Things we learned from Lamyai, the (latest) dirty dancer

[webfact]

OPINION

Things we learned from Lamyai, the (latest) dirty dancer
By Tulsathit Taptim
The Nation

 

There’s no point in beating around the bush, so let’s cut to the chase.

 

1. We are all hypocrites. If something is “obscene”, it’s supposed to repulse us. You may argue that many of the tens of millions who have  viewed Lamyai Haithongkham’s clips are fans who don’t find her shows offensive, but that still doesn’t explain the huge numbers.

 

Of course, some viewers could merely have been curious. “I watched the clips just to see if I should admonish her or not,” a friend of mine said. Nice try. If you genuinely object to obscenity, you don’t go anywhere near anything deemed obscene, period. If my friend’s remark tells us anything, it’s that everyone has his or her own definition of obscenity. In other words, one man’s porn may be another man’s art.

 

A few days ago, just around the time Lamyai became a national controversy, a Thai female golfer rose to No 1 in the world rankings. But Ariya Jutanugarn, Thailand’s pride, joy and inspiration, has generated a pitiful number of YouTube views compared with Lamyai.

 

2. Prayut Chan-o-cha should have known better. Overnight, the prime minister’s public criticism turned an ordinary singer who relied on provocative dancing to stay afloat into a mega-star. He should have stuck to criticising Thaksin Shinawatra and pushing political reform. He also should have been aware of the power of negative publicity to stimulate awareness of a previously little-known product.

 

3. The social media should have known better, too. Again, if you think something is repulsive, stay away, don’t share, and don’t talk about it. The opposite is happening – on a grand scale.

 

4. Lamyai is not the first and surely won’t be the last. Comparisons are being made with Michael Jackson, but there’s someone closer at hand. About six years ago, the same tornado was whipped up around “Ja Turbo”. Both were young and relatively unknown, until their “dirty” dancing caught the eye of outspoken critics in high places who became their unwitting promoters.

 

Ja Turbo and Lamyai gave the same answer when asked about their dancing: “I have to earn a living.”

 

Born in the Northeast province of Roi Et to a poor family, Lamyai was one of those little girls who touted peanuts, fruit and candies around restaurants. She started singing and dancing at a young age, working for an unknown, struggling band. A combination of good looks, sexy moves and smart cosmetic work propelled her to fame.

 

Exactly how Lamyai came up with her provocative dancing style we may never know. The only pertinent information I have comes from my younger brother, who used to play in a pub band. He explained that when bands audition for contracts, the first thing prospective employers demand of female singer-dancers is that they be scantily dressed. The dirtier your dance, the better your chance off getting the job.

 

You don’t have to play like the Scorpions or Queen, my brother told me. “A pub-owner’s main requirement is near nudity in your show.”

 

Like Ja Turbo, a storm of criticism has whipped up around Lamyai. And as with Ja Turbo, that storm has blown her from relative anonymity to national stardom. 

 

5. When we blend male chauvinism, hypocrisy and misguided conservatism, what do we get? The answer is Thai society.

 

Thailand is a male-chauvinist society. There’s no doubt about that. Things get a bit complicated, though, when we add what happens in Patpong and Pattaya, and how the money the girls in such places make furnishes brothers back home with new pick-up trucks and rural temples with new roofs.

 

And the complexities don’t end there. Many prostitutes have reported they prefer “sincere” commercial exploitation to the moralistic or political attitudes that surround their trade. They point out that many people oppose prostitution simply because the self-righteous stance makes them feel good. The working girls meanwhile don’t really care about feminism or sexism. They just want to survive.

 

It’s up to the rest of the society to ask why men can behave far worse but manage to get away with it thanks to an accident of biology. This is not to say that Thai women should misbehave. I am merely asking why Thai men don’t receive the same social penalty for the same actions.

 

6. “Taste” is more subtle and slippery than morality. You can always bend the rules when it comes to ethics, but there are also clear lines that cannot be crossed. For taste, those lines blur. Some people find the slightest hint of cleavage unacceptable yet on occasion might consider total nakedness art. 

 

So, who decides what is good taste and what is bad? One man? The majority? Ourselves? Or simply nobody?

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/news/opinion/tulsathit/30318648

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2017-06-21

[Bluespunk]

26 minutes ago, webfact said:

 

A few days ago, just around the time Lamyai became a national controversy, a Thai female golfer rose to No 1 in the world rankings. But Ariya Jutanugarn, Thailand’s pride, joy and inspiration, has generated a pitiful number of YouTube views compared with Lamyai.

That's because golf is on a par with watching paint dry as a viewing spectacle. 

[Bluespunk]

29 minutes ago, webfact said:

 

So, who decides what is good taste and what is bad? One man? The majority? Ourselves? Or simply nobody?

Judging by this article, it would appear you are setting yourself up as judge and jury...

[lamyai3]

The article dwelled over the most important lesson. A career endorsement from the PM is the best publicity money can buy. 

[ezzra]

45 minutes ago, Bluespunk said:

That's because golf is on a par with watching paint dry as a viewing spectacle. 

 

No.. if said golfer was wearing hot pants and is endowed with a delightfully

voluptuous bosoms and friskily posing with a putter in a seductive pose, she too, would be in every national

headlines....

 

Edited June 20, 2017 by ezzra

[yellowboat]

2 hours ago, webfact said:

Overnight, the prime minister’s public criticism turned an ordinary singer who relied on provocative dancing to stay afloat into a mega-star.

He must have had a lot of free time that day, so he thought he would ruin the life of a poor woman.   Thai Hi-So's do it all the time.  Their foppish attitudes afford them such pleasures.  

[wwest5829]

Ah, longevity, sure does give one perspective. I do recall criticism of Chuck Berry, Jerry Lee Lewis and some others (Elvis' hips?). There were those who condemned all that "Rock and Roll" music...afterall, we all knew what "rock and roll" referred to...

[quadperfect]

Article 44

[Techno Viking]

Thanks to Prayut Ive already added Lamyai to my spank bank and now thanks to The Nation JaTurbo.

 

Awesome start to the day !!

[Juan B Tong]

5. When we blend male chauvinism, hypocrisy and misguided conservatism, what do we get? The answer is Thai society.

 

Any questions class?

[gandalf12]

If this is considered bad never invite Madonna to put on a show in Bangkok

[williamgeorgeallen]

i think the army needs to stay in power for the next 10 years to make sure this singer/dancer does no more then 3 pelvic thrusts per performance. in 10 years she should be old enough that no one cares what she does.

[mikebell]

Just checked out Ja Turbo - in the interests of research - disgusting. She should be deported to somewhere like, say, Bang Saray.

[Xaos]

The whole thing is beyond ridiculous. Prime minister going so low to even talk about some country side dancer.

Then again u got thousends of them. Go to any country side wedding. It almost appears as thier culture its so common. TIT

Sent from my SM-G955F using Tapatalk

[DM07]

Things we learned from Lamyai, the (latest) dirty dancer

 

That you can milk (sic) every stupid and boring non-news- story for days, as long as there are 4$$ and t!tts involved?!

[hansnl]

4 hours ago, ezzra said:

 

No.. if said golfer was wearing hot pants and is endowed with a delightfully

voluptuous bosoms and friskily posing with a putter in a seductive pose, she too, would be in every national

headlines....

 

Very vulgar, posing with a putter wearing hot pants.

Or was she wearing hotpants?

 

Edited June 21, 2017 by hansnl

[mtls2005]

Interesting that the PM, who is concerned with the "morals" of the country, chooses not to castigate the various/sundry higher-class people who contribute to deaths (Preawa,  Vorayuth, Jenphop, ad nauseam) but instead chooses to bully an 18 year old entertainer from the lower classes. Says so much about Thailand, and the PM.

[Yann55]

5 hours ago, webfact said:

They point out that many people oppose prostitution simply because the self-righteous stance makes them feel good.

Not only does it make them feel good, but most of the time it's a cover-up for what goes on in their private lives.

 

For example, there are innumerable cases of 'religious' men actively campaigning against homosexuality ... until one day they suddenly get caught red handed having sex with other men.

 

The recent Mae Hong Sorn scandal involved mainly  men in uniform, if I'm not mistaken ... and it's common knowledge that many, if not most, of the 'red light venues' here in Thailand do not belong to civilians.

 

Therefore I wonder if anyone  - Thai or foreigner - is actually fooled by the authorities virtuous stance on the matter.

 

But then, hypocrisy is this complicated social process where everyone in the china shop pretends that the bull is not present, in order to save face.

Edited June 21, 2017 by Yann55

[Cadbury]

14 minutes ago, mtls2005 said:

Interesting that the PM, who is concerned with the "morals" of the country, chooses not to castigate the various/sundry higher-class people who contribute to deaths (Preawa,  Vorayuth, Jenphop, ad nauseam) but instead chooses to bully an 18 year old entertainer from the lower classes. Says so much about Thailand, and the PM.

Bullying comes easy to Officers and NCO's of military persuasion. It is in their genes and part of their culture. If they need to bully anyone they should stick to OR's or subordinates. History is proving itself right that bullies do not make good leaders.

[Yann55]

Just now, Cadbury said:

Bullying comes easy to Officers and NCO's of military persuasion. It is in their genes and part of their culture. If they need to bully anyone they should stick to OR's or subordinates. History is proving itself right that bullies do not make good leaders.

So true, and reading your statement I can't help but think about a certain Donald ...

[ratcatcher]

13 minutes ago, Yann55 said:

So true, and reading your statement I can't help but think about a certain Donald ...

Me too. These two come to mind.

 

 

[marko kok prong]

What a load of waffle.

[starky]

Absolutely disgusting the lot of them!.. Uhm Prayut and his cronies not Lamyai and Ja Turbo they are awesome.

[captspectre]

repulsive? obscene? what the hell has happened to the modern male? in my day this lovely lady with the washing machine hips would be egearly sot after! and she is pretty at that! if the modern snowflakes are offended or can't handle it, not to worry! we can handle it just fine!

[lvr181]

Ho hum.............move along. Nothing exciting here, including the 'dancer'.

[KenKadz]

Prayut Chan-o-cha's criticism is advertising that money can not buy!

 

How did Lamyai's dancing even come to his attention?

Another jealous dancer?

[tominbkk]

I watched a couple of her videos.  Her dance style is just gyrating like she is being F'd.  And her constant rubbing and fingering of her personal parts is more disturbing to me than anything else.  I would imagine she was abused when she was young and this is a way to act it out.  

 

But, if there are people who want to see it and she's not hurting anyone, then let her do it.

[TEFLKrabi]

She certainly didn't invent this obscene or provocative dancing. Every night you can see this in local concerts all over the country. I'm really not sure why he chose to censure her and nobody else. 

[lvr181]

"...this obscene or provocative dancing." Hardly either!

[mommysboy]

It's the usual anything goes vs censorship argument.  The answer is simple, as usual: anything goes provided it is not overtly in the public arena and consensual.  We are 'men of the world'.  Of course not many of us are offended by her dancing; quite the opposite, but there are others in this world.

 

We really don't need to get in to an over-blown debate.