So, who wants to be a coyote girl anyway?

If you surveyed young women around the country and asked them for their choices of career, the so-called "coyote dancer" wouldn't make it into the top 10, or even the top 20.

Dancing erotically in skimpy outfits in front of men is by no means the job of a woman's dreams.

Many students become coyote dancers to finance their studies. Some are fortunate enough to carry on their education while a few become university drop-outs thanks to their part-time dancing work.

Like other employees, they are working legally. They believe dancing, even in front of drunken men, is far better than selling their bodies, but deep in their hearts they know that this is not their career and they prefer not to talk openly about it.

Despite unfavourable work conditions, the number of coyote girls is growing. As they become a favourite entertainment at various events, their performances have extended from nightclubs to temple grounds. They are increasingly visible, and society is getting worried.

Following HM the Queen's recent concern about sexy dancing at a Buddhist event in Nong Khai province, Thai authorities are now seriously looking into ways to curb the sky-rocketting growth of coyote dancers. The Interior Ministry has already asked provincial governors to curb inappropriate performances, especially at Buddhist sites and public events.

Every now and then, Thai society appears to fall into a period of moral panic. We've experienced it before - teen sex, Internet chat sites, under-age night owls and violent computer games. This time round it is the invasion of the coyote girls. The police, too, respond to the panic. This year, apart from their usual Loy Krathong routine of checking on the sexual behaviour of youngsters, they have instituted checks for undesirable dancing.

Many restrictions may have the effect of making coyote dancing fade from fashion. The Culture Ministry has proposed a restriction banning those under 20 from working as coyote girls and stopping all such performances in some places.

Coming to the rescue of the coyote girls are a few officials who look at the picture in a broader perspective. Fortunately not all officials are suffering from this moral panic. Labour Production and Welfare Department Chief Padungsak Thephasdin na Ayutthaya and Education Minister Wijit Srisa-an have expressed concern on the rights issue: the age restriction could be a breach of the right to work, they say.

The education minister said: "A lewd dance is a lewd dance, regardless of age." In other words, the lewdness of the dance should not be the basis of discrimination.

The Culture Ministry may think the restrictions on ages and venues are the right medicine for the increasing number of coyote girls, but they may be hitting where it doesn't hurt. If a coyote-dance troupe performs at an inappropriate place, it is the organiser who should be blamed. This would make everyone aware of cultural sensitivity rather than singling out the dancers. For they are just employees, and whenever or wherever they are employed, they will do their job. As to whether or not their bodily movements are in good cultural taste, we can again point the finger of responsibility at their employers.

It is about time that policy-makers looked at possible "threats" to our norms and values in a broader perspective instead of panicking. The Religious Department can ask all Buddhist temples to avoid inappropriate performances. The coyote dancers are just a tiny part of the overall problem, and the tip of the problem at that, not its root. The policy-makers should go back and try to answer all the basic questions. What is the target audience of coyote dancers? Why has coyote dancing become popular?

They may also find out why, if it is not a dream job, girls take it."

More importantly, after gathering the information, they should find out whether the dancing is the thing we should be panicking about. Does society really collapse because of dancing girls?