Cambodian youth live in a country undergoing rapid development and modernization. The srey kalip or modern women of Phnom Penh are an emerging demographic group of young urban females driving social change in the context of globalization. Despite their obvious presence in society, very little is known about this growing demographic and even less is known about their sexual behavior. This research employed a range of ethnographic methodologies in order to capture one essence of Phnom Penh’s modern women—their reproductive health seeking behavior. The results of this study indicate that the adoption of a modern identity has changed constructions of traditional Khmer femininity. This introduced “liberalism” challenges traditional ideas about what it means to be a Khmer woman and what it means to be a sexual woman. The srey kalip’s sexual and reproductive health needs present a much broader profile than the existing health system is capable of providing for. The availability of existing sexual and reproductive health services does not dovetail with their modern identity. This inability to acquire adequate reproductive health care is a consequence of the disjunction between the srey kalip’s modern identity and a less modern health system. The tension between the modern and traditional body are drawn into focus when the srey kalip seek medical care for reproductive health services and are unable to obtain care that meets their unique needs. This is not a problem restricted to Cambodia. Many developing nations around the world have populations of urban youth who are more globally interconnected and more modern than their parent’s generation. Ministries of Health and health service providers around the world need to develop innovative and dynamic strategies to meet the sexual health needs of their burgeoning modern youth populations. The opportunity to meet the sexual and reproductive health needs of youth is a task that Ministries of Health around the world cannot afford to waste.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:ADTP/279249 |
| Creators | Katia Peterson |
| Source Sets | Australiasian Digital Theses Program |
| Detected Language | English |
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