Why do Thai men like to give orders?

Especially to their girlfriends.

For example, a friend of mine said her boyfriend asked her to wear high heels though she thinks they are uncomfortable because he's tall and she's quite short, so he thinks the heels would balance the height difference and make them look "good" together, and he thinks women wearing heels look better.

It's probably just a tiny thing, but I've heard this kind of thing many times from friends who have boyfriends. Their boyfriends would ask them to dress like this, to sit like that, or to do like this and the list could go on and on. Like they wanted to change their girlfriends to the way they want to, especially about appearances.

Wonder why those guys started dating their girlfriends in the first place when they want to change all these tiny little things about them!

And the girls, too. Giving "orders" to their boyfriends. A lot of girls asked their boyfriends not to get drunk, not to go to the club too often, not to smoke, and the list could go on and on.

Again, I wonder why those girls started dating their boyfriends in the first place.

This is really common between Thai couples, at least from people around me. But I just don't get it, and don't like it. I've had a Thai guy who was in this "a bit more than friend but not boyfriend" status told me that my skirt is a bit short and I should be careful when I sit. He said he told me that because he wanted to take care of me (?), but I was thinking if he wanted to be my father. I already have a father, and don't think I need one more.

Maybe that's why I've never had a Thai boyfriend. There's something about Thai men that make me feel they are suppressing women in the way they say and act. When I go out with them, I feel they constantly judge me by using a so-called good Thai girl stereotype, like there's a fixed way they like or they think it's a "proper" thing a girl should do and they want to change me to fit into that category, so I could never comfortably be myself. It's hard to explain, but I just feel it.

With Neven, it's really different and I can pretty much do whatever I want or wear whatever I want. I guess he likes it more when I dress simple, like one time I wore a white T-shirt with denim skirt and tights and he gave me a compliment I look good. Normally I like to wear colorful stuff, though. When he came to visit in Thailand, I was wearing a lot of black and white for some reason, and he even asked what's going on and why I wear so much black because it doesn't look like the usual me, though I think he liked it.

Wait a minute, come to think of it he asked me not to cut my hair too short, but it was ok because I didn't want to do that anyway :P

Oh, and I'm not the type who gives orders to my boyfriend, either, because I think it's impossible to change someone. So if your boyfriend loves drinking, it's unlikely that your request (or order?) would make him stop drinking, or maybe it could, but it would be temporary because it's his habit. If you don't like to see he drink so much, then find a guy who is not a big fan of drinking!

I'm not sure why relationships between couples here are always involved with making orders to each other. It's the way I've seen so often. Other people probably think it's normal. Maybe it's only me who have a problem with it.

Hopefully there are Thai men out there who are open-minded enough to let their girlfriends be the way they are. Let's hope I am wrong about what I've written!