Negotiations in Space and Time: Changing Gender Relations in Thai Tourist-oriented Encounters

Victor  T.  King; J. Rotheray

doi:10.22801/svn.2019.11.2.25

The paper addresses Erik Cohen’s pioneering work on tourism in Thailand, specifically his publications on the relations between Thai women and foreign (farang) men in tourist-oriented encounters. Of sociological-anthropological interest is his conceptualization of these relations as “open-ended prostitution as a skilful game of luck” based on his study of a Bangkok soi (lane) in 1981-1984, and his exploration of Thai culture in terms of ambiguity and contradiction. On the basis of recent ethnographic research in the northern Thai tourist hub of Chiang Mai and wide-ranging observations on tourism development in Thailand, we examine continuity and change in these male-female engagements since Cohen’s research, especially in the context of the increasing availability of such electronic agencies as social media, messaging, video chat, and internet dating. Whereas Cohen’s concept of ambiguity and illusion has tended to disappear from physical spaces, it seems to have resurfaced in virtual space. The complexities of host-guest relations, and particularly the interactions both within the variegated category of “guests” themselves and then between their “hostesses” are explored in terms of sites of tourism-oriented encounters in both physical and virtual space so as to deconstruct these oppositional categories which have been formative in studies of tourism.

Citation status

KCI Citation Counts (0)
Scopus Citation Counts (1)

This is the result of checking the information with the same ISSN, publication year, volume, and start page between articles in KCI and the SCOPUS journals. (as of 2023-10-01)
REFERENCES (52)
열림/닫힘 버튼
* 2022년 이후 발행 논문의 참고문헌은 현재 구축 중입니다.

[journal] Askew, Marc / 1999 / Labor, Love and Entanglement : Bangkok Sex Workers and the Negotiation of Selfhood / Crossroads : An Interdisciplinary Journal of Southeast Asian Studies 13(2) : 1~28

[report] Askew, Marc / 1999 / Strangers and Lovers : Thai Women Sex Workers and Western Men in the ‘’Pleasure Space’’ of Bangkok. Converging Interests : Traders, Travelers and Tourists in Southeast Asia / University of California Press : 37~70

[book] Askew, Marc / 2002 / Bangkok : Place, Practice and Representation / Routledge

[book] Benderson, Bruce / 2007 / Sex and Isolation:And Other Essays / University of Wisconsin Press

[book] Bishop, Ryan / 1998 / Night Market: Sexual Cultures and the Thai Economic Miracle / Routledge

[book] Chang Noi / 2009 / Jungle Book: Thailand’s Politics, Moral Panic, and Plunder, 1996-2008 Selected Columns / Silkworm Press

[report] Cohen, Erik / 1996 / Thai Tourism: Hill Tribes, Islands and Open-ended Prostitution / White Lotus Co. Ltd, Studies in Contemporary Thailand

[report] Cohen, Erik / 1996 / Thai Girls and Farang Men: The Edge of Ambiguity. Erik Cohen, Thai Tourism: Hill Tribes, Islands and Open-ended Prostitution / White Lotus Co. Ltd., Studies in Contemporary Thailand : 259~268

[report] Cohen, Erik / 1996 / Open-ended Prostitution as a Skillful Game of Luck: Opportunity, Risk, and Security among Tourismoriented Prostitutes in a Bangkok Soi. Erik Cohen, Thai Tourism: Hill Tribes, Islands and Open-ended Prostitution / White Lotus Co. Ltd., Studies in Contemporary Thailand : 269~291

[report] Cohen, Erik / 1996 / Sensuality and Venality in Bangkok: The Dynamics of Cross-cultural Mapping of Prostitution. Erik Cohen, Thai Tourism: Hill Tribes, Islands and Open-ended Prostitution / White Lotus Co. Ltd., Studies in Contemporary Thailand : 293~304

[report] Cohen, Erik / 1996 / Lovelorn Farangs: The Correspondence between Foreign Men and Thai Girls. Erik Cohen, Thai Tourism:Hill Tribes, Islands and Open-ended Prostitution / White Lotus Co Ltd., Studies in Contemporary Thailand : 305~323

[report] Cohen, Erik / 1996 / Tourism and AIDS in Thailand. Erik Cohen, Thai Tourism: Hill Tribes, Islands and Open-ended Prostitution / White Lotus Co. Ltd., Studies in Contemporary Thailand : 325~345

[journal] Cohen, Erik / 2012 / Current Sociological Theories and Issues in Tourism / Annals of Tourism Research 39(4) : 2177~2202

[journal] Cohen, Erik / 2015 / A Mobilities Approach to Tourism from Emerging World Regions / Current Issues in Tourism 18(1) : 11~43

[journal] Cohen, Erik / 2015 / Tourism Mobilities from Emerging World Regions:A Response to Commentaries / Current Issues in Tourism 18(1) : 68~69

[journal] Cohen, Erik / 2015 / Beyond Eurocentrism in Tourism: A Paradigm Shift to Mobilities / Tourism Recreation Research 40(2) : 157~168

[journal] Cohen, Erik / 2019 / New Directions in the Sociology of Tourism / Current Issues in Tourism 22(2) : 153~172

[book] Eades, Jerry / 2007 / Information and Communication Technologies in Support of the Tourism Industry / Idea Group Publishing : 260~284

[book] Flowers, R. Barri / 2011 / Selling Sex from the Suite to the Street / Praeger

[book] Hamilton, Anette / 1997 / Sites of Desire, Economies of Pleasure: Sexualities in Asia and the Pacific / University of Chicago Press : 145~165

[book] Hoefinger, Heidi / 2013 / Sex, Love and Money in Cambodia:Professional Girlfriends and Transactional Relationships / Routledge

[journal] Hughes, D.M / 2000 / The Internet and Sex Industries: Problems in Global Sexual Exploitation / IEEE Technology and Society Magazine 19(1) : 35~42

[journal] Husson, Laurence / 2017 / Who Are the Clients and What They Say About Prostitution in South-East Asia? Moussons / Recherche en sciences humaines sur l’Asie du Sud-Est 29 : 209~262

[journal] Jackson, Peter A / 2004 / The Thai Regime of Images / Sojourn: Journal of Social Issues in Southeast Asia 19(2) : 181~218

[book] Jackson, Peter A / 1999 / Genders and Sexualities in Modern Thailand / Silkworm Books

[book] Jamieson, Lynn / 2013 / The Palgrave Macmillan Digital Sociology: Critical Perspectives / Palgrave Macmillan : 13~33

[book] Jeffrey, Leslie Ann / 2002 / Sex and Borders: Gender, National Identity and Prostitution Policy in Thailand / University of British Columbia Press

[journal] Jiraporn Boonying / 2018 / Demands and Problems Faced by Chinese Tourists Travelling in Thailand / African Journal of Hospitality, Tourism and Leisure 7(3) : 1~8

[journal] Johnson, Andrew A / 2014 / Authenticity, Tourism, and Self-discovery in Thailand: Self-creation and the Discerning Gaze of Trekkers and Old Hands / Sojourn: Journal of Social Issues in Southeast Asia 22(2) : 153~178

[book] Khin Thitsa / 1980 / Providence and Prostitution: Image and Reality for Women in Buddhist Thailand / Change International Reports: Women and Society

[report] King, Victor T / 2018 / Tourism and Leisure in Thailand: Erik Cohen and Beyond / Institute of Asian Studies, Universiti Brunei Darussalam

[journal] King, Victor T / 2018 / Tourism and Erik Cohen in Thailand:Comparisons, Impacts, Mobilities and Encounters / International Journal of Asia Pacific Studies 14(2) : 1~38

[book] Lyttelton, Chris / 2000 / Endangered Relations: Negotiating Sex and AIDS in Thailand / Harwood Academic Publishers

[journal] Manderson, Lenore / 1992 / Public Sex Performance in Patpong and Explorations on the Edges of Imagination / Journal of Sex Research 29(4) : 451~457

[book] Manderson, Lenore / 1995 / Sexual Nature, Sexual Culture: Theorizing Sexuality from the Perspective of Pleasure / University of Chicago Press : 305~329

[book] Molland, S / 2012 / The Perfect Business? Anti-Trafficking and the Sex Trade along the Mekong / University of Hawai’i Press

[book] Mulder, Niels / 2008 / Doing Thailand: The Anthropologist as Young Dog in Thailand in the 1960s by Niels Mulder (2008-06-16) / White Lotus Co Ltd

[book] Mulder, Niels / 2009 / Doing Thailand during its Most Violent Decade: A Diary / White Lotus Co Ltd

[book] Odzer, Cleo / 1994 / Patpong Sisters: An American Woman’s View of the Bangkok Sex World / Blue Moon Books

[web] Roux, Sébastien / 2009 / L’initiation. Entretien avec un client de la prostitution / Genre, sexualité et societé / http://gss.revues.org/1237

[book] Smith, Valene L / 1989 / Hosts and Guests: The Anthropology of Tourism / University of Pennsylvania Press

[web] / Smooci Homepage / https://smooci.com/premium

[book] Steinfatt, T. M / 2002 / Working at the Bar: Sex Work and Health Communication in Thailand / Ablex Publishing

[web] / Thai Cupid Homepage / https://www.thaicupid.com/

[web] / Thai Friendly Homepage / https://www.thaifriendly.com

[web] / Thai Love Lines Homepage / https://www.thailovelines.com/login.php

[web] / Thai Love Links Homepage / http://thai-love-link.com

[book] Thorbek, Susanne / 2002 / Transnational Prostitution: Changing Global Patterns / Zed Books

[book] Van Esterik, Penny / 2000 / Materializing Thailand / Berg

[journal] Veena, N / 2007 / Revisiting the Prostitution Debate in the Technology Age: Women Who Use the Internet for Sex Work in Bangkok, Gender / Technology and Development 11(1) : 97~107

[journal] Walsh, John / 2007 / Chinese Tourism in Thailand: Experiences and Satisfaction / ASEAN Journal on Hospitality and Tourism 6 : 105~113

[book] Wathinee Boonchalaksi / 1994 / Prostitution in Thailand / Mahidol University, Institute for Population and Social Research

KJC Korea
Journal Central

Statistics

Tools

Sharing

Issue List

Citation status