Public display of affection in Khmer culture
November 13, 2008
I've always held it's against Khmer customs for couples, even married ones, to kiss and hold hands in public.
The rationale is that such public displays of affection encourage promiscuity among the young people. They undermine traditional Khmer values against premarital sexual relationships.
Today's society has been turned upside down. Recent studies have found that the majority of Khmer kids have sex by the age of 14 or 15.
The sex industry is booming here, catering to both locals and foreigners alike.
Everyday you see some 60-year-old white man walking hand-in-hand with a beautiful Khmer girl who is no more than 20 years old. The Khmer girl would walk with her head above the clouds, acting as if she is the only game in town. They'd kiss and hold hands on busy streets, in crowded shopping malls and restaurants, and other public places. Most Khmer people don't mind because they look up to white folks as symbols of wealth, power, justice, righteousness, and other good qualities-- if the white people do it, it somehow must be okay.
Many foreigners who come to Cambodia have no regard for Khmer sensitivities whatsoever. Some of their practices help to normalize certain behaviors that Khmer people find socially inappropriate.
As Cambodia continues to open up to outside influences, I think we also need to protect our customs and traditions better. Otherwise, our young people will be even more confused than they already are about their roles and obligations to their culture and heritage.
The rationale is that such public displays of affection encourage promiscuity among the young people. They undermine traditional Khmer values against premarital sexual relationships.
Today's society has been turned upside down. Recent studies have found that the majority of Khmer kids have sex by the age of 14 or 15.
The sex industry is booming here, catering to both locals and foreigners alike.
Everyday you see some 60-year-old white man walking hand-in-hand with a beautiful Khmer girl who is no more than 20 years old. The Khmer girl would walk with her head above the clouds, acting as if she is the only game in town. They'd kiss and hold hands on busy streets, in crowded shopping malls and restaurants, and other public places. Most Khmer people don't mind because they look up to white folks as symbols of wealth, power, justice, righteousness, and other good qualities-- if the white people do it, it somehow must be okay.
Many foreigners who come to Cambodia have no regard for Khmer sensitivities whatsoever. Some of their practices help to normalize certain behaviors that Khmer people find socially inappropriate.
As Cambodia continues to open up to outside influences, I think we also need to protect our customs and traditions better. Otherwise, our young people will be even more confused than they already are about their roles and obligations to their culture and heritage.
November 20th, 2008 at 12:21 pm
There’s nothing wrong for a married couple to kiss or hold hands in public as long as they don’t take it too far. ….like getting all over each other. Holding hands and a little peck here and there is ok. One thing about us Khmer people is that we tend to suppress our emotions too much that we have a hard time expressing it to our love ones even when we’re inside our own house. Look at the majority of khmer people here. A married couple hardly ever walk side by side with their mate, but rather a few feet away. Especially the older couples. Is that a good thing? And parents, especially the fathers never hold or kiss their own kids or tell them that they love them. Parents/children relationship is really distant and awkward. Kids show respect and fear to their parents, rather than love and respect? Is that how we ought to behave?