Comic books are ubiquitous in Thailand. They are read by many different sectors of the opulation, though they are most popular among children and teenagers. Japanese comic books, or manga, are especially desired by Thai youth. Their exquisite drawings, provocative story lines and attractive characters have charmed Thai youth so much that the comic book industry in Thailand now generates more than 3 billion baht per year.

However, not all Thais find comic books a benign form of entertainment. As the popularity of Japanese manga has grown, so have its critics. Citing comic book images of violence and premarital sex, some Thais have declared that these books are unsuitable for youth and may lead to unacceptable and dangerous behavior. Articles and letters to the editor condemning Japanese comics are appearing with increasing regularity in both Thai and English language dailies.

Researchers and non-governmental organizations have also indicated their concern. A 1997 study by the Thai Farmers Research Center notes that 47.2% of parents surveyed found comic book material inappropriate for children. The study concluded that “prudent censoring would prevent unhealthy influence on impressionable young minds at an age when their values and beliefs are being formed.” Several Thai organizations including the Foundation for Children, Foundation for Children’s Development, and Foundation for a Better Life for Children have embarked on public campaigns against Japanese comic books.

Curiously enough, Thai comics have not garnered the same attention or criticism that Japanese books have. This is surprising given the disturbing images contained within their pages. In a recent study conducted byAndrew Matzner and myself, in which we surveyed Thai comic books over a ten year period (1990 – 2000), we found a prevalent pattern of domestic forms of violence portrayed in their pages. We examined the most popular Thai titles including Selling Laughter (Kai Hua Raw), Buying Laughter (Seu Hua Raw), and Super Fun (Mahasanuk) sold in venues throughout the kingdom.

Thai cartoon books commonly feature images of marital tension and spousal abuse. The humor of these images derive from assumptions within Thai culture that marriage is an institution that inevitably causes unhappiness for both husband and wife, and that men “naturally” have the upper hand over women, physically, mentally and politically.

While these books do contain images of men beating women, more common are images of wives beating their husbands. In many of these one-frame cartoons, the woman angrily wields her pestle (sark) as a symbol of phallic power deriving from her place in the home. In frame after frame she beats her husband into submission (signified by the bumps on her husband’s head and his prone position under her feet). These images are funny precisely because they are incongruous. Not only are men thought to be more powerful in Thai society, but violence is seen as their domain, not women’s.

Although little research has been conducted on domestic violence in Thailand, statistics reveal that violence against women is a serious and growing problem. Reports by Thai women’s organizations confirm that women are most often beaten and killed by their husbands and boyfriends. Because of the shame and embarrassment associated with such violence, women tend to turn inward, blaming themselves and their karma rather than the men (and society) who inflict this violence upon them.

Given the reality of domestic violence in Thailand, we argue that Thai comic books operate not only to reinforce the deafening silence surrounding this violence but also to reproduce ideologies of gender inequality that rationalize violent male behavior and protect male privilege. This is especially worrisome as comic books are most popular among young Thai children and may serve as an important socializing mechanism that teaches what and who is and is not valued in Thai society. That these comic book images are created entirely by men raises further questions about male fear and men’s resistance to the significant gains made by women over the last thirty years.

As women and their organizations in Thailand and throughout the Asia Pacific work towards gender inequality in all areas of social life, they should not ignore new forms of popular culture. For popular culture – i.e. the culture of the masses – is as important in generating, spreading and reproducing ideas and beliefs about gender as is “traditional” culture, the state, the judiciary, religion, and capitalism. Indeed, that Thai organizations have identified Japanese comics as problematic suggests such awareness already exists.

However, it is time for women and their organizations to turn more attention to home grown forms of popular culture and to the potential they hold for not only silencing domestic violence but also for perpetuating it. Indeed, many women’s lives may ultimately depend on it.

* LeeRay Costa is an assistant Professor of Anthropology and Women’s Studies at Hollins University in the States.