Typically, Thai people have interpreted emerging sexualities as new ‘genders’, alongside the historical trio of women, men and kathoeys (transgender). Therefore, identities such as gay ‘king’, ‘queen’ and ‘quing’ (masculine, feminine and versatile gay men, respectively), and for lesbians, ‘tom’, ‘dee’ and ‘les’, are seen as alternative, mutually exclusive genders. Notably, the male-to-female transgender group, now often called ‘second category women’, has a relatively high profile in Thailand. As a result of the sexual/gender diversity and fluidity, there are few reports of violent homophobia in Thailand.
However, it would be erroneous to see the country as any kind of ‘gay heaven’. While the male gay scene of bars, discos, saunas and spas is large and draws plenty of tourists into the country, lesbians and transgender people have considerably fewer group-specific entertainment venues.
Moreover, Thai sexual minorities often face problems in the form of silent non-acknowledgement and non-acceptance, rather than open oppression. They may face problems in families of origin, employment and education, whenever it is known that they do not conform to gender and sexuality norms.
Thai law reflects this: there are neither laws forbidding homosexual or cross-gender behaviours, nor laws protecting the rights of sexual minorities (One notable exception is the vague Statement of Intent that expands the sexual equality clause in the new 2007 constitution.) Therefore, GLBT Thais are devoid of rights such as marriage, inheritance, legal recognition of sex change, and protection against discrimination.
Thailand has built a relatively active GLBT rights movement in the past 10 to 20 years. Beginning with the lesbian group Anjaree about 20 years ago, Thailand has built a relatively active GLBT rights movement that includes groups such as Rainbow Sky, Bangkok Rainbow, MPlus and Sisters. These groups, together with the National Human Rights commission, have campaigned on several legal issues during the last few years. Achievements include stopping the military branding transgendered draftees as mentally ill (although the process reportedly still continues) and updating the rape law to include non-vaginal forms of rape. Recently proposed initiatives to further broaden the sexual equality clause for the new constitution and to give transgendered individuals the right to legal acknowledgement of their sex change were rejected by Thailand’s legislative bodies.
Timo Ojanen is a Finnish gay man, studying Counselling Psychology and volunteering in a sexual diversity organization in Bangkok. He speaks, reads and writes Thai.
