Buitenvrouw

Buitenvrouw (literally "outside wife") is a Surinamese Dutch word for a mistress. Among the Surinamese, it is accepted for a married man to have a mistress and it is not shrouded in secrecy. [ [http://www.everyculture.com/Sa-Th/Suriname.html Culture of Suriname] ] Although traditionally considered a taboo, some contemporary Surinamese cultural figures like Jetty Mathurin and Frits Wolfs are found to satirize or criticize the institution.

After the Surinamese mass immigration to the Netherlands, some Surinamese developed extramarital affairs with local Dutch women, i.e. "buitenvrouwen". On the other hand, the 1994 novel "De buitenvrouw" by Joost Zwagerman reverts the roles, featuring Iris, an Afro-Surinamese as the mistress of a White Dutchman. [ [http://studenten.samenvattingen.com/documenten/show/0472070/ De buitenvrouw: roman] nl icon]

The word "buitenvrouw" has become a part of the standard Dutch vocabulary and it is found in the Wordlist of the Dutch language. [ [http://woordenlijst.org/zoek/?q=buitenvrouw&w=w Woordenlijst Nederlandse Taal] nl icon]

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