Thai Warning ‘Don’t Promote Loose Sex’
Liberal attitudes among female students and gay
programmes on TV give rise to concern
Straits Times, June
6, 2004
Singapore
BANGKOK—FIRST, there was the
warning that many Bangkok girls think it is ‘cool’ to e-mail to others
pictures of themselves in the nude or having sex.
Now, a senior Cultural Ministry official has warned that
television programmes showing homosexual behaviour could cross the line of
decency.
She wants something done—now—about liberal sex
attitudes in the country.
Ms Ladda Thangsupachai, head of the ministry’s Cultural
Watch Centre, warned early last week that young Thais in big cities were
getting a distorted notion of sexuality because of easy access to pornography
on the Internet and mobile phones.
As a result, Thai values that extol chastity among women
are being replaced by obscene and aggressive sexual behaviour, she said.
‘Some female students upload pictures of themselves
having sex and other nude pictures so other people can see them because they
think it’s cool,’ she said.
Such behaviour, she added, was representative of a
free-sex society which could lead to problems such as premarital pregnancies,
rape and crime.
The Cultural Watch Centre is conducting seminars across
Thailand as part of its fight against pornography and hopes to make the
campaign a national issue.
One possible solution would be to appeal to Prime
Minister Thaksin Shinawatra to allocate funds for cracking down on obscenity.
The ministry would also suggest that cultural watch
centres be set up in all schools, Ms Ladda said.
A few days after she spoke out against pornography, Dr
Kla Somtrakul, deputy permanent secretary at the ministry, said it planned to
ask local television stations not to air images of homosexual behaviour,
describing it as ‘sexually deviant’. But the final decision would be left
to the broadcasters.
Dr Kla pointed out the ministry’s concern about the
effects on society of programmes featuring gays.
‘Many parents told me that they are worried that their
children would have sexually deviant behaviour after viewing such behaviour on
TV,’ he told The Nation newspaper.
Some television producers said they would cooperate with
the proposed directive, though they dismissed the ministry’s concerns.
‘There is a third sex in the world and TV shows merely
reflect reality,’ said Mr Yutthana Lophanpaibul, an openly gay television
director.
‘Maybe there are too many male comedians dressing in
women’s costumes. If so, then they should cut it down,’ he said.
Although Thailand is a conservative Buddhist society,
homosexuality and cross-dressing are widely tolerated and transvestite cabaret
shows are a popular tourist attraction.
On television, gays are usually shown dressed up in
women’s clothes or as effeminates prancing about, waving hands, fluttering
eyelashes and talking with exaggerated accents.
— AP, The Nation/Asia News Network
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