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  4. Commodifying Karma: Abortion Discourses And Kaekam Practices In Thai Society

Commodifying Karma: Abortion Discourses And Kaekam Practices In Thai Society

File(s)
ms2738.pdf (1.8 MB)
Permanent Link(s)
https://hdl.handle.net/1813/34056
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Cornell Theses and Dissertations
Author
Sudcharoen, Moodjalin
Abstract

In Thailand, abortion received little attention until the 1980s, when some social activists introduced legal reforms that would have legalized the practice, but they failed to achieve their goals. From the 1990s to the present, abortion became a topic of popular discourses as Buddhism became increasingly commodified. Entrepreneurs introduced ways for women who have had abortions to pay for services that would ameliorate their bad karma; this is known as the trend of kaekam. While the dominant discourse has long depicted abortion as a life-destroying act from a Buddhist perspective, the emphasis on embodied karma in the form of vengeful child ghosts, the ability to change one's karma through certain rituals, and confessions by those involved in abortions is all recent. I argue that these phenomena not only dominate public discussions and perpetuate abortion stigma, but also allow some groups to gain economic benefit from the fear of the negative effects of the karma incurred through various forms of the karma business.

Date Issued
2013-05-26
Keywords
abortion discourses
•
karma
•
ghosts
•
popular Buddhism
•
religious commodification
•
Thailand
Committee Chair
Loos, Tamara
Committee Member
Chaloemtiarana, Thak
Hodzic, Saida
Degree Discipline
Asian Studies
Degree Name
M.A., Asian Studies
Degree Level
Master of Arts
Type
dissertation or thesis

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