Marital Acts: Gender, Sexuality, and Identity among the Chinese Thai Diaspora (review)

Abstract

Reviewed by: Marital Acts: Gender, Sexuality, and Identity among the Chinese Thai Diaspora Jenny Godley (bio) Jiemen Bao . Marital Acts: Gender, Sexuality, and Identity among the Chinese Thai Diaspora. Honolulu: University of Hawai'i Press, 2005. 225 pp. Paperback $23.00, ISBN 0-8248-2879-8. Marital Acts is an engaging book about fascinating subjects: transnational identity, gender, and sexuality. Jiemen Bao uses the lens of gender to examine identity formation and variation among three generations of Chinese Thai. She focuses on the intersection of ethnicity, class, gender, and immigrant status, demonstrating that all are important for the formation and reproduction of identity. The book is divided into four sections: an introduction, a section on the chinkao (Chinese who migrated to Thailand before 1949), a section on the lukchin (the children of these immigrants, living in Thailand), and a section on Chinese Thai Americans (who migrated from Thailand to the United States in the 1970s and 1980s). The first part of the book, titled "Positions," provides the historical background for the study and introduces the reader to various theoretical perspectives in the study of identity formation. Bao provides a concise overview of the waves of migration between China and Thailand and the United States, and an excellent explanation of the languages and terminology used in the text. I was particularly grateful for the explanation of Chinese-Thai names, which had always confused me in the past! The theoretical chapter covers a lot of ground, integrating perspectives from anthropology, sociology, geography, feminism, and Asian studies. Bao has an excellent grasp of many literatures, bringing them together successfully in this concise introduction to her unique study. Part 1 has one glaring omission, though: there is no chapter on methodology. The careful reader will find Bao's description of her methodology, as well as an excellent positioning of herself as author and researcher, back in the Preface. This methodological section should be featured more prominently, as a separate chapter in the introductory section, and should systematically outline not only the field-work conducted but also how case studies were chosen for inclusion in this book. Part 2 focuses on the chinkao experience in Thailand. There are three chapters here: one on the gendered nature of migration and marriage; one on class, gender, and ethnicity; and one on sexuality. Bao provides an excellent explanation of the historically gendered nature of migration from China to Thailand, and the complicated family arrangements that resulted. In the late nineteenth century, Chinese men migrated for work first, leaving wives and families in China, often creating new (sometimes multiple) families in Thailand. By the start of the twentieth century, Chinese women began to migrate to Thailand, too. Interethnic marriages became more common for both men and women in Thailand, and transnational [End Page 357] marriages declined. Bao examines the economic relations embedded in chinkao marriages, demonstrating a gendered division of labor both inside and outside the home. The most interesting chapter in part 2 is "Changes in Sexual Practice: 'Same Bed, Different Dreams.'" Here, Bao provides evidence of the changing nature of sexuality for the chinkao, arguing that chinkao men have adopted "cosmopolitan polygyny" and that the women have come to accept these new relationships. While part 2 contains very interesting anecdotes about life as a chinkao, it is frustrating from a methodological standpoint. Bao hints at a survey she conducted, but never presents the results systematically. Additionally, she does not explain how she chose her case studies from the many life-history interviews she conducted. The reader is left wondering if these stories are truly representative of all chinkao in Bangkok. Part 3 focuses on the lukchin experience. Here, Bao examines second-generation Chinese Thai, born in Thailand. This section contains four chapters: one on hybrid identities, one on weddings, one on sexuality, and one on family businesses. Unfortunately, these chapters do not parallel the chapters in the first section of the book. It would have been interesting to have the chapters map onto those in part 1, to provide systematic comparisons of migration, marriage, economics, and sexuality across the two generations. The chapter on weddings is particularly weak; here she focuses on three selected marriages (including one...