with a belt. Sort of what your father would usually wear.

Not really a turn-on.

Of course, there are exceptions. ABCs (American-born Chinese) dress pretty well. But on a whole, guys who’ve never left Taiwan don’t dress well. It’s quite boring really.

And it’s the attitude.

It’s not just the look, it’s the attitude.

Attitude is important, and since many Taiwanese guys don’t really get to go abroad and spread their wings, they don’t have a lot of attitude/confidence yet.

Confidence is such a turn on.

And yet, for me, I think Taiwanese guys still lack in the confidence department. They’re quite insecure, really. I’ve seen quite a few guys scamper away upon learning that I speak English. Because their English isn’t very good, they are immediately intimidated. At their 20s, they still lack the social skills to be comfortable in any environment. They’re like kids trapped in an adult guy’s body.

Given this, all I can say is, in my personal opinion, Taiwanese guys in general are not cute.

Agree or disagree with me, but honestly, Taiwanese men don’t really do it for me. Nevertheless, I would not discount Taiwanese men. Looks are important for me, but they’re not the priority. I’d rather go for a man with good character, than those with looks. But there are also some cultural differences I’d have to be careful about.

I’m sure there are nice Taiwanese men out there. I never said they weren’t nice. But having the opportunity to meet guys coming from around the world, I can say that in general, there are a lot cuter guys out there than Taiwanese men.

Geez, I’d rather have a chinito or tisoy anytime.

And again, this is just in my personal opinion. How about you? I’d like to hear what you think…