Gender and Sexuality of Male Monks in Thailand
Overview
Greetings students! Welcome to this module on the Social Bodies portion of the Buddhist Bodies Collective. This is Dr. Brooke Schedneck of Rhodes College. I am a scholar of Thai Buddhism, focusing on the contemporary period. In today’s module, you will think through the implications of gender and sexuality on the monastic life in Thailand. We will first learn about the experience and preferences for gender and sexual expression in the Thai monastic life, and then compare this cultural worldview with your own experiences. We will consider the ways our own bodies can help us understand the experiences specifically of male monks, who express feminine characteristics.
In this module, you will focus on sexuality of male monks (bhikkhus) in Thailand. I realize that sexuality and monasticism sounds strange to exist in the same sentence. This is because monks ideally should remove all traces of sexuality through their renunciation and live a completely celibate life. However, there are ways to perceive sexuality, as you will notice with your embodied experience experimentation for this module. Thai Buddhist laity (non-ordained Buddhists) prefer monks who express themselves as male, with a sexual desire for women, that they work with to gradually lessen. It is more difficult for male monks who express feminine behaviors and behave as if they have sexual desire for men. This group is the main focus here.
In Thai Buddhist society, it’s common for young boys to ordain as monks temporarily as a novice monk, as well as for college-aged men to ordain for the access to education. Because the monastic institution is open to any man for a variety of reasons, not all necessarily spiritual, Buddhist monastic life faces several challenges. One of these is feminine behaviors, while in the robes. Effeminate men (known colloquially in English as ladyboys) have a challenging relationship with monasticism, within Buddhist Thailand.
This module takes you through these challenges, why femininity is a problem, and how Thai Buddhists think about this. The readings and videos will give you ways to understand the context and background of this phenomenon, which is a widespread debate in Thailand, that most people have some opinions about. Rather than asking you your opinion on a topic in a different culture, this module asks you to compare the ways you experience your gender and sexuality in the world with ladyboy monks.
Embodied Experience
During the course of one day, attempt to behave in a more masculine or feminine way than you usually do. At the end of the day, record the ways that you changed your behaviors. Did you talk differently? How did you walk? What were the physical mannerisms you employed that were different from your ordinary self-expression? Did your friends notice? Contrast your enhanced femininity or masculinity with your baseline expression of gender and sexuality.
Videos
Presentation
Readings
Discussion Questions
- What are the reasons why the laity praises manly monks?
- What is the problem with kathoey monks?
Assignment
Write a 200-word reflection based on your experience and learning about effeminate male monks:
- How does your experience of gender and sexuality differ or connect with ladyboy monks?
Cite This Module
Brooke Schedneck. 2022. “Gender and Sexuality of Male Monks in Thailand.” In Stephanie Balkwill and Amy Langenberg (eds.), Buddhist Bodies Collective. https://buddhistbodies.com/378-2/social-bodies/gender-and-sexuality-of-male-monks-in-thailand/
Author Bio: Brooke Schedneck
I am an Associate Professor in the Department of Religious Studies at Rhodes College, where I have taught since 2017. Before moving back to America, I taught and conducted research in Chiang Mai, Thailand, for over eight years. I find contemporary Theravada Buddhism fascinating, especially in Thailand. I am friends with many Buddhist monks who are pursuing bachelor and masters degrees. They have contributed to my research and joined some of my classes. In an effort to give back to them, I have volunteered as a guest teacher, taught English, and have given lectures on Buddhism at their institutions. One of my books, published by the University of Washington Press, Religious Tourism in Northern Thailand: Encounters with Buddhist Monks, highlights some of this work with student monks. I have also published an introductory book for students and travelers called Living Theravada: Demystifying the People, Places, and Practices of a Buddhist Tradition, with Shambhala Publications.