Overview

In locations around the world, transnational marriages and intimacies become a viable option of women and men. Patcharin Lapanun explores Thai women–farang men marriages, and complicates the bimodal views about materiality and intimacy within global intimacies. The sentiments and life stories of women and men engaging in these transnational relationships highlight the complexities of the associations that are shape and reshaped  by 'love,' money and gender obligations on the one hand and the dynamics socio-cultural and historical contexts on the other. Transnational marriages also challenge gender relations, perception on sexuality, marriage and family as well as the existing class division in rural Thai communities. Focusing on the 'local end' of transnational connections, Lapanun states that women with farang husbands have created a new 'class' determined by their distinctive consumption patterns and life styles. This dynamic challenges the village hierarchical structure and puts the village elites in a vulnerable position. Her in-depth examination highlights the important of women's agency and the strength and creativity of people seeking to forge meaningful lives in the processes of social transition in the face of local and global encounters. 

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9789814722919

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Reviews

Well-researched and easy to follow, Lapanun's Love, Money and Obligation is a powerful reminder of how interconnected the world has become--and how love can develop between people from completely different backgrounds. -- South China Morning Post

What distinguishes Lapanun's work from others is how she draws the readers into contemporary stories of mia farang without confining them in a specific category.... [The book] is well written and accessible, making it appropriate for undergraduate and graduate students as well as for general readers. While focused on the people of a Thai village, it is a timely addition to the broader continuing feminist debates on international heterosexual unions, representation of women's agency, and changing cultural norms in the context of transnational lives. --Minjeong Kim American Journal of Sociology Well-researched and easy to follow, Lapanun's Love, Money and Obligation is a powerful reminder of how interconnected the world has become--and how love can develop between people from completely different backgrounds. -- South China Morning Post

Well-researched and easy to follow, Lapanun's Love, Money and Obligation is a powerful reminder of how interconnected the world has become--and how love can develop between people from completely different backgrounds. --South China Morning Post

Author Information

Patcharin Lapanun holds a PhD in Anthropology from Virje University Amsterdam, and is with the Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Khon Kaen University, Thailand. 

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