The lay Buddhist gaze and femininity in Thai male monasticism

Effeminate or kathoey monks have generated considerable public discourse concerning Thai Buddhist monasticism. Anxieties are heightened when kathoey monks are found to be performing feminine gestures and behaviours. These actions are captured in Thai social media, revealing the extent of surveillance surrounding male monastic bodily performance. I label this regulation by Thai Buddhist laity onto male monastics as the Thai Buddhist lay gaze. Using social media analysis, Thai news stories and Thai Buddhist understandings of gender, this article untangles the debate concerning kathoey monks within contemporary Thai Buddhist society. I argue that when femininity is seen as attached to worldliness, sexuality and beauty, it is deemed incompatible with monasticism.