Cultural Reproduction and “Minority” Sexuality: Intimate Changes among Ethnic Akha in the Upper Mekong

This article explores sexuality and its role in cultural reproduction amongst Akha, a minority group living in the mountainous reaches of southwest China, northern Thailand, Laos, Vietnam and Burma. For many minority peoples in the region sexuality has been a marker of cultural difference within trajectories of nationalist assimilation. In northwest Laos, Akha sexuality is currently a focusof intense interest as infrastructure development, increased interactions with lowland populations, and targeted state and donor-funded health programs are dramatically altering Akha lifestyles. Whether by conscious design to intervene insexual lives, or through the numerous ways that affective domains merge withmaterial aspirations, social structures shaping Lao Akha sexuality are being "re-formed" through engagement in processes of modernisation. As a result, sexuality remains central to ongoing ethnic marginalisation and evolving vulnerability to health threats. Keywords: ethnicitysexualitymodernisationAkhahealthLaos Acknowledgments We are grateful to the many Akha villagers in Sing and Long Districts who freely discussed their lives with us. In particular, we thank Apu, A-er, Si-noune, Pouyer, Gingnalii, Suk, Samern and Dengrui for assisting us tirelessly in discussing sensitive issues and helping us to understand their complexity. Any errors in interpretation are of course our own. We thank GTZ and NCA, who helped to facilitate this research, which was supported by grants from Macquarie University and AusAID. Notes 1. Akha in Luang Namtha consist of 4 main subgroups: Pouly Nyai, Pouly Noi, Tchitchor and Kopien, with the majority belonging to Pouly groups. Differing subgroups account for regional and local variations in social practices although it should be noted that important differences can also be found at village level. 2. While to date there has been no published material dealing specifically with Lao Akha sexuality, two recent masters theses from Thai and Lao universities describe premarital sexuality and detail some of the structural elements discussed here (cf. Sisouvanh, 2008; Norlin, 2009). 3. A recent study in Sing and Long found that 85 per cent of the 344 Akha women surveyed had become sexually active by the age of 15 (NCA, 2010). Occasionally, young women, particularly those who live away from home at lowland secondary schools, will not sleep with men until their later teens. 4. We have not heard of similar formations among the Akha in Thailand, but elderly Lao Akha informants indicated that they have existed within living memory, preceding socialist forms of governance that also formed national youth groups in every village. The presence of youth groups is more prominent among Pouly groups and less so among Tchitchor and Kopien. 5. Hanks (1988, p. 21) similarly notes that in Thailand at age 13 or so an Akha "adolescent girl's cap is elaborated, and she is more serious about attending the evening boy-girl dance and courting sessions where she is 'opened up' sexually". 6. Marriage between a couple of only 5 generations remove does sometimes take place. 7. The belief that semen is central to female physical development is not unique to the Akha; it is found in other cultural settings in Asia, Africa and South America (see Coast, 2007). In parts of Melanesia, beliefs concerning production and transfer of semen play a formative role in structuring sexual relations (Herdt, 1984). 8. The women do not use any "traditional" means of birth control, and medical contraception has only recently reached Lao Akha villages. 9. Infertility is always seen locally as a female problem, but male infertility has elsewhere been associated with opium smoking and therefore cannot be discounted as a contributing factor. 10. Pregnancy might also come after a sustained period with only one partner. 11. The percentage would be notably higher if children attending the events were not counted in the total. 12. Klein-Hutheesing (1995) has described a similar trajectory among highland ethnic groups in Thailand in the 1980s whereby the increased prominence of monetary economies profoundly impacted on gender roles and relations.