Abstract:
thesis, the Relationship between Gender and Women's Self Value in Bangkok Metropolis, is a feminist qualitative research. The objectives are to study : 1) the relationship between gender and women's thoughs towards their self value. 2) the women's valued roles, aside from their conventional roles as wife, mother and daughter. The study covers the samples of 6 different groups, single, housewife, working women, abused women and single mom. The methodologies used are personal interview, focus group and mind mapping. The data collection span over 8-month period, covering a sample size of 35 women. The findings indicate that 1) All of the 35 women has been conditioned by the processes, as well as by the social institutes. Each has been gender socialized in a similar and dissimilar ways, depending on context particular to each one. As a result, theoretically, 3 distinct groups can be categorized: 2) A majority of women conform to the social expectations. 2.1) Therefore, patriarchy has become generally accepted among them; as a role of wife, mother, and daughter. 2.2) On the other hand, some women define their value in other roles, such as volunteers, those who act in bona fide, and working women. These roles are not what expected by Thai society. 2.3) The most interesting group is those who redefine new women's self value. Their value is not the execution of their roles, but rather their own perception and feeling towards themselves. However, such feeling is whimsical depending on the context and timing. Such women's value is dependent upon the environment and situation, not upon structural symbolic interaction