Thailand is one of my most favorite places to visit. It has beautiful culture, spicy food, and kind people every where you go. It is a lot different there compared to the United States in many different ways. Since my mother in law is from there, she was able to share a lot with me before I went to visit. If you ever visit Thailand yourself, it is easy to see how it falls under a feminine society. Hofstede Insights explains, “Thailand scores 34 on this dimension and is thus considered a Feminine society. Thailand has the lowest Masculinity ranking among the average Asian countries of 53 and the World average of 50. This lower level is indicative of a society with less assertiveness and competitiveness, as compared to one where these values are considered more important and significant.” It is interesting to see how this changes many aspects of how female and male roles are viewed. They seem to work together more and focus on their quality of life rather then competing with each other.
When I was visiting I noticed a lot of these factors. The women and men care a lot about each other and their families. They focus on what matters, and making sure they have simple things such as food, water, and family surrounding them. It doesn’t matter if the women has a good job, or the man, all that matters is that they take care of each other. Being a more feminine society, the people tend to be more relationship oriented and work to live, not to compete with each other. This was easy to find in Thailand and they truly care about their family and even neighbors well being. As you hike through the northern mountains, become intrigued by the big city of Bangkok, or catch a tan on their tropical islands, you will be greeted with love and gratitude.
When I arrived there the first time something that stood out to me was the traits of their family and school. As the children arrived back from school they were given the same attention. They would cry but never fight, they would play together and both held at the same standards. When a child would not do well in a sport or on a test, they would take that failure as a lesson or accident. This also falls into the feminine category of the dimensions, when it is ok to fail and it is not looked at as a disaster.
With having more women in management, a lower wage gap, and fewer working hours, Thailand has been doing very well with their feminine society. When traveling there, this is something to be aware of and consider. There is no need for competition or to put material items first, just be thoughtful, caring, and understand they work to live, not live to work.
Reference:
Thailand – Hofstede Insights. (2019). Retrieved October 23, 2019, from https://www.hofstede-insights.com/country/thailand/.
swh5163 says
Hello Chanine,
This was an amazing post. I enjoyed reading about Thailand and I am now willing to put it on my bucket list. As you mentioned, “it is a lot different there compared to the United States”, from what I read I would have to agree. I always find myself getting a little upset about how Americans particularly the culture in which I was raised, care so much about material things. In my opinion that takes away the beauty of life and people should focus more on the family so that things would get better generations to come. I loved the part when you mentioned how both men and women care about the family. In the United States, most men (not all) leave the family responsibilities up to the women. I wish things in the United States were more like Thailand. Do you think there is less crime in countries that practice femininity?
Great post,
Sy