Sport, tradition and women in competitive Muay Thai

Abstract

The objectives of this thesis are 1) to study the transition of Muay Thai from a martial art form to a sport and 2) to examine the participation of Thai women in competitive Muay Thai. Based on qualitative research, the thesis presents the history of Muay Thai from its earliest inception through the significant changes in the modem era. In order to demonstrate the forces of change in Thailand during the modern era, from the late 1890’s to the present, an analysis of modernization, industrialization, and globalization in Thailand in undertaken in order to explain the transition of Muay Thai from a martial art form to a national and international sport. The more recent development of Thai women participating in Muay Thai was reviewed historically from available literature. The current state of female Muay Thai was investigated in the local media and through interviews with people involved in Muay Thai both male and female. The findings of this study indicate that the process of modernization in the interwar years, 1920’s-1930’s, affected so many changes in traditional Muay Thai that it became a sport. The forces prompting modernization in Thailand at that time were mainly the colonial powers of Britain and France. The self-propelled modernization of Thailand was a reaction to these forces. The research also indicates that women have been restricted in their access to Muay Thai due to ascribed gender roles in Thai society and pollution taboos supported by the popular religious traditions of Thailand. The forces of industrialization and globalization provide an explanation for the entrance of women into competitive Muay Thai both in the 1970’s and the current resurgence of female Muay Thai at present respectively. Sport is a cultural arena in which all members of society participate, either actively or passively, and this study contributes to a better understanding of Thai society by examining how different aspects of Thai society interact and affect this cultural performance.