Teens need their own gathering places

To many parents, Centre Point in Siam Square is not an ideal place where they'd like their offspring to hang out. The more they've heard about the kind of freedom the youngsters enjoy there, the less they tend to give their approval.

It's true that any place where teens gather may open an opportunity for drugs, alcohol and premature sex. But we all have to face it: whether there is a place like Centre Point or not, we have these social problems.

It is the right way, though, of going about ridding society of its vices to curb the growth of gathering places for young people?

Should we jump to the conclusion that a girl wearing her favourite spaghetti-strap top is looking for casual sex?

Clearly grownups use their own yardsticks to judge the behaviour of their offspring, forgetting what they themselves were like when in their teens. In the 1960s, Thai teens used to hang around the back of Sala Chalermkrung Theatre. They too were in the fashionable outfits of their time. And as we've seen in many films: boys wore bell bottoms, girls hoop skirts.

In more recent memory, young executives now may recall the fun days when they went dancing at The Palace discotheque, hung around at Siam Centre or drank at the Kloster Beer Garden.

So what is really different in the lifestyles of young people of these two or three generations? Everyone at that age loves freedom and likes to find a place where they can express it.

They value friendships - a vital part of their lives. And they love to have fun. No doubt this is why the Centre Point of Siam Square has been so successful over the past five years. Pornpailin Development created the place specifically to respond to young people's needs.

Perhaps it's true that Centre Point is receptive ground for social vices, and the accusations of prostitution in the area may not be groundless. But there are two different issues here. If society or the government wants to put and end to prostitution, the primary target is certainly not Centre Point.

Youngsters may express their love by hugging and kissing in public. Yet such affection is a different issue from sex and prostitution.

Society may be able to persuade youngsters to behave properly by adopting a constructive approach, but to condemn them for expressing innocent feelings is not fair.

Broken hearts have produced a significant rise in violence among teens, perhaps because they are more fragile than former generations.

Perhaps they have been under stress from the cradle while parents were out busy working. Or were they unduly pressured to achieve academic excellence to earn their parents' admiration? No one can tell.

Yet in most of cases where violence has erupted, the teenagers involved did not appear to have been problem children for their parents. They studied hard and behaved themselves. There were no records of crime or drug use. Most had one thing in common: they followed the lead of their parents and society.

Society is now looking for ways to curb teen violence by raising teens' morale, so why don't we simply allow them to search for their own identities by giving them space to express their freedom openly and with the consent of adults?

Open public places like Centre Point may not be a parent's dream. However, it is a practical and safe choice. Whether we like it or not, its chief benefit is that the venue is accessible.

If we have fewer and fewer public spheres which youngsters consider their own, we will lose touch with them. They will retreat to places parents have no inkling of. In that case, the damage will have been done even before we know that these places exist.

So while we are building a civil society, please let us not exclude young people. They too want their own space. They too want to enjoy their civil liberties.

Let them love life under our guidance. Let them have their open place to go wild with their own mode of dress.

Whatever we do, let us open our minds and be fair. After all, what they are doing now is what we went through when we were young.

And they may seek out other places than Centre Point.

Published on Jul 19, 2003

'Sai diao': not the coolest dress for Songkran

Twenty-year-old Porn has bought a new top, a spaghetti-strap blouse and plans to wear it on Songkran day. She is no big fan of this kind of top but for the upcoming fun-filled festival, it's a very practical choice. For one, it's highly suitable for any watery battlefield: the top gets soaked and dries easily.

To Porn, wearing such a top is not a big deal for her because it'll be just another day that the young lady will be in sai diao (or "one strap", the Thai name for spaghetti-strap). Little did Porn know she can't follow her dress code preference now that Cultural Minister Uraiwan Thienthong has announced the crackdown on sai diao in many of Songkran's celebration areas.

Her reason is that such a revealing blouse might induce sexual harassment. And not only the top but also hot pants are ruled out by the minister. Instead of hot pants, Uraiwan kindly suggested that ladies wear simple Thai sarongs.

"Doesn't she know that we have not grown up with sarongs and that they can slip off from our bodies anytime we're on the run?" Porn asks.

Her friend Dao wonders what if she and Porn take no notice of the dress code announcement and leave for Songkran fun spots wearing their usual outfits?

Well, what they've heard is that the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration police will order them out of the area.

"That's terrible and it really kills the joy of our festival," says Dao as she pictures in her mind young female revellers being banned from water-splashing areas just because they are sporting the government's unfavourable top. The two young ladies can't find any reason to justify the ban on si diao. If they can't even enjoy the freedom to be themselves during the country's biggest and most entertaining celebration, what remains of "freedom" for them?

"It's our basic right," Porn protests. "We buy our own clothes, wear them on our bodies, and don't harm anyone."

"Perhaps in the future the ministry would consider launching a proper dress code for us for all festivals," Dao says.

The two girls are not the lone dissenting voices. Many others have voiced their disagreement through various media, especially on the Net. Since Uraiwan cites sexual harassment as the reason for the ban, it leaves many people wondering if the ministry views the revealing fashion as an important cause of sexual harassment. And if the government has enough policemen to look out for the sai diao, why can't the same police force protect women from being the subject of sexual harassment during Songkran? And how about farang revellers who would certainly join the water battles in their own revealing outfits?

The ban on the spaghetti-strap demonstrates just another example in Thai society of women being the victim of problems caused by men. If not sexual harassment, the related government agencies prefer to link the sai diao fashion as a factor in cultural decline. A government radio programme even states that young women shouldn't wear sai diao on Songkran if they love the nation. What the heck is going on?

Dao sees such a statement as a way for grownups to deny that culture is also a dynamic thing.

"If sarong and sabai (breast wrap) were once their culture, sai diao is now our culture," Porn says. "But the point is, no fashion can really harm a country's dominant culture as exemplified by Songkran. It's not that we will wear sai diao to the temple or a religious event. We wear this comfortable top to play at splashing water."

And if we must blame someone, Porn and Dao would love to blame the minister who has already killed the spirit of "fun-filled" Songkran.

In the old days, Songkran - like other festivals in this country - gave a chance for young ladies to go out. It let them dress up and look as pretty as they could. They came out in breast cloths, not Western-style blouse, as was their lifestyles. When they were splashed, we could imagine how revealing they were.

No wonder that history professor Paothong Thongchua expressed worry about the ban on spaghetti-strap blouses. As an expert in traditional Thai fashion, Paothong understands well why the sai diao crackdown doesn't make much sense.

Porn and Dao and many other young ladies are so delighted by Paothong's comments. The ban is inappropriate and doesn't fit the spirit of Songkran. Paothong shares an opinion with many women that Uraiwan should have had launched a more democratic PR campaign, giving warning or advice rather than banning the outfit outright.

The academic's observation that the breast cloth of old is a bigger worry and more revealing than sai diao came just in time for young people like Porn and Dao who still have time to find their own comfortable yet genuine Thai fashion choice.

Why not? Breast cloths are friendly to Thai culture. More importantly, the minister hasn't banned them.

Published on Apr 12, 2003