It could be argued though that looking naughty, acting flirtatiously and wearing skimpy revealing clothes is now as ingrained in modern Thai society as the dreaded TV game show. No need to suddenly turn around, do the Culture Ministry thing, and blame the West for its influence, as here below is the "amazing" reality:

In this modern day and age, before the cute Bangkokian girl baby can even say "mama", her proud mother is parading her around the capital's air-conditioned shopping malls, hoping to hear delightful praise like "what a cute little baby - such a nice nose with lovely fair skin". Dressed up in a cute little baby outfit with her hair done up in a big fancy bow, mother is showing off her tiny package to every passer-by as if she were a Barbie doll. No remorse is shown for making the poor baby shiver away in the sub-zero temperatures with a big blue nose and pleading for a warm cot. As for baby-less women, they can take a cute little doggy around instead.

A few years later and cute little baby has grown into a healthy toddler in kindergarten. Then, even before she can count to 10, mum and teacher are already training her for the life of a wannabe beauty queen. Togged out in a kit of high heels, miniskirt and colourful stockings and her face plastered in makeup, she is waltzed off to the local temple or town show to dance away on stage mimicking some popular look thung (Thai folk music) performer. Absolutely the kind of performance the likes of John Mark Karr would be fascinated by.

Now, the Education Ministry may not be the staunchest supporter of sexy high-school behaviour but they certainly don't seem to mind it, and the traditional annual sports day is a fine example of officials and teachers turning a blind eye to it.

There is no day in the school calendar year that pretty high-school girls await more eagerly than the traditional "Colour Sports Day". Contrary to the given name of the event, sports do not take the highest priority, but looking raunchy does. With the full backing of parents and teachers, all the best-looking girls are chosen to be sexy, saucy cheerleaders for the day. If you have ever witnessed such an event you may have been rather shocked to see the likes of Grade-9 girls dressed up in sultry skirts, knee-high leather boots and even suspenders. I have never once heard about the ministries of Culture or Education throwing their arms in the air bemoaning such a sizzling spectacle and complaining along the lines of "Oooooh, this is so un-Thai". So, why is this culturally acceptable and coyote dancing for mature girls not? Hmmm, makes me wonder.

I had another memorable laugh lately reading some delightful quotes from the honourable education officials, such as "we have our dress regulations and our students ought to adhere to our strict university uniform recommendations". The truth of the matter is that universities realise that if they seriously enforced dress regulations then their admissions in the following year would plummet by 50 per cent - not a bright business proposal. Indeed, naughty dress is supported and even promoted.

Anyone who has been in Bangkok for even a day cannot fail to spot university girls in tops so extremely short and tight that you can see their belly buttons from 50 metres away. As for technical colleges, one of their finest marketing strategies to entice new female students was a cute Japanese-style uniform. There are even big annual awards to be won and the educational establishments enjoy nothing more than having their lovely Lolitas participating in such national "kinky techno outfit" competitions.

Skimpy revealing clothing is everywhere and there is no need to trot out the classic "Western influence" phrase any more. The trendy modern girl need only turn to afternoon TV to admire legions of look thung singers and their dancers showing off their feminine assets and bopping away on screen. If the authorities think they can clamp down on coyote dancing, they ought to first ban the likes of pop sensation Tata Young, who loves thrilling her fans in the smallest bikinis she can morally get away with. Again, I haven't heard the Culture Ministry calling her un-Thai! Do you detect double standards here?

And on the subject of bikinis, why suddenly all the hype about coyote girls and their skimpy outfits when anyone of any age need visit a newspaper stand to see bikini-clad models posing for the covers of magazines. Open up a copy and you will see lots of back-alley clinics advertising nose jobs, eyelid jobs, lip jobs and other services that I dare not mention here. Even Thailand's best-selling national newspaper frequently has a picture of a well-known star in hot bikini attire plastered on the front. Let us not forget the ever-influential TV soaps that are packed with actresses dressed in spaghetti tops flaunting the highest-technology body alterations.

Besides coyote dancers, cosmetic braces and Botox, one of the newest fads is women's talk shows. Some of these programmes may have presenters dressed respectably but others have them posed in skirts so short you can almost hear the cameraman advising them "Just don't budge an inch". What is even worse for grandmothers to bear is that many of these "pretties" are presented in their university uniforms. Thailand just loves beauty and there are currently female chat shows aimed specifically at "barely teens", single working women and even one actually entitled "30, but still hot"!

Having frequented Thai-style discos since I first arrived here, I really can't understand all the sudden fuss about coyote girls. To me they are just an old product in a new package and nothing outrageously different to the kind of entertainment that such establishments have been dishing out to their customers for years and years. I never once failed to see a platoon of saucy-looking girls and semi-naked dancers at Thai discos, even before the arrival of coyote dancing.

As an advocate for people's rights, you are not going to hear me moan too much about such everyday scenarios. However, I would agree that there ought to be some sort of restrictions enforced on public obscenity, especially at places of worship and education.

We hear about the decadence of young Thai women every day, but which adult truly has the right to decide whether their behaviour is right or wrong when it is only a reflection of the Thailand that the older generation not only laid the foundations for, but also allowed, supported and promoted.

Steve Suphan

Special to The Nation

Steve Suphan is a co-founder of www.thai-blogs.com.