Love, Money and Obligation

In locations around the world, transnational marriages and intimacies become a viable option of women and men. Patcharin Lapanun explores Thai womenfarang men marriages, and complicates the bimodal views about materiality and intimacy within global intimacies. The sentiments and life stories of women and men engaging in these transnational relationships highlight the complexities of the associations that are shape and reshaped by 'love,' money and gender obligations on the one hand and the dynamics socio-cultural and historical contexts on the other. Transnational marriages also challenge gender relations, perception on sexuality, marriage and family as well as the existing class division in rural Thai communities. Focusing on the 'local end' of transnational connections, Lapanun states that women with farang husbands have created a new 'class' determined by their distinctive consumption patterns and life styles. This dynamic challenges the village hierarchical structure and puts the village elites in a vulnerable position. Her in-depth examination highlights the important of women's agency and the strength and creativity of people seeking to forge meaningful lives in the processes of social transition in the face of local and global encounters.