a School of Nursing.
Cult Health Sex. 2004 May;6(3):221-38. doi: 10.1080/136910501141179.
By examining competing discourses about women who are maechii (or 'lay nuns') in Buddhist Thai society, this paper demonstrates that, although maechii vow to be celibate, social constructions of their role are grounded in sexuality. The discourses examined are those of the Buddhist canon and Sangha (Order of Monkhood), the Thai Maechii Institute, the mass media, and the government. The analysis is supplemented with field observations and interviews with monks, maechii, and lay persons. Findings suggest that maechii comprise an ambiguous category linguistically, Buddhistically, and in terms of their sexuality. Case studies of the founders of nunneries conducted in ChiangMai indicate that maechii leaders have been resisting the prevalent views that most maechii are social misfits, yet also are capable of undermining monks' celibacy and, by extension, the larger social order. The analysis contributes to the understanding of the interconnectedness of gender and sexuality in contemporary Thai society.
通过考察泰国佛教社会中关于摩伊奇（或“俗家修女”）女性的相互竞争的话语，本文表明，尽管摩伊奇发誓要保持独身，但对其角色的社会构建却基于性。本文考察了佛教正典和僧伽（僧侣团）、泰国摩伊奇研究所、大众媒体和政府的观点。该分析还辅以对僧侣、摩伊奇和俗人进行的实地观察和访谈。研究结果表明，摩伊奇在语言、佛教和性方面构成了一个模糊的范畴。对清迈女修道院创始人的案例研究表明，女修道院的领导者一直在抵制普遍观点，即大多数摩伊奇都是社会的失败者，但也有可能破坏僧侣的独身生活，进而破坏更大的社会秩序。该分析有助于理解性别和性行为在当代泰国社会中的相互关联性。
