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From Intermarriage to Transnational Marriage in Thai Society: a Historical Overview 27 VU Research Portal Logics of Desire and Transnational Marriage Practices in a Northeastern Thai Village Lapanun, P. 2013 document version Publisher's PDF, also known as Version of record Link to publication in VU Research Portal citation for published version (APA) Lapanun, P. (2013). Logics of Desire and Transnational Marriage Practices in a Northeastern Thai Village. 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Oct. 2021 Logics of Desire and Transnational Marriage Practices in a Northeastern Thai Village Patcharin Lapanun Faculty of Social Sciences VRIJE UNIVERSITEIT Logics of Desire and Transnational Marriage Practices in a Northeastern Thai Village ACADEMISCH PROEFSCHRIFT ter verkrijging van de graad Doctor aan de Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, op gezag van de rector magnificus prof.dr. F.A. van der Duyn Schouten, in het openbaar te verdedigen ten overstaan van de promotiecommissie van de Faculteit der Sociale Wetenschappen op maandag 10 juni 2013 om 11.45 uur in de aula van de universiteit, De Boelelaan 1105 door Patcharin Lapanun geboren te Nakhon Phanom, Thailand promotor: prof.dr. O.J.H.M. Salemink copromotoren: dr. L.N. Nencel dr. I. Stengs dr. C.Vaddhanaphuti TABLE OF CONTENTS List of Illustrations iv Acknowledgements v INTRODUCTION 1 ‘Transnational marriage’ and ‘mia farang’: Definitions and connotations 4 Locating transnational marriage in the Thai context and current global mobilit 6 Transnational marriage: A holistic approach 10 Transnationalism: Transnational marriage and local people who stay behind 10 Transnational marriage: Romantic love and money 12 Gender in Thai Society 15 The fieldwork approach: Focusing on the locality and following the people 18 Gaining access to information: Identity and relationship 22 Structure of the dissertation 24 CHAPTER ONE From Intermarriage to Transnational Marriage in Thai Society: A Historical Overview 27 Thai‐European marriage prior to the early twentieth century 29 European merchants and envoys 29 Siamese War Brides: A foretaste of transnational marriage 34 Elite/Upper class 36 The Vietnam War and intermarriage of rural Isan women 39 Tourism and transnational marriage of rural women 47 Mia farang, their husbands and their transnational lives 55 Conclusion 58 CHAPTER TWO Nadokmai: The Village and Its Transnational Connections 61 Isan and its transformation 62 Nadokmai: The village and its current context 68 The village and agricultural transformation 75 Matrilocality and migration 78 i ii Logics of Desire and Transnational Marriage Practices Labor migration, marriage and family crises 81 Transnational marriage and global connections 87 Conclusion 91 CHAPTER THREE Motivations and the Logics of Desire 92 Conceptualizing motivations and the logics of desire 95 Transcending economic security and romantic love 99 Local male image, gender imagination and the logics of desire 104 Local norms and fantasies about modernity 109 Gendered stereotypes of Thai (and Asian) women and feminist ideas 114 A reverse pattern of gendered global mobility: A complexity of ‘global hypergamy’ 118 Conclusion 120 CHAPTER FOUR Becoming a Wife: Transnational Encounters and Negotiations 122 Sexuality, money and intimate relations: Women in transnational encounters 125 Pattaya paradise: A ‘space of hope and opportunity’ 129 Bodily appearances and language skills 135 Bodily appearances 136 Language Skills 138 Negotiating money, sex and marriage possibilities 140 Ritual practices and fortune tellers: Manipulating one’s fate 146 Ritual practices 147 Fortune tellers (mo du) 152 Conclusion 155 CHAPTER FIVE Mia Farang: Images, Relationships and Practices 157 The multiple images of mia farang 159 From mia chao to mia farang 160 Strategic resources and a discourse about eroding families 164 Bun khun and relationships within the female natal family 169 Table of Contents iii Bride wealth 177 Trust and sexuality 183 Motherhood and mixed‐couple relations 185 Community contributions and a women’s strategy 188 Contributions and tensions 193 Conclusion 195 CHAPTER SIX Transnational Marriage and Local Community 198 Local men’s perspectives and reactions 199 Desired marriage partners 202 Roles of parents in transnational marriages 206 Parents’ authority over daughters’ choices of marriage partner 209 Mia farang: An emerging social category 212 Conclusion 217 CONCLUSION 219 Historical diversity and current complexity 219 Beyond material relations 223 Transnational marriage and transnationalism 225 Local dynamics and complexities 228 References 231 Glossary of Thai terms 246 Appendix 1 Interviewed cases 248 Appendix 2 Background information of mia farang and the foreign husbands 249 Summary in English 252 Summary in Dutch 255 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS Map1 Map of Thailand 19 Figure 2.1 The main road passing through Nadokmai and connecting it to the town of Udon 69 Figure 2.2 Newly constructed houses with garages, gardens and lawns belonging to mia farang 70 Figure 2.3 The main junction in the center of Nadokmai (on the main road) where Western partners meet and socialize while waiting for their wives to buy food in the market 71 Figure 4.1 The bars in Pattaya where Dao, Da, Noi worked 131 Figure 4.2 Girls hanging out on the beach waiting to be approached 133 Figure 4.3 Sadet Pho Krom Luang Chumporn statue 148 Figure 4.4 Figurines of horses, elephants and women that worshippers presented to the Sadet Pho Krom Luang Chumporn statue 149 Figure 4.5 Chao Pho Ket Ngam spirit house on Pattaya beach 150 Figure 4.6 Girls consulting fortune tellers on the beach 153 Figure 5.1 The money tree 190 Figure 5.2 The gatherings inside the sala 190 Figure 5.3 The community leaders and one of the organizers counted the money which had been raised 191 Figure 5.4 T-shirts with sponsor’s names worn by one team of cheerleaders on a Community Sport Day 194 iv Acknowledgements This thesis is the product of a long research project during which I have accumulated considerable debt to more people than I can mention here. Most of all, I owe my biggest debt to mia farang, their husbands, their relatives, the women whom I met in Pattaya and the residents of Nadokmai. They let me into their lives and homes and shared with me their experiences, emotions and thoughts without which I could never have completed this dissertation. I hope that this thesis can convey my deep appreciation and respect for these individuals and their struggles to live with dignity and lead a meaningful life. I am deeply grateful to Professor Oscar Salemink, my supervisor, for his thoughtful guidance and supervision of both academic and practical issues and his critical and insightful feedback throughout the many years of my PhD journey. I have been fortunate to have Dr. Lorraine Nencel, Dr. Irene Stengs and Dr. Chayan Vaddhanaphuti as my co- supervisors. I am very thankful for their encouragement, inspiring advice and incisive critiques. The insightful knowledge and support from my supervisor and co-supervisors enabled me to define and refine the various drafts of this thesis as the work progressed. This has been a source of my intellectual growth. I particularly appreciate my supervisor’s and co-supervisors’ concern and support in the period during which my mother was sick and I struggled with revising the final manuscript. Also, I owe particular thanks to Ajarn Chayan for granting me the status of a visiting PhD at the Regional Center for Sustainable Development (RCSD), Chiang Mai University, during the period of December 2009-May 2010. Without Oscar, Lorraine, Irene and Ajarn Chayan I would not have been able to complete this work. To you I express my heartfelt gratitude. My PhD project would not have been possible without generous funding from the Netherlands Organization for international cooperation in higher education (NUFFIC) and contributions from Khon Kaen University (KKU), for which I am very grateful. My appreciation extends to the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, KKU, for granting me a study leave. I also appreciate the support of my colleagues at the Faculty who took on work during my absence. This research has received intellectual support and feedback from a number of my teachers who gave me encouragement and valuable advice. Dr. Akin Rabhibhadana and v vi Logics of Desire and Transnational Marriage Practices Ajarn Suriya Smuthkup always paid attention to my work and made time to discuss my project. Professor Charles F. Keyes and Dr. Han ten Brummelhuis generously gave suggestions and criticism from the beginning of my project. I am very grateful for their insights and kind support. During my stay in Amsterdam, I enjoyed the company of colleagues who shared experiences and exchanged ideas on topics that concerned us all, academically or otherwise. For this my thanks go to Scott Dalby, Margo Leegwater, Tuan Anh Nguyen, Martha Ruiz, Tam Ngo, Priscilla Koh, Thai Dang Dung, Ton Salman, Freek Colombijn, Ellen Bal, Marjo de Theije, Rhoda Woets, Tijo Salverda, Caroline Grillot, Mijke de Waardt, Lidewyde Berckmoes and other colleagues at the Department of Social and Cultural Anthropology, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. My special thanks and appreciation go to Maaike Matelski and Joan van Wijk for translating the dissertation summary from English into Dutch and for being the paranymphs at my defense ceremony; I treasure their helpfulness and precious friendship.
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