Gooooooooooooooooood Push.
Bangkok, Thailand never ceases to bore me. The people who run this country are entertaining in so many ways. Mainly their laws, policies, and constant need to push moral values in a need to contain their youth. Its like they’re constantly trying to create a facade of the general populace.
Simply put, their logic is dumbfounded.
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BANGKOK (Reuters) – Thai cultural watchdogs have banned a line of condoms whose name translates as “Good Penetration,” saying the suggestive label could draw youngsters into having sex earlier, newspapers reported Tuesday.
The condoms are actually named “Tom Dundee” after the stage name of a popular country singer, but Culture Ministry officials said this was inappropriate and offended good norms and culture, the Thai Rath tabloid said.
“Dundee” in Thai means “Good Penetration.”
“Although the name is not vulgar or rude, it is ambiguous, boastful and provocative,” said Ladda Tangsupachai of the Cultural Watch Center.
“It could entice excessive consumption and lure children and youths with little maturity to start having sexual activities before their appropriate age,” she added.
Dundee, whose real name is Puntiva Poomiprates, defended lending his stage name to the condom brand.
He said he was merely following a government policy to promote safe sex in a country where over 500,000 people haveHIV orAIDS, and indicators point to climbing infection rates among the young.
“You can’t stop human desire, no matter how old they are, so it is better to protect them,” Puntiva told Reuters, adding that he had been telling his audiences about the risks of AIDS and unwanted pregnancy for years.
In Thailand, condom producers have to seek approval from both the Health and Culture ministries.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060808/od_nm/thailand_condoms_dc_1
that thailand has an organization called ‘the cultural watch centre’–thought police anyone?–is in itself an embarrassment.
Control the people, for they are the ones who want to be in control
There is nothing constructive in this post. Any tedious shortcomings can only ever being resolved from within. Thailand is going through a culturally destructive transition with many good points emerging, but some that are regrettable and are unlikely to ever reemerge.
Asia didn’t benefit from a bohemian society or a beatnik parallel or hippies or a romantic movement or Goethe, Oscar Wilde or even Bertrand Russell. It’s lurching from a society that treasured harmony built on agrarian fundamentals to metropolitan consumerism; which we are responsible for not thinking through properly.
It’s too much to expect common sense to prevail; after all, it’s not that common. Give the progressive Thais a chance and understand that for them it’s like having intellectually unchallenging parents. The only guidelines the fogies have are historical and frankly they are lost in the 3rd milennium. Admit it, we all are sometimes.
Step by step please; one of the plausible reasons for the more excessive patriotic manifestations of the country, could well be it’s highly visible popularity as a tourist destination. But for a society that places value on what is seen as against what is not seen (not unusual in S.E. Asia) it’s often the case that insecurity of the highly visible social, health care, educational, legal, political and judicial shortcomings are a source of embarrasment.
Try talking to Thais about how to improve schools, health provision, poverty, education, IQ levels and maybe the debate will take shape. But a condom name? Who gives a flying truck. Constructive discussion is best, although it’s an uphill task!
P.S. The kids are great. Right across the social spectrum. Much more switched on and reason for hope In my view.
They can use campaigns to reduce underage sex… but prevention is never the bad thing. Why banning the name of condom?… Don’t they have anything else better to do? … like banning the name of turkish baths? geez! These politicians should really get a life!!!
Thailand has suffered a downful, the HIV infections are again rising significantly and Mr Thaksin has done nothing to help prevent the spread of HIV.
Posted by Flower Thailand
I think I’d be more drawn to it if the condom was named “virgin” but hey maybe that’s just me.