THE REPRESENTATION OF I-SANN MASCULINITY AND FEMININITY IN MOH LUM KLON

Abstract

This article is based on the research on the gender identity of I-Sann people, as depicted in well-known Thai texts. The objective of this article was to analyze the representation of masculinity and femininity appearing in Moh Lum Klon, Klon Lam Tammada and Klon Lam Jot-Kae texts, both in the form of printed publications for sale and online publications. The texts were selected and analyzed using representation theory. The content analysis of the texts found that the representation of I-Sann masculinity and femininity appearing in Moh Lum Klon included the representation of hegemonic masculinity, the representations of non-hegemonic masculinity, the representation of powerless femininity and the representation of hegemonic femininity. These representations reflected the change in I-Sann society relating to the characteristics of Thai society where, in the past, masculinity initially dominated the society; a society was created of men who must be strong, powerful leaders and protect women. More recently, industry has played a role in social change and women's rights increased, with a reduction of male roles and power, where one is able to openly express one's own emotions, and individuals can be weak or strong according to the situation. At the same time, women have become more active in society. They also have rights and freedom of expression, leading to an attempt to express one's power.