Commodifying and valuing sexuality From this lecture, we learn about how culture can be commodified and a cultural exchange system can be created out of it.We learn about how culture is given a value and money is involved in the whole exchange system.For example, through our reading titled wholesale sushi:Culture and commodity in tokyo tsukiji market by theodore c.Bestor, we see the importance of food and the tsukiji market to tokyo economy.Thousands of wholesalers from restaurants or supermarkets and regular customers flock the market every morning to buy the freshest fish, a food source that is inherent and commodified in the japanese diet.It illustrates how a whole market system is created out of the japanese culture and cuisine of seafood consumption like sushi, sashimi, tempura and more. I feel that the whole commodifying of culture and exchange systems that are created out of it actually restricts the fluidity of a culture.As culture should be something fluid, commodifying it gives me the impression that it freezes the fluidity.Capitalizing on the appeal and uniqueness of culture to gain economic benefits may be a pragmatic and practical option, but i feel that it is a pity that it is frozen, mass produced, and consumed.Though culture in this case puts value into a certain culture, but i believe that commodification innately leads to the loss in uniqueness of culture.In bali, due cultural tourism, balinese art forms like dance are"Mass produced and sold"To tourists, who may not even understand the meaning of the dance but learn it because they like the dance.This shows how culture can lose its uniqueness. Here, i would like to comment about how sexuality can be commodified in culture and given a value as well.My focus is on thailand and its commodification of masculinity, femininity and transgenderism in the thai culture. Femininity in thailand is manifested through the many beauty pageants that thai girls from many walks of life participate in.The pageants not only reinforce hegemonic cultural conceptions of physical beauty, but they also contribute to thailand economy.Beauty schools that groom women and prepare them for their shot at the pageants are big businesses in the country.Women buy into the idea of beauty as a of women success(Lin, 1998), and pay in order to conform to these notions of femininity and beauty.Tourists from all over the world flock to thailand to watch these Earrings pageants and increase the pageants contribution to the economy. Masculinity in thailand is commodified through muay thai, a thai traditional martial art form.Across thailand, young boys from all classes in society are expected to take up muay thai as a way of learning masculinity.For poorer boys, especially in the rural regions of thailand, muay thai is important to them as it provides a chance for upward social mobility.Many of them work hard to be competent enough to take part in muay thai matches, hopefully win the match and earn some baht to bring home to their families.More often that not, they are motivated by the economic benefits that can be gained through performing masculinity in muay thai(Kitiarsa, 2007).In exchange for money, they trade their hardwork, skills and even risk their lives. For a contentious topic like transgenderism, which is almost synonymous and embedded in the thai culture, it is a wonder how transgenders(Known as kathoeys)Contributes to the thai economy.Kathoeys heavily contribute to the tourism industry through the cabaret shows and beauty contests that they participate in.In singapore, many travel companies include a trip to cabaret shows as part of their travel itinerary to bangkok.Most notably, the miss tiffany universe contest draws in millions of television viewers(Both domestic and international)Annually and tourists from all over the world flock in to watch the pageant.Many kathoeys are sex workers, and hence contribute to the thriving sex industry in thailand. I think that for a country like thailand, it is fascinating how its culture encompasses these dimensions of sexuality.Like how cuisine is inherent in japanese culture, sexuality is an important aspect of thai culture that contributes significantly to the monetary exchange economy. When i was travelling in various parts of thailand last year, i realized that thai women are often well dressed and groomed.It struck me that perhaps most thai women have internalized the cultural commodification of physical beauty as a face for femininity and a measure of her success.I felt that it was a pity as society, in their quest for economic advancement, has come to shape such notions of sexuality, which i feel should be something personal and unique to an individual.With the mass production of cultural ideals of femininity, masculinity and transgenderism for economic benefits, i feel that it has also led to a culture of similarity, where everyone aims for the same type of look, for instance.Commodifying culture to be sold may seem like an economic benefit, but i feel that it erodes certain values and uniqueness of culture, which should not be the case. Buy Cheap Tiffany Pendants UK References Kitiarsa, p. (2007)Muai Tiffany Bracelets Sale thai cinemas and the burdens of thai men. (1998).The sex sector.International labour organisation. Thread started:Nov 9 2011, 9:18 PM EST I believe what val_27 had observed with regards to thai women are mostly found in the cities.This internalization of commodification of beauty is also inherent in singapore, or perhaps in a greater extent.Just look at all the beauty products ads on tv, they are countless.I recently came across one which called for my criticism.This ad shows a slightly fat lady holding her baby and standing at the roof top.My initial thought was that she is about to commit suicide and this ad must be advising people to look out for depressed people around us and not take one life away easily.To my horror, no!This ad is about a slimming centre and its assume negative effects of being fat anf ugly.However although we do unconsciously endorse fashion and may see no harm in it, i agree with val_27 that this can be potentially dangerous too many people.I take to the example of the fiji islands.Fiji islands was first introduced to american tv station shows in 1995.Before that, no one was dieting.However, just 3 years after the station went on air in the fiji islands, 74% of teenage girls felt that they were too fat, and there was a sharp increase in eating disorders, where 15% of the girls reported they had to vomit to control weight.The idea of beauty being equated to a slim figure is indeed a very westernized idea that was brought to the fiji islands through capitalist activities.However although we may think that this causes no harm to anyone, and being slim may seem healthy, one has to consider that the hollywood idea of slim may not in fact be how the natural state of the body should be.The stress and pressure to achieve that slimness could cause many people to resort to extreme means, as in the case of the fiji island teenage girls, who resorted to vomitting in order to loss weight.As such i feel that commodification of beauty can have very severe and adverse effects on society, that may not be brought to the awareness of the public until these images are so ingrained inour society that it cannot be removed. Attached is an article on the fiji islands: Thread started:Nov 9 2011, 9:30 PM EST Just to add on, thai males also value very much on being a monk as it represent masculinity that a males should encompass.Boys reaching a certain age are supposed to go through this poi sang long procession which is a celebration Buy Cheap Tiffany Necklaces UK of buddhist novice ordination of very young boys.By being monks, males are thought to fulfill their masculine duty! The show on boxer shows the dilemma of a male who is so passionate about boxing but he also wishes to be a female.As he accumulate enough wealth to go through gender reassignment surgery, he can no longer do muay thai because now he is a female and females are not allowed to do boxing.

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