Western readers will see “Love and Sex in Thai Culture” as an odd title because most expats and foreigners are not aware that Thais look at love and sex in a different way from Westerners.

While my books and blog posts dive deeper into this complex and often misunderstood topic, I wanted to share a brief overview of the main differences between Thai and Western attitudes and practices in this short post. At the end of the article, I’ll include links for those who want to explore further and gain a broader understanding.

Keeping to the rules of Hierarchy is very strong in Thailand. No Thai believes that they are equal to another person. There are insurmountable rules in their culture to prevent that.

We have class systems in the West, but they are not as rigid as they are here. Although Eastern countries have examples where one can’t cross class or caste barriers, we should remember the verse from a hymn written in 1848. There is still a rich — poor divide in many countries, strengthened by strong laws and propaganda from the establishment.

The rich man in his castle,
The poor man at his gate,
God made them, high or lowly,
And ordered their estate.

In both Greek and Roman mythology, the portrayal of sex and lust rather than love shows that in their culture hedonism and fun-loving was the order of the day.

Unlike in the West, there is no stigma to prostitution, lady boys, and homosexuals in Thailand. Parents may prefer their children to be heterosexual but they won’t ostracise them for the life choices they have made. Prostitution is, of course, a business. Services are provided only for money, whether in the West or Thailand.

The difference lies in the stigma attached to the profession and the reasons why the girls enter that profession.

Many girls in Thailand work in the sex industry only so that they can support their parents. The Thai logic is that they are repaying their parents for the care and sacrifices they made in bringing them up. Repaying “mother’s milk”.

It is quite common in Thailand for a girl to become pregnant by her boyfriend but to then let her parents look after the child, her former boyfriend having disappeared from the scene. I learned recently of a girl who had to visit her ex-boyfriend to get him to sign papers so that her child can get an ID card needed to attend school.

He still doesn’t contribute financially to their child’s upkeep. Not one single baht. I thought that quite odd. She thought it was perfectly normal behaviour. It almost seemed as if she felt he had a right (the hierarchy rules again) to have sex with her and then leave her.

My website shows full descriptions of all my books and blog posts. Thailand Take Two is a more detailed look at a Thailand taken from a different angle from other writers. It’s a work of 67,000 words over 10 chapters. Apart from a chapter on Sun, Sand, Sea and Sex; we cover topics like Hierarchy, Family, Mafia, and How Thais See Foreigners.

A Thailand Diary has 365 entries written in an informal, easy-to-read style. The entries particularly relating to Love and Sex in Thailand and their hyperlinks are:
16 June: Thailand prostitution, the Land of Sun, Sand, Sea, and Sex.

19 September: The bridal couple “forcibly” taken to the bedroom.

10 October: Unfaithful Lovers.

23 October: Foreigners Marrying Bar Girls.

You might also enjoy:
1 April: Obey one’s “betters” or “highers”, as my Thai wife calls them.
3 April: Not questioning cultural rules.
21 April: Lady boys and the language they use.
26 May: All Men Are Created Equal” In Thailand??