Toward the end of last year I was sat in the cavernous Gullivers on Soi 5 where I picked up a photocopy of a very well known UK tabloid, The Sun - the best selling newspaper in Britain and therefore a reflection on the mentality of the majority of the populus.
The day previous there had been a natural disaster somewhere, I think it was an earthquake in India, but I can’t quite remember because my attention was seized by the front page headline which informed me in huge bold type that there had been a lesbian kiss on Coronation Street a (soap opera for those who don't know), full story pages 5 and 6 it said. 'Fucking hell - there's two more pages of this shite???'
In the pages between 2 and 5 was a story about some teenager who raped a pensioner, a woman who poisoned her mother for financial gain and an insulting cartoon of the queen.
It was then that I came to the frightening realization that Thailand is already leagues ahead of us, especially when it comes to culture, their attitude to family, their respect for their elders and their monarchy and their attitude to sex, but it was the front page that dominated all other stories, including world affairs. LESBIAN KISS.
We like to think we live in a society where such things are no longer taboo and are discussed openly, which they are, but in the same manner as giggling children in a primary school playground. It seems that the UK and US (who’s culture we have embraced) despite being considered countries that are leading the way are in fact quite behind. What is most frightening is that we are leading the way and in the same way we have allowed American culture to contaminate British culture, Thailand could be in danger of adopting the worst aspects of both. Observing slogans on the T-Shirts of students on the Skytrain is a good way of studying the gradual growth in Thai culture climate change where over the past few years Sex and the City arrived on HBO and Tata Young released that awful, 'Sexy Naughty Bitchy Me' - cheers for that Tata, no doubt Britney was an influence.
Let's stick with T-Shirts for now... Thai guys usually wear black T-Shirts with their rock idols emblazoned, be they national, international or dead. The girls tend to go for slogans on crop-tops, and I have noticed in the four years I have known Bangkok that slogans such as CUTE GIRL, LOVELY HEART and FRAGILE – HANDLE WITH CARE, have gradually become less cute as the western ‘Raunch Culture’ gets it’s foot in the door, filling market stalls and impressionable teenage torso’s with messages such as NO ANGEL, SUPER BITCH and IF YOU CAN READ THIS YOU ARE TOO CLOSE...
Granted, it’s fashionable to have a foreign language print in most countries and because of this, many young Thai’s who are not well versed in the English language have no idea what they have written on their chest; I once saw a kid of about five wearing a T-Shirt saying FINISH YOUR PUSSY – THERE ARE HORNY KIDS IN EITHIOPIA.
To see what Thai kids could be wearing in a couple of years one only needs to return to the UK and have a look around a shopping centre or market.
The following slogans are an example:
COMPLETE AND UTTER BITCH
YOU ARE THE WEAKEST LINK – FUCK OFF
I’M NOT BEING RUDE YOU’RE JUST INSIGNIFICANT
WHY DO WEIRDOS ALWAYS SIT NEXT TO ME?
ALL MEN ARE IDIOTS – I MARRIED THEIR KING
FUCK OFF – I’VE GOT ENOUGH FRIENDS ALREADY
DON’T JUST STARE, BUY ME A DRINK
CHEF IN THE KITCHEN – SLUT IN THE BEDROOM
I DON’T DO COMMITMENT
SO MANY MEN, SO LITTLE TIME
And the troubling…
SPERM BANK – MAKE YOUR DEPOSITS HERE
These are ALL genuine T-Shirt/Crop top slogans, now what the fuck is going on??? What message is this giving out?
Where has all this angst and nastiness come from and where are we going to see it next?
No wonder western culture is fucked, the younger generation are screwed up and more and more people are coming to Thailand to get away from it all, even the decent British girls who don't subscribe to all that bollocks, all that greed from printing companies seizing the oppertunity to profit from pop cultures pressure to fit in and be 'sexy', 'naughty' and 'bitchy'.
Perhaps we come to Thailand to get away from the bullshit - like I said in a recent thread about religion, strong people find their own way and although there is bullshit in Thailand, it's honest bullshit and usually only effects those who are asking for it.
Bhudda help us all.