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Lance, have you been writing under the name Hor Nichukhi?

Posted by Rick Salasar

'SLEEPING WITH FATTIES' TALE : Writer sorry for 'offensive' story

The writer of a controversial article expressed his regret and apologised yesterday, weeks after his fictional magazine article argued that it was easy and convenient for men to sleep with "fat women" because they are dying to "get laid".

Pitak Srinakarm, who writes under the pen name Hor Nichukhi, wrote the article - titled "Sleeping with Fatties" - in GM Plus magazine last month, and some readers, especially females, found it offensive and chauvinistic.

The article contained a conversation between the writer and a fictitious male friend who advocates sleeping with fat women for sheer convenience, as well as the "fact" that they are most likely "begging for it", because "no one would sleep with them otherwise".

The characters make offensive statements like "Women, they're all no different from bitches, they all want to get screwed", "Fat people sweat a lot, that's why they stink . . . I tell them to take a shower first, but it takes a lot of soap and water", and "You can do it in whatever position you like, because [fat women] will do it all for you".

Criticism has flooded two local websites, and Pitak says he feels sorry and would like to apologise. But he insists what he wrote was only fiction, a "satire" meant as a "bad joke" to inform readers how some Thai men think of fat women.

"I'm normally a caring person. I'm not evil. If someone were to bad-mouth disabled or fat people for real, I wouldn't even talk to him," said Pitak, who admitted that the strong public reaction had caught him by surprise. "When I was first criticised, it puzzled me. Don't they understand the nature of writing?" he asked, adding that whatever a writer expresses in his writing does not necessarily reflect his personal views.

The magazine's editor has since terminated Pitak's fortnightly "Sexual Instinct" column, and Pitak said he had no problem with that.

When asked if he felt the level of freedom of expression was too restrictive in Thailand or whether hypocrisy is rife, Pitak said: "There should be an outlet [for such expression]. If I wrote this article in the West I don't think I would be as heavily criticised."

Ekchaya Suksiri, executive editor of GM Plus, said he regretted that people found it offensive. "As the editor, I feel sorry," he said. Even though no written apology for the article appeared in subsequent editions, Ekchaya said it was widely considered a sign of punishment when a column is abruptly discontinued like this. "There was no explanation [given to the readers], but I consider the termination [of the column] self-explanatory."

Ekchaya, whose last day as executive editor is today for unrelated reasons, complained that other magazines carried similarly offensive articles but somehow manage to get away with it. He added that when it comes to fiction, there was no right or wrong, only interpretation.

Pravit Rojanaphruk

Source: The Nation

Posted Feb 16, 2005 at 01:40 PM | Permalink |