Authorities in Thailand are freaking out over viral videos and photos of young women dancing without shirts at a traditional festival honoring Thai goddesses who are often depicted dancing without shirts.
The photos and videos of the three girls dancing bare breasted in Silom, Bangkok immediately went viral and generated intense debates on Thai culture and morality. The girls were slapped with a 500 Baht ($17) fine while the person who uploaded the video received a 100,000 Baht ($3,320) fine and a possible prison term for up to five years in violation of the Computer Crimes Act.
The Thai Ministry of Culture condemned the girls for “destroying the image” of Thailand and because of this issue, the Ministry will be issuing handbooks to educate the youth about Thai culture.
But opinions among civilian observers online varied:
Thailand’s Twitter-based observers did not appear bothered about three near-naked school girls dancing in front of a huge crowd of drunk men.
And one blogger in the region went so far as to characterize over-reacting bureaucrats as “a bunch of Thai cultural Taliban.” Them’s fightin’ words!
Thailand: Outrage Over Topless Teen Dancing (Global Voices, Mong Palatino)