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The 'new' ubosot of Luang Phor Sathorn (Copyright Andrea Whittaker)
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Praying to Luang Phor Sathorn at the 'new' site (Copyright Andrea Whittaker)
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Making offerings at the 'old' site of Luang Phor Sathorn. The Buddha statues are in the background surrounded by pilgrims (Copyright Andrea Whittaker)
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The Erawan Shrine (Copyright Andrea Whittaker)
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The entrance to Jao Phor Seua temple (Copyright Andrea Whittaker)
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Items for purchase at a market stall near Jao Phor Seua shrine, including a sign advertising 'Sets for asking for a child' (Copyright Andrea Whittaker)
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A 'set' of sugar lions for purchase to be presented to redeem vows at Jao Phor Seua Shrine (Copyright Andrea Whittaker)
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The entrance to Wat Mangorn Kamalawat, Yaowarat (Copyright Andrea Whittaker)
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One of the many shops near the shrine selling religious paraphernalia for offerings. Note the bags of oranges for sale (Copyright Andrea Whittaker)
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San Jao Mae Thap Thim in Nai Lert Park within a sacred grove, with offerings of flowers, candles and incense and lingams in the background (Copyright Andrea Whittaker)
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View of the shrine showing the many lingam offerings at the site (Copyright Andrea Whittaker)
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Detailed view of some of the lingam offerings at the site (Copyright Andrea Whittaker)
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The waiting area of an infertility clinic in one of the public hospitals (Copyright Andrea Whittaker)
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The author and embryologist having a tour of the laboratory in a public hospital (Copyright Andrea Whittaker)
Series
Volume 30
Fertility, Reproduction and Sexuality: Social and Cultural Perspectives
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Thai in Vitro
Gender, Culture and Assisted Reproduction
Andrea Whittaker
276 pages, 17 illus., bibliog., index
ISBN 978-1-78238-732-9 $135.00/£99.00 / Hb / Published (June 2015)
eISBN 978-1-78238-733-6 eBook
Reviews
“Andrea Whittaker’s Thai in Vitro is a superb ethnography of assisted reproductive technologies (ARTs) and how knowledge concerning infertility is produced and circulated in the encounter between individuals seeking treatment and medical professionals. The book is an important contribution to anthropological studies of reproductive health and the anthropology of Thailand, and it is relevant to anthropologists and sociologists as well as to public health and STS scholars… In addition to being a refined theoretical analysis of the subject, it also works as a model example of ethnographic research methods.” • Medical Anthropology Quarterly
“The book is of a highly detailed ethnographical spirit but also offers insightful theoretical analysis. I would highly recommend reading this book to anyone who is seeking to understand the inner workings of Thai society. Its implications go well beyond its subject matter.” • Newbooks.asia
“…an important contribution to the growing field of social studies of infertility treatment… Assisted reproductive technologies (ARTs) are now routine throughout the world, and it is crucial that we learn more about how they gain a foothold in particular countries.” • Ayo Wahlberg, University of Copenhagen
“This is a splendid piece of scholarly work, and demonstrates the discipline of anthropology and of fine-grained ethnographic research and critically reflexive analysis at its best. It fills a much needed gap in the anthropology of Thailand and in the provision of solid ethnographic data on the topic of assisted reproduction more generally.” • Graham Fordham, Australian National University
“[This book] is scholarly and extremely well researched but is also very readable and beautifully written… It is accessible but also respectful to all previous work which it engages with, and summarizes, very well.” • Heather Montgomery, The Open University
Description
In Thailand, infertility remains a source of stigma for those couples that combine a range of religious, traditional and high-tech interventions in their quest for a child. This book explores this experience of infertility and the pursuit and use of assisted reproductive technologies by Thai couples. Though using assisted reproductive technologies is becoming more acceptable in Thai society, access to and choices about such technologies are mediated by differences in class position. These stories of women and men in private and public infertility clinics reveal how local social and moral sensitivities influence the practices and meanings of treatment.
Andrea Whittaker is an ARC Future Fellow and Convenor of Anthropology at Monash University. She is a medical anthropologist whose most recent publications include Abortion, Sin and the State in Thailand (2004) and Abortion in Asia: Local dilemmas, global politics (ed., Berghahn Books 2010).