Stereotypical depiction of Thai women in Hollywood films

In this globalized era media play a significant role in our society. Western media, especially, reach a number of global audiences and exert a powerful force in creating and reinforcing public perception and stereotypes. This study analyzes one of the most prominent media — films and their stereotypical depiction of Thai women in Hollywood films.‘Film’ is considered one of the most powerful media genres that influences perceptions leading to stereotypes. Hollywood, especially, is a media channel that reaches a number of audiences around the world and has the power of creating audience perception and reinforcing stereotypes. Thailand has been portrayed through western media with images of go-go bars, massage parlors and street prostitutes especially in Hollywood films, for example, the scene of Bangkok nightlife in The Hangover Part 2 (2011) and Only God Forgives (2013). Thai women are perpetually portrayed as prostitutes and the international media reinforce racial and ethnic stereotypes accordingly. Thailand has been known as a sex tourism destination because of its openly available sex services, resulting in generalization of all Thai women as part of the prostitution business. The study hopes to reveal the depiction of Thai women in the selected Hollywood films concerned with sexualized roles, i.e., prostitutes, bar girls, and go-go girls. The result shows that the stereotypes include LBFM (Little Brown Fucking Machine), Geisha, Pity Chicken, Lotus Blossom, 3rd World Lady, Baby Dragon, Flowing Lotus and Ladyboy. This study opens a dialogue about the long-standing stereotypical attitude towards women from the Far East, especially Thailand.

在全球化时代，媒体在现代社会中发挥着举足轻重的作用。其中西方媒体尤其拥有广泛的全球受众群体，并在塑造与强化公众认知及刻板印象方面拥有强大影响力。
本研究聚焦于最具影响力的媒体类型之一——电影，并探讨好莱坞影片中对泰国女性的刻板化刻画。"电影"被视为影响力最为深远的媒体品类之一，其所传递的认知极易催生刻板印象。而好莱坞作为覆盖全球众多受众的媒体渠道，具备塑造受众认知、固化刻板印象的强大力量。
过往西方媒体，尤其是好莱坞影片中，泰国常被贴上脱衣舞酒吧、按摩院与街头妓女的标签，例如《宿醉2》（2011）与《唯神能恕》（2013）中呈现的曼谷夜生活场景。泰国女性长期被刻画为妓女形象，国际媒体也据此强化了种族与族裔刻板印象。由于性服务公开化，泰国被打上"性旅游目的地"的烙印，进而导致大众将所有泰国女性泛化为性交易产业的组成部分。
本研究旨在剖析所选好莱坞影片中泰国女性的形象刻画，聚焦其被赋予的性化角色：妓女、酒吧女郎与脱衣舞女郎。研究结果显示，相关刻板印象包括LBFM（Little Brown Fucking Machine）、艺伎（Geisha）、可怜鸡（Pity Chicken）、莲花少女（Lotus Blossom）、第三世界女性（3rd World Lady）、宝贝龙（Baby Dragon）、流水莲花（Flowing Lotus）与人妖（Ladyboy）。
本研究为探讨长期以来针对远东地区女性，尤其是泰国女性的刻板态度搭建了对话平台。