chapter 6. other concepts relating to sex - Windward Community ...

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ehavior. It is, however, difficult to believe (though possible) that students' understanding of sex is not somehow impacted by, for example, sex-related laws, which dictate legal and illegal sex- related behavior. Laws may not determine the meaning of sex, but clearly they reflect one aspect of the normative social framework in which students go about their lives, national (elite Bangkok,) norms which are part of the Thai identity. This chapter describes these and other concepts that shape meanings of sex. These concepts are all interrelated, and so the chapter is, somewhat artificially, organized into Modernity and Mobility, Government, Sex Education in the Schools, the Media, Values, and Religion and Moral Action, and Festivals and Traditions. The first four are loosely grouped because they convey conform in various ways to the second dimension in each of the tensions mentioned in Chapter 1: local culture – Bangkok culture, tradition – modernity and things Thai – things foreign. The last three topics are more long established and are loosely tied to the first elements in each tension (i.e., local culture, tradition, things Thai). SWU students are situated historically in such a way that these dimensions of tension are not clearly differentiated except in specific contexts. During an Isan festival, Bangkok culture is contrasted with local culture, but at other times, it becomes part of the students' sense of history and identity as Thai citizens. In other situations, Bangkok may signify modernity, as when juxtaposed with Isan village life. But when juxtaposed with American culture, Bangkok may take on meanings of tradition. Modernity and Mobility Lao moved into Isan through migration hundred of years ago. But in the 20 th century, a particular patterns of mobility formed that are now very much associated with the Northeast population. Severe, ongoing drought, the need for cash, and the desire for purchasing power have fueled a mass mobilization of socio-economically disadvantaged Thai to seek work in urban areas around Bangkok. Isan is the largest supplier of low-income wage laborers. Mahasarakham and its neighbors Khon Kaen and Roi-Et are among the provinces hit hardest by drought (Raksakul, 121
1994, Slowing, p. 20). Migration rates have grown so much that the government is investing millions of baht into rural migration deceleration projects. Migration and Femininity Mills (1990) conducted research on migration in Mahasarakham in 1989. She reported that labor migration from Isan to Bangkok, the center of modernity in Thailand, had reached such a level as to be the subject of jokes and generalizations. Some of these jokes are sexual, including many about prostitution. Migration has become a regular part of life and culture in the area for both men and women. In the past, migrants were mostly men, but presently, female migrants outnumber male migrants. This continuous movement of people between the rural and urban areas brought an influx of modern goods and ideas to the countryside. Mills argues that although the "modern" experience is bound to cause a re-evaluation of values and goals, the conflicts and stress experienced by migrants (especially females), actually serve to strengthen family ties and may reinforce traditional values. This confrontation of modernity and tradition is more difficult for women as they traditionally had less mobility and more cultural restrictions. As was mentioned in Chapter 5, men have long been permitted to move about and thîaw. It was a normal part of male adolescence, though they did not normally travel as far as people do now. Migration is even associated with ordination, a practice existing long before the modern era. Forest monks, for example, led a nomadic life. But female migration is fairly new. Negotiating traditional roles and expectations of young women with the demands of modern society is complex. Female migrants are motivated by economic needs, obligations to parents (bun khun 1 ), the excitement of Bangkok, and the "drudgery and dirt of farming" (Mills, 1990) The chance to earn money and send it home to their parents is an important way for them to show their gratitude 1 Bun khun is an obligation to a person who has provided some kind of care, protection, or assistance to another. It is not limited to child-parent relationships, though this relationship is inherently imbued with it since parents give children life and care. Bun khun can be found in any relationship in which a person is grateful for the goodness or help of another. It involves a deep sense of gratitude that sustains the relationship long-term. Bun khun is ongoing and cannot be quantified. In that sense it is not the repaying of a debt (which at sometime would be paid off), but rather a sense of indebtedness. 122
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Page 5 and 6: home, Manisa visited the girl. Her
Page 7 and 8: his purchasing power is limited by
Page 9 and 10: HIV, as well as advice. It showed m
Page 11 and 12: prevent transmission. And they know
Page 13 and 14: who test positive for sexually tran
Page 15 and 16: government's values and understandi
Page 17 and 18: Princess Ubol Ratana attended MIT i
Page 19 and 20: structures and practices. Under Sia
Page 21 and 22: any assets he or she brought to the
Page 23 and 24: 305). Abortion providers may be pun
Page 25 and 26: caring for pregnancy, and science l
Page 27 and 28: students are talk shows, magazine-t
Page 29 and 30: calendars and in advertisements pos
Page 31 and 32: Figure 6.6 A typical nude calendar
Page 33 and 34: and the woman. Unlike older people
Page 35 and 36: uying shoes difficult (answer: ther
Page 37 and 38: sexuality, though students are expo
Page 39 and 40: Phŭa mia níi khon diaw kooy hîit
Page 41 and 42: animals and ghosts. He marries a be
Page 43 and 44: unceremonious irreverence" (Rogers,
Page 45 and 46: villages all over Isan. In Mahasara
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animism into a single supernatural
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and humbler when speaking of their
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told "jay yen yen ná." Having a co
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Appendix F). This is in part becaus
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face or causing social disruption a
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Boys not sharing personal informati
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asic precepts. The few who do are a
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example he offered was an explanati
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English major who had been a monk f
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karma. One's well-being depends on
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