I don’t know how its normally written in English but my girlfriend said that when she was in middle school she was a ‘tai mei.’
I wanted to find out more about this classification, that sort of thing interests me. Is there a word for the similarly mis-behaving male? Also does ‘tai mei’ translate to taiwan sister or something like that? Sorry for the ignorance, I looked on wikipedia and couldn’t find anything. I think it would be a funny thing to write an article on.
Tai Mei is more or less indicative of a very ‘local’ behaving girl. Its male equivalent is ‘Tai Ke’…Picture a shaved head, bin lang chewing Taiwanese guy with fluro lights under his car…you get the picture.?
Allright - thats cool. Thanks for the info. Do these classifications normally go to younger people or can it be any age? An example I was given of a Tai Mei is a girl who wears her uniform against regulations, drinks, smokes, and speaks in the ‘male dialect,’ as I’ve heard it described in japanese.
Also are there any areas of Taiwan that people would expect to see more people like this?
hehehehe… My wife was a taimei in her junior high days. She describes it as a student with a bad attitude, and usually, but not necessarily bad grades (she says hers were always in the top five of the class). Sometimes they’re bullies who rob lunch money from other girls, but my wife swears the worst she did was smoke cigarettes behind the school property, and disrespect her teachers. Oh, also there would sometimes be chick fights to determine who had alpha-female status. She figures most taimeis are either from rich families or poor families, because it takes money or poverty to buck the system.
She got tired of it by high school and became a dutiful drone until graduation.
I think taimeis have the perfect temperament to manage buxibans.
[quote=“Ian_Alexander”]Allright - thats cool. Thanks for the info. Do these classifications normally go to younger people or can it be any age? An example I was given of a Tai Mei is a girl who wears her uniform against regulations, drinks, smokes, and speaks in the ‘male dialect,’ as I’ve heard it described in Japanese.
Also are there any areas of Taiwan that people would expect to see more people like this?[/quote]
You’re right. The Specialist is referring to Taimei (tai as in Taiwan, not ultimate). Different kind of chick altogether.
[quote=“Maoman”]She got tired of it by high school and became a dutiful drone until graduation.
I think taimeis have the perfect temperament to manage buxibans.[/quote]
From what I’ve read about the Taiwanese school system it seems that rebelious people are sort of rare. I wonder if thats one of the reasons we get along. Not that I was rebelious, but I wasn’t a drone either. Plus I grew up next to a ghetto area so I have had contact with plenty of the american equivalent and I always had an odd sort of admiration for them.
Oh- Hey Maoman, sorry if this is a dumb question, but I’m a n00b.
You’re the creator of this site right? If so, I have your Whats Up In Taiwan interview on my Ipod.
I just found that site recently, pretty cool stuff.
I was hoping to be moving to Taiwan in the winter but it looks like I’ll have to stay here in the US a while longer since my girlfriend got a good job here. The blogs and things are tiding me over till then.
First off, I’m not disputing anyone’s definition. I’m just giving my five cents worth. When I first heard the song (我愛台妹) my original suspicion was that a Tai Mei (台妹) was an unmarried Taiwanese girl probably, but not restricted to under the age of 25 or thereabouts. Now I came to this conclusion because of the amalgam of Tai (台) as in Taiwan (台灣), and mei (妹) as in mei mei (妹妹). You know, the usual generalisation we all use for unmarried young ladies back home. Be that “California girls” or “American girls” or “South African girls” (jong bokkies). It all made sense to me.
But it seems it depends on who you ask. My SO (23, university educated girl from a fairly upper middle class home) would have me believe it’s a term for a very low class, common and ugly girl in Taiwan. Not necessarily a betelnut girl, she tells me, 'cos they can be pretty so don’t always fall into what she defines as Tai Mei. Although she is quick to point out that the guys who like betelnut girls (you know, the gangster look alike, wife beater wearing, betelnut chewing tatooed local guy) are Tai Ke. But perhaps the soul of my heart is just a tad snobbish…
My friend’s wife (34, high school educated from a relatively low middle class home) is adamant that a Tai Mei closer to what Maoman describes.
Personally I feel that MCHotDog also probably uses the term in definition closer to what Maoman describes it to be that what my SO says. But where my SO is concerned, it doesn’t matter what I say. As long as I don’t call her Tai Mei… :homer:
My gf is from Ping Tung in the south so others may think she is eligable for low-class standing. The thing is that she seemed to define Tai Mei by actions, not class. Because she used to be bad and act dis-obidient, that made her a Tai Mei but when she started studying and stopped smoking and stuff she was not a Tai Mei anymore. And neither of us think she is ugly of course.
I guess Tai Mei is a pretty general term - something like redneck or ghetto which is used differently by different people.
Why??
Just cause she’s from Pingdong doesn’t mean she’s gone south?
The only thing wrong with PingDong is that it’s too hot in summer!!!
Why??
Just cause she’s from Pingdong doesn’t mean she’s gone south?
The only thing wrong with PingDong is that it’s too hot in summer!!![/quote]
I didn’t mean that there was something wrong with it but people generaly think that southerners, in the US as well as Taiwan are less educated and so on. Its a stereotype.
[quote=“bismarck”]First off, I’m not disputing anyone’s definition. I’m just giving my five cents worth. When I first heard the song (我愛台妹) my original suspicion was that a Tai Mei (台妹) was an unmarried Taiwanese girl probably, but not restricted to under the age of 25 or thereabouts. Now I came to this conclusion because of the amalgam of Tai (台) as in Taiwan (台灣), and mei (妹) as in mei mei (妹妹). You know, the usual generalisation we all use for unmarried young ladies back home. Be that “California girls” or “American girls” or “South African girls” (jong bokkies). It all made sense to me.
But it seems it depends on who you ask. My SO (23, university educated girl from a fairly upper middle class home) would have me believe it’s a term for a very low class, common and ugly girl in Taiwan. Not necessarily a betelnut girl, she tells me, 'cos they can be pretty so don’t always fall into what she defines as Tai Mei. Although she is quick to point out that the guys who like betelnut girls (you know, the gangster look alike, wife beater wearing, betelnut chewing tatooed local guy) are Tai Ke. But perhaps the soul of my heart is just a tad snobbish…
My friend’s wife (34, high school educated from a relatively low middle class home) is adamant that a Tai Mei closer to what Maoman describes.
Personally I feel that MCHotDog also probably uses the term in definition closer to what Maoman describes it to be that what my SO says. But where my SO is concerned, it doesn’t matter what I say. As long as I don’t call her Tai Mei… :homer:[/quote]
Just some clarification here: There are two different words for taimei, with two different meanings. One is tàimèi (太妹), the other is táimèi (台妹). They are two different words, with two different meanings. The first is the schoolgirl tough, the second is the female version of táikè (台客), albeit less of a pejorative. Basically, táimèi (台妹) means a typical Taiwanese chick. In some people’s minds typical local = low class, but I know more and more people wear táikè (台客) and táimèi (台妹) as a badge of honour.
My SO is also from Ping Dong! 
I was actually not aware there is a term like Tai Mei (太妹). I see on the cover of MCHotDog’s cd, he uses the 台妹 version. I also prefer the definition that Tai Mei (台妹) is a “typical Taiwanese chick”. The song’s not bad either. 
I was actually not aware there is a term like Tai Mei (太妹). I see on the cover of MCHotDog’s cd, he uses the 台妹 version. I also prefer the definition that Tai Mei (台妹) is a “typical Taiwanese chick”. The song’s not bad either. [/quote]
我不愛中國小姐 我愛台妹. RIGHT ON.
I was actually not aware there is a term like Tai Mei (太妹). I see on the cover of MCHotDog’s cd, he uses the 台妹 version. I also prefer the definition that Tai Mei (台妹) is a “typical Taiwanese chick”. The song’s not bad either. [/quote]
我不愛中國小姐 我愛台妹. RIGHT ON.[/quote]
hehehe…我愛台妹也愛中國小姐! Especially if the Chinese girl happens to be Zhang Zi Yi… 