Women, Transnational Migration, and Cross-Cultural Marriages: Experiences of 'Phanrayaa-farang' from Rural Northeastern Thailand

Abstract

This paper argues that the recent phenomenon of cross-cultural marriages of Thai women to Western men in northeastern Thailand has resulted in a strong sense of those women belonging to and connecting with the locality of their original homes, no matter where they have migrated to and reside. Also, it is argued that rapid economic and social changes following the modernizing process of the country, particularly during the past 40 years, has exposed traditions of female migration, gender roles and relations. These changes have also opened up marriage and sexuality to inquiry, and perhaps more importantly, revealed changing practices well ahead of changes in the norms that support traditional practices. Through transnational migratory lived experiences, these women have created a social space where conventional Thai norms and practices of gender roles and relations, marriage and sexuality, are exposed to scrutiny and negotiation.