伴侶與配偶的選擇是一件個人的私事」，曾聽過有人用這句話來形容挑選另一半之行徑，然而，本研究則試圖透過學術分析的視角，證明即使是私領域的事情，也會被社會所影響，甚至彼此互相牽引。
本文以Durkheim的分類(classification)與社會規範(social norms)等概念為基礎，並延伸至Brekhus針對社會標誌論─受標誌的(marked)與未受標誌的(unmarked)之論述，並將後者視作本研究所欲探討的選配中「預設值」的基礎（被視為理所當然）。
另，加入社會包容與排除(social inclusion and exclusion)、婚姻斜坡中的上嫁下娶、種族的階層化、大眾傳媒的框架應用等理論概念，並以洋男台女作為受標誌的例子，突顯台灣人在看似鼓勵「自由戀愛」與嚮往「浪漫愛情」的表象下，其實選配過程中存在著配對預設值(default)─未受標誌的台男台女之篩選機制(filter mechanisms)與刻板印象(stereotype)。
承上，我們所處的社會，並對受標誌者過度關注且較不友善，甚至容易簡化並貼上具備汙名性質的標籤。此部分則應用Goffman針對污名的論述，以PTT上CCR板的發文與回應，作為主要的研究資料，並蒐集網路新聞文章輔助說明。並採取文本分析方式予以探討。
根據研究發現，前述假設─台灣人在選配方面存有預設值為真，當事人不僅意識到自己的不同與壓力，產生相應的情緒與行為，同時亦感受到外界對其不成比例地放大檢視，並從洋男台女的論述觀察到，她們認為自己雖然吃「西餐」，但與「西餐」者有所不同，兩者不可相提並論。並將CCR板作為內團體結盟藉以取暖、宣洩、分享、取經與汙名之策略。
又，上述區分預設值與非預設值，具有階層化的劃界工作(hierarchical boundary work)之特性，且這樣的分類劃界方式，並非固定不變、是變動的，此一論點可從第三個問題─時間上的動態變化：洋男台女「通過儀式」(rites of passage)從未婚進入到已婚身分時，加諸其身上之污名反倒消失無蹤得到論證。
Whereas people usually believe that, partner and mate selection is a personal issue, in reality, various social factors influence how people choose their partners and mates. In this current research, I argue that, even personal issues such as falling in love, choosing partners, and so forth, are inevitably affected by their situating communities.
While people in Taiwan generally believe that “love conquers all” and “people have the freedom to choose whom to love,” the reality is not consistent with this perception. In this research, I apply Brekhus’s social marking theory to explain the “default” situation of partner selection in Taiwanese society. To put it more specifically, “unmarked” means the default category and “marked” represents the non-default category: In my case, the former indicates Taiwanese women who fall in love with Taiwanese men; and the later implies Taiwanese women who get together with western men.
According to the default/non-default and unmarked/marked category, people pay more attention to the marked one. Moreover, I notice that, Taiwanese women who fall in love with men from Western societies all too often encounter unfriendly treatment in general and stigmatization in particular. Additionally, under some extreme condition, some people in Taiwan label them as “xenophilia”: It indicates obsession for foreign objects or people.
In terms of method and data, I use text and discourse analysis in this research. I not only collect posts and response from CCR forum on PTT as my main data source, but also newspaper articles and posts on the Internet as supplementary sources.
Based on my analysis, the assumption is true that people in Taiwan-to some extent do have “default” in terms of partner selection. Taiwanese women who fall in love with men from Western societies are easily classified as “non-default” (and thus marked). And, once being classified as so, these women are aware of “they are treated differently” by others. As a result, they expressed that they usually felt pressure and they therefore adopted certain ways to respond to these differential treatment. Sharing their stories on CCR forum is one of the ways.
