The intimate economies of Bangkok : tomboys, tycoons, and Avon ladies in the global city / Ara Wilson.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Wilson, Ara.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Sex role--Thailand--Bangkok.

Sex role.

Capitalism--Social aspects--Thailand--Bangkok.

Capitalism.

Globalization.

Women--Thailand--Social conditions.

Women.

Women--Thailand--Economic conditions.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (288 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Berkeley : University of California Press, 2004.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

Bangkok has been at the frontier of capitalism's drive into the global south for three decades. Rapid development has profoundly altered public and private life in Thailand. In her provocative study of contemporary commerce in Bangkok, Ara Wilson captures the intimate effects of the global economy in this vibrant city. The Intimate Economies of Bangkok is a multifaceted portrait of the intertwining of identities, relationships, and economics during Bangkok's boom years. Using innovative case studies of women's and men's participation in a range of modern markets-department stores, go-go bars, a popular downtown mall, a telecommunications company, and the direct sales corporations Amway and Avon-Wilson chronicles the powerful expansion of capitalist exchange into further reaches of Thai society. She shows how global economies have interacted with local systems to create new kinds of lifestyles, ranging from "tomboys" to corporate tycoons to sex workers. Combining feminist theory with classic anthropological understandings of exchange, this historically grounded ethnography maps the reverberations of gender, sexuality, and ethnicity at the hub of Bangkok's modern economy.

Contents:

Frontmatter

Contents

Illustrations

Acknowledgments

Notes On Transliteration And Dates

Introduction: Intimate Economies

1. From Shophouse To Department Store

2. The Economies Of Intimacy In The Go-Go Bar

3. MBK: The Retail Revolution And The Infrastructure Of Romance

4. The Flexible Citizens Of IBC Cable TV

5. The Avon Lady, The Amway Plan, And The Making Of Thai Entrepreneurs

Conclusion: The Intimacy Of Capitalism

Notes

Bibliography

Index

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9786612359767

9781282359765

1282359762

9780520937437

0520937430

OCLC:

609850148