The Resistance and Negotiation on the Meaning of Nightlife Entertaining Girls
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Abstract
The major goal of this study is to analyze and explore a reconstruction of the meaning of nightlife entertaining girls, in response to their portrayal as a “not-good lady” by Thai society’s myth. In this study, qualitative techniques were used in the data collection of twelve (12) key informants selected using snowball sampling. The inclusion criteria of prospective case studies participants are nightlife entertaining girls, 20-25 years of age, living and working around the five (5) lower northern provinces of Thailand (Phitsanulok, Phichit, Nakhon Sawan, Kamphangphet, and Sukhothai), who were willing to share their experiences for this study. The interpretative approach, content analysis, and data analysis techniques were employed in this research to understand the significance of peoples’ experiences under their sociocultural context. The findings were then presented by utilizing the narrative technique.
The research found that the resistance and negotiation of meaning were demonstrations of survival skills in order to negotiate with Thai society’s myth of patriarchy. Three significant patterns were revealed in this study: Firstly, the everyday resistance processes through exercising power over the body, especially having realized the charms of femininity-sex appeal and sexual lure were used to resist patriarchal power. Also, by taking advantage of the law’s loopholes such that playing the role of a lover and dating is too difficult to classify into criminal charges of prostitution. Secondly, the reconstruction of self-identity where entertaining girls need not think of their job’s negative image by considering themselves legal workers and that earning money for a living is more important. Lastly, having the ability to leverage their negotiation power to their clients through different forms of benefits, such as wages, tips, and gifts. Moreover, some of them maintain contracts with restaurants or pubs to bring in their clients - and with more money spent, more money is shared.
Keywords: Nightlife Entertaining Girls, Everyday Resistance, Reconstruction of Self-Identity, Negotiation of Power and Benefits, Myth
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