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Until recently, trans women have been subsumed within the category of men who have sex with men for HIV-related care. Following a 2016 UNAIDS report finding that trans women globally are 49 times more likely to be living with HIV than the general population, health programmes have sought to expand their reach to this key population. Yet, trans women are often treated as passive subjects to be recruited into programming or clinical trials for HIV-related care. This paper uses case studies of two community-based clinics in Thailand to highlight the agency of trans women in creating and implementing unique models for the provision of care that fit their needs and those of their local communities. By tailoring goals to be trans-specific and local, trans women at these clinics help destigmatise HIV-related care. This paper argues for the importance of engaging trans women as community stakeholders in HIV-related care and prevention and identifies suggestions for stakeholder engagement in programme design both in and beyond Thailand by focussing on local conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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This paper offers a review of the ways in which the Thai print media presents images of transgendered and/or homosexual identities or what may be termed 'gendered/transgendered sexualities'. The author argues that the varied, and at times contradictory, images of gendered sexualities used by the print media can be understood as discursive devices in broader social debates within Thai society. The paper reviews three cases recently covered by the Thai print media: the emergence of lesbian/gay youth cultures (tom-dee, gay); the Rajaphat College ban on transgendered/gay students; and sex crime cases in which the defendant is labelled as 'Tuy' or a type of homosexual male. These three cases offered particular representations of gendered sexualities that can only properly be understood within the social-political context of modern day Thailand. In particular, they operate as a kind of Thai 'Orientalism', or cultural critique, which contrasts sharply with the ironic silence of the media towards high profile individuals who are well known to be transgender/homosexual. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Culture, Health & Sexuality is the property of Routledge and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Culture, Health & Sexuality is the property of Routledge and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Culture, Health & Sexuality is the property of Routledge and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

By examining competing discourses about women who are maechii (... or 'lay nuns') in Buddhist Thai society, this paper demonstrates that, although maechii vow to be celibate, social constructions of their role are grounded in sexuality. The discourses examined are those of the Buddhist canon and Sangha (Order of Monkhood), the Thai Maechii Institute, the mass media, and the government. The analysis is supplemented with field observations and interviews with monks, maechii, and lay persons. Findings suggest that maechii comprise an ambiguous category linguistically, Buddhistically, and in terms of their sexuality. Case studies of the founders of nunneries conducted in ChiangMai indicate that maechii leaders have been resisting the prevalent views that most maechii are social misfits, yet also are capable of undermining monks' celibacy and, by extension, the larger social order. The analysis contributes to the understanding of the interconnectedness of gender and sexuality in contemporary Thai society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abortion decision making by rural villagers in Thailand must be understood within its broader economic, social and ideological context. Abortion laws are highly restrictive in Thailand, yet abortions remain common. This paper examines rural villagers' normative constructions of the act of abortion and the 'socially embedded morality' they bring to discussions about abortion. The paper is based upon seven focus group discussions with women and men and long-term ethnographic fieldwork in rural north-east Thailand. Vignettes based upon real stories of women stimulated detailed discussion in the focus groups of the circumstances under which abortion is acceptable. The paper first discusses the social construction of abortion in Thailand, definitions of abortion as Buddhist sin and ethnomedical categorizations of the foetus. Then it describes the major themes that emerged from focus group discussions and interviews on abortion decision making. The material conditions of women and men's lives, changing constructions of children and motherhood, and gender relations were all found to influence reproductive health decisions. Abortion is described through social idioms that allow villagers to reconcile the practice of abortion with acceptable social norms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reflects on recent research on Thai discourses of gender and eroticism in order to problematize some of the universalist assumptions that have dominated discussion of the international proliferation of forms of erotic diversity. By mapping the proliferation of Thai gender/sex categories from the 1960s to the 1980s, the paper shows that Thai homoeroticisms are not converging towards Western models and points to the cultural limits of Foucauldian-modelled histories of sexuality. In particular, it demonstrates the inability of Foucauldian history of sexuality, and queer theoretical approaches drawing on Foucault, to account for shifts in Thai discourses in which gender and sexuality do not exist as distinct categories. Only when current feminist theories of gender and queer theories of sexuality are integrated so as to offer a unified account of the eroticization of gender, and the gendering of eroticism, will Western theoretical models be capable of mapping shifts in non-Western patterns of eroticism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although seroprevalence studies have shown that Thai male sex workers are at heightened risk of HIV infection, no sustained preventive strategies have so far targeted homosexually active men in Thailand. In this paper, we bring together data from qualitative research carried out in Pattaya (McCamish and Sittitrai 1995, 1997) and Bangkok (Storer 1999a, 1999b), with data generated during a bar-based intervention in Bangkok (Carl, unpublished report), to develop a taxonomy of sites in which the recruitment of male commercial sex can occur. We also examine the sexual networks of Thai male sex workers and their clients in order to demonstrate the overlap of commercial and non-commercial male-male sex sites, and the intersection of male commercial sex with heterosexual sex. Previous interventions directed towards Thai male sex workers been non-continuous; largely restricted to high-profile tourist areas, have not acknowledged the importance of recreational sex; and have not built up a capacity for ongoing intervention. With a change of focus, interventions directed towards sex workers could reduce the risks of HIV infection among both organized and freelance sex workers as well as their commercial and male and female casual sex partners. First, however, there needs to be a commitment to well planned and long range interventions directed by and at male sex workers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Culture, Health & Sexuality is the property of Routledge and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Culture, Health & Sexuality is the property of Routledge and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Culture, Health & Sexuality is the property of Routledge and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Culture, Health & Sexuality is the property of Routledge and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Culture, Health & Sexuality is the property of Routledge and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Culture, Health & Sexuality is the property of Routledge and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Concern about the sexual and reproductive health of young people has been mounting recently in Thailand. Unequal gender relations have a considerable influence on the lives of young people, especially young women, yet few studies have explored the ways in which they have impacted on provision of sexual health care. Drawing upon data from a qualitative study in Northern Thailand, this paper explores the views and experiences of young people in seeking health care, highlighting the kinds of gender double standards and power imbalances that may pose obstacles to their use of sexual and reproductive health services. Findings reveal the vulnerability of sexually active young women in seeking support and care from partners, parents, and service providers. Those who experience adverse outcomes of sexual activity, such as unwanted pregnancy or infection, report facing indifference, victim blaming, or the threat of abandonment by their partners. Because of their fear of disclosure to their parents and communities, of their sexual activity, they opt for clandestine and unsafe abortion and seek the counsel of peers and drugstores rather than parents and providers. At the service provider level, young women report facing threatening and judgemental attitudes, indifferent counselling, and possible violation of confidentiality. This is in marked contrast to the treatment of young men, who generally meet with a more sympathetic and accepting response. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports on an ethnographic study of gender and sexuality as factors within contemporary Thai factory women's subjectivities. Competing discourses of what it means to be a woman in contemporary Thai society make women's self-presentations fluid and incoherent. Data from participant-observation and open-ended interviews suggest that the fluidity and inconsistency of women's self-presentations reflect both their negative experiences and oppression within the Thai patriarchal system, and women's strength and resistance to the normative discourses that oppress them. By naming or reinterpreting experiences and desires in their own terms, Thai factory women can redraw elements of their own lives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The family, household and community have often been identified as having a crucial role to play in HIV and AIDS-related care in developing countries. Yet few studies have sought to examine the limits to the support that such institutions can provide. This paper describes findings from a study of the care and support offered to people living with HIV and AIDS in Chiang Mai province, an area of Thailand severely affected by the epidemic. Following an initial Rapid Assessment Process (RAP), data was collected from in-depth household and individual interviews, focus group discussions and participant observation in two village communities. A number of recurrent themes emerge from the data: local beliefs and practices as factors mediating family and community responses; the impact of recent economic and social change on the social organisation of family and village life (including the role of formal village leaders and the growth of sex work); the complex interface between traditional and modern systems of care and support; differences between rich and poor in access to, and use of, health services; and the unequal burden of responsibility shouldered by women as care givers. The implications of these findings for the future provision of health care and support in this part of Thailand are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Stigma and discrimination are barriers to the prevention and treatment of HIV, and have serious biomedical, psycho-social and socio-cultural consequences, especially for marginalised groups such as sex workers, transgender people and sexual minorities. There has been little research to date on single mothers living with HIV to situate the stigma they experience within the context of gender, class, ethnicity and other intersecting social inequalities. Drawing on participant observation and in-depth interviews with 28 single mothers living with HIV in Thailand in 2020–21, this article finds that single mothers living with HIV experience intersectional stigma based on their class, ethnicity, religious status and gender, which manifests at the self, family, community and societal levels. In response to this stigmatisation, single mothers have developed four different coping strategies: self-presentation, identity talk, self-exclusion (through distancing and selective association), and empowerment. Findings from the research indicate that an intersectional approach is needed if academics, health workers, policy makers – and even the individuals concerned – are to understand and respond effectively to the HIV-related stigma experienced by specific socio-demographic groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Editorial. Comments on the goal of a group of Thai researchers to contest stereotypes of female sexuality that dominate the English language literature. Complexity of the situatedness of sexuality in the lowlands; Development of a framework to address shifts in the consciousness of sexuality; Variety of life stages and social situations in Thailand.

Copyright of Culture, Health & Sexuality is the property of Routledge and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Culture, Health & Sexuality is the property of Routledge and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Culture, Health & Sexuality is the property of Routledge and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Culture, Health & Sexuality is the property of Routledge and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Culture, Health & Sexuality is the property of Routledge and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Culture, Health & Sexuality is the property of Routledge and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Parents in rural Thailand expect their children, once they start earning an income, to provide them with financial support. The pressure to fulfil this obligation has recently been used to explain why so many rural daughters become sex workers. Beyrer has argued that the special strength of these pressures in Northern Thai culture can explain the differential high HIV seroprevalence among female sex workers from that region. What has not been previously studied is whether these same cultural values place a similar obligation on rural sons. Parents expect these sons to provide ongoing financial support as well as to assist in emergencies and with the education of younger siblings. This qualitative study of more than one hundred male sex workers in Pattaya shows that, despite the continued exposure to non-Thai cultural norms through almost exclusive commercial contact with foreign customers, the overwhelming majority of male sex workers still acknowledge and respond to these societal norms. Despite the greater choice of occupational opportunities for young men than young women, the need to meet their filial obligation may contribute to the choice of sex work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Comments on the issues and challenges in female-controlled prevention among sex workers in Thailand. Initiation of a support program by Education Means the Protection of Women Engaged in Recreation organization; Impact of HIV and AIDS on women; Requirement of collective thinking and consensus-building among women.

Copyright of Culture, Health & Sexuality is the property of Routledge and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)