Helle B M Aasheim
PhD Candidate, Thai Studies Program, Chulalongkorn University
The purpose of this study was to examine the consumption pattern of Western fast food among women from Isan who are working and living in Bangkok. This study investigated the extent to which Isan women incorporate the consumption of Western food into their own lives, and the extent to which this is done by the process of cultural heterogenization versus cultural homogenization. Bangkok has a large Isan community and a significant proportion of them are women. The majority of these women do not have a university education and most are therefore employed in jobs that pay the minimum salary. In addition, most of these women live in cheap housing, they are forced to control their spending, and they are the sole breadwinner of their family back in Isan. This constant focus on money makes it difficult to purchase products which are not necessary to their survival; yet living in Bangkok they are surrounded by products, including Western fast food, that they were not exposed to while growing up in Isan.
The case study informants came from various provinces in the northeastern region of Thailand. They were followed to their homes where their eating and consumption patterns were studied, and a general set of knowledge about their lives was acquired. Their consumption pattern in Bangkok were also studied and then the data connected to their consumption of fast food was looked at to draw some conclusions regarding their eating habits in light of the heterogenization-homogenization framework.
(Presented in the 2012 Asian Food Heritage Forum: Harmonizing Culture , Technology and Industry, 20-21 August 2012, Imperial Queen’s Park Hotel, Bangkok, organized by Institute of Thai Studies, Institute of Asian Studies, Faculty of Fine and Applied Arts, Chulalongkorn University, Chinese Dietary Culture Institute, Zhejiang Gongshang University, and Ministry of Culture, Thailand)