Representation of Thainess to the Eyes of the West in Lapcharoensap’s Sightseeing as Thai American Literature

Abstract

Abstract

Thai American literature, despite enriching the field’s heterogeneity, remains an understudied branch of Asian American literature. This study investigates Sightseeing, a collection of short stories by Rattawut Lapcharoensap, as a representative of Thai American texts, focusing on how Thainess is represented to Western readers. Through the framework of Asian American criticism, this literary work moves beyond the themes of exclusion and the attempt for assimilation to connecting America to Asia. The textual analysis reveals that the author represents Thainess in three critical aspects, including tourism, prostitution, and corruption, which are social realities shaping contemporary Thailand. These aspects of Thainess indicate that Thailand is not merely an exotic tourist paradise, but it is also a site of sexual exploitation and systemic injustice. The portrayal of sex tourism and domestic prostitution reveals the commodification of Thai female bodies as a result of neo-colonial contact, while the depiction of corruption suggests that bribery is normalized in Thai society, exposing structural inequality and injustice. These two negative aspects of Thainess are juxtaposed with the romanticized image of the country perceived by Westerners as a tourist paradise. This Thainess is integral to the author’s transnational identity as a Thai American writer, whose writing is shaped by the context of his home country. While foregrounding Thainess and diversifying the voices in the broad field, this book also challenges the dominance of East Asian American literature.