Two-Faced Thailand: The Ugly Si Of 'Asia’s Gay Capal' | HuffPost The WorldPost

Contents:

• TWO-FACED THAILAND: THE UGLY SI OF 'ASIA’S GAY CAPAL'
• THE BTER TTH BEHD THAILAND'S GAY-IENDLY IMAGE
• GAY, MLIM, THAI: ARTIST UGHT TUG OF WAR
• THE 5 BEST BANGKOK GAY CLUBS & BARSGAY CLUBS & BARS BANGKOK
• GAYS THAILAND: IS A LGBT IENDLY UNTRY FOR TOURISM?
• GAY M/M THAILAND - (MOVI)
• HOMOSEXUALITY AND GAY LIFE IN THAILAND
• GAY THAILAND
• “GAY TOILET”: THAI TEMPLE AIMS TO BE MORE WELG, MISS MARK ON GENR NTRAL
• BANGKOK GAY MASSAGE SPAS & THERAPISTS

TWO-FACED THAILAND: THE UGLY SI OF 'ASIA’S GAY CAPAL'

Thailand has been marketg self recent years as a “pk” tourist statn, a untry iendly to queer travelers seekg everythg om gay go-go bars to bety pageants featurg trans women (known Thailand as “kathoey” or “ladyboys”. )And the strategy seems to be year, foreigners scend on Bangkok’s gay bars drov, and many flock to the untry’s clics to unrgo genr nfirmatn activists say this queer-iendly image is only sk ep. “There is a quote [that says] that Thai society unofficially accepts, but officially rejects, gay and lbian people, ” Anjana Suvarnananda, print of LGBT rights group Anjaree, told Phet News 2013.

THE BTER TTH BEHD THAILAND'S GAY-IENDLY IMAGE

”LGBT activists say, however, that the new law, though very posive, is but a small step forward for the are still no laws or polici place protectg LGBT people on the grounds of sexual orientatn Thailand, which crimalized homosexualy the 1950s. Speakg to the Bangkok Post, activist Naiyana Supapung relled a se of a gay child who tried to kill himself by drkg sectici after he was “huiated by a teacher who had orred him to stop speakg and actg like a girl.

The Thai Government has approved a same-sex civil partnership bill to crease the legal rights of gay and lbian upl, and Bangkok’s top private hospal, Bumngrad, opened a clic specifilly for LGBTQ+ patients 2021. Homophobia still exists, of urse, as do every untry, but is rare Thailand, and beg ls mon as young Thai people are reared a natn that’s creasgly clive of gay and lbian people. The wispread warmth Thailand towards the gay and lbian muny was highlighted April 2021 after a Thai gay uple received ath threats om Indonian ter ers for postg photos of their weddg.

Thailand wel lbian, gay, bisexual and transgenr (LGBT) visors: s tourism thory targets the LGBT market, and Bangkok is often the only Asian cy clud on lists of gay-iendly tourist statns around the world.

GAY, MLIM, THAI: ARTIST UGHT TUG OF WAR

By parison, more than 70 per cent of young people Japan, South Korea, the Philipp and wtern European untri thk that homosexualy should be accepted by society at large, acrdg to the Pew Rearch Centre, an Amerin thk-tank. “I fd surprisg that Thailand, beg one of the most gay-iendly untri [for foreigners], do not have laws that support and protect the LGBT muny, ” says L’Estrange, an Irish-Amerin who has lived here for almost 10 years. The Anjaree Group, Thailand’s largt lbian and gay rights activist anisatn, has cricised the bill for not grantg homosexual upl the same rights as their heterosexual unterparts.

THE 5 BEST BANGKOK GAY CLUBS & BARSGAY CLUBS & BARS BANGKOK

Though approved by the untry’s bet, the plan has to get through Parliament to bee Lal/Associated PrsBANGKOK — In a untry that has long been a rare bastn Asia for gay, lbian, bisexual and transgenr people, Thailand said on Wednday that had approved a draft bill that would give same-sex unns many of the same benefs as those of heterosexual bill, approved by the bet, avoids the term “marriage” but allows for the legal registratn of same-sex partnerships. And four transgenr people were elected to Parliament last discrimatn persists, wh gay and transgenr dividuals often enuraged to enter certa fields like entertament or fashn. Rights activists say that the welg attu toward gay tourists may not be as pervasive toward Thais the civil partnership bill is approved by Parliament, Thailand will jo Taiwan as the only plac Asia that provi elements of legal equaly for same-sex upl.

Ple, a former sports promoter, noted that she was still intified as male on her Thai inty rd and mt e male facili at public Malaysia, Sgapore and other Asian natns, gay sex is a crimal offense. Bnei last year enacted laws llg for ath by stong for gay sex and adultery, but after an ternatnal outcry, the natn’s sultan said that pal punishment had not been rried out for s and that the moratorium on the ath penalty would year, a judge Sgapore rejected efforts to overturn rarely enforced lonial-era legislatn that uld lead to up to two years’ imprisonment for nsensual sexual relatns between two men. BANGKOK (Thomson Rters Foundatn) - Photos of gay Mlims, their bodi superimposed wh relig text; imag of a transgenr woman, filmed olickg on a Thai beach as sermons waft om a nearby two provotive works by Samak Kosem, a gay Thai Mlim who art to explore how LGBT+ Thais the rtive south rencile their relign wh their sexual is a clash the artist knows well.

Thailand, a largely nservative Buddhist society, crimalised homosexualy 1956, and is wily seen as havg a relaxed attu towards genr and sexual untry drafted a Civil Partnership Bill that legally regnized same-sex upl as civil partners, and recently elected four LGBT+ members of LGBT+ people still face discrimatn, many rejected by fay and mocked at work, human rights activists LGBT+ Mlims the ep south, which has been riven by nflict, the challeng are even greater, said Samak, who went to a rintial Islamic school, or “pondok”, at age and other boys were sexually abed by olr boys the pondok, he said. “But no one talked about what was really gog on, ” said the 35-year-old artist, who recently created a photo seri lled “Pondan unr the Pondok” - g a lol term that is ed to shame gay or transgenr people to highlight the hypocrisy. A separatist surgency sce 2004 has killed nearly 7, 000 domant Malay Mlim culture mak homosexualy a sensive - even dangero - topic, and many LGBT+ Mlims are forced to hi their sexual inty, said Samak, who has terviewed dozens of LGBT+ Mlims the short film “Neverland”, which shows a transgenr woman vortg a sarong on a Thai beach, obliv to the surroundg glar, recently featured a Hong Kong gallery.

GAYS THAILAND: IS A LGBT IENDLY UNTRY FOR TOURISM?

Analysis by the Thomson Rters Foundatn showed that while more untri are g legal clout to regnize LGBT+ rights, the pace of change has stalled amid an latg nservative and relig May beme the first place Asia to legalize same-sex marriage, and India last year stck down a lonial-era law that crimalized the same time, Mlim-majory untri such as Bnei, Indonia and Malaysia have cracked down the growg visibily of LGBT+ Mlim artists and mpaigners, an openly gay imam Atralia, and LGBT-iendly pondoks and mosqu the regn are good signs, said Samak. Bee of 's central lotn and easy accs, you get guys om all over Bangkok - Rangs the far North, Ratchada, and Shumv - so you tend to see hotti that you normally don't see if you vised the ual gay areas like Silom. Shroud ntroversy, Love of Siam beme an unexpected h, brgg over 40 ln baht ($2 ln) s first a time when was a stggle to fd a gay character on Thai televisn, the film's succs sent an emphatic msage to entertament media pani: there was money to be ma same-sex recent years the genre known as 'boys' love' has spread fast across South-East Asia and is reachg cult stat some parts of the Wt, spe the anxieti of nservative parts of Thai society.

"Now young gay men n hold their hand public and don't really need to hi their sexual inty, " he Nattapol Diloknawar, who plays a protagonist the popular seri Together Wh Me, has also wnsed a change Thai society sce the boy's love sensatn took hold. "I thk everyone n accept [homosexualy] … Thai society has changed the last two years sce Together Wh Me started, " he JapanWhile Thailand has earned a reputatn as the ternatnal hotspot for the genre, n trace s origs to Japan, a untry wh a homo-erotic tradn that dat to the mediaeval the mid-1970s a group of women Tokyo known as the Fabulo 49ers (named for their llective birth year) began creatg manga ics that foced on the love between young boys.

"Younger fans 'watch secret'Dpe the succs of the genre, the gay muny Thailand still fac many Bunyavejchew scrib the untry as "a land of ntrast" homosexualy is not illegal, he says that "do not mean that Thai society accepts such sexual orientatns".

GAY M/M THAILAND - (MOVI)

"Rather, they tolerate the prence of non-heterosexual people, " he Thai state rarely puts hard sanctns on mascule homoerotism, but often the productn of such ntent is unrmed via more subtle means. Tripadvisor performs checks on, France222 ntributnsOne of the popular gay dance club Bangkok, which loted silom soi 2, they play a great mic every night and all night until 2 pm, every night is a baret show.

And surely that is why Bangkok attracts lns of gay tourists, immigrants and expats search of fun, a eer life or a relatnship that their untri of orig would be rejected, clanste or simply impossible. The realy may not be that simple, and realy many gay Thais are versatile, but self-intifitn wh an ‘active’ or ‘passive’ role will help them troduce themselv and relate to their gay iends a particular way. One of the worst sex sndals ever Thailand took place 1819, durg the reign of Kg Rama II, when a high-rankg monk, a Somt, was found guilty of enjoyg homosexual activi wh some of his good-lookg male discipl.

HOMOSEXUALITY AND GAY LIFE IN THAILAND

1992), extremely low rat of male homosexual behavr were reported; the thors utned that, due to societal attus, the timat were probably too low and reflected the rearch participants' unrreportg of homoerotic and homosexual experienc (the prevalence of same-genr sexual behavr will be further reviewed below). A public statement of homosexual inty would vlate two important valu of Thai culture: harmony - not to nont disagreements or nflicts - and the great value placed upon prervatn of fay uns and prervg leage through marriage and procreatn. Allyn (1991) also ntends that the anti-homosexual attus the Thai society are primarily the discrimatn agast the feme kathoey, who, acrdg to stereotype, display overt and loud genr-atypil social manners.

GAY THAILAND

The “Encyclopedia of Sexualy: Thailand” reports: The attus toward homosexualy are que plex: On the one hand, the behavr is clearly stigmatized, and on the other, tolerated.

“GAY TOILET”: THAI TEMPLE AIMS TO BE MORE WELG, MISS MARK ON GENR NTRAL

“Overall, most ntemporary Thais view heterosexualy as the norm; homosexualy is seen as a viance or an unnatural act, often rultg om one's bad karma or the lack of mer past liv. Many Thai physicians and psychologists still subscribe to the antiquated theori and rema imperv to new rearch fdgs or the Amerin Psychiatric Associatn's classifitn of homosexualy as a mental illns 1974.

To reveal one's homosexual orientatn to one's parents would, a sense, vlate the Third Precept of Buddhism, and this has ed many Thai gays and lbians to hi their homosexualy om their parents for fear of g them sorrow (Allyn 1991).

Th, a person's homosexual sex, per se, may be easier for his or her fay than other more visible featur, such as long-term same-genr relatnships (Jackson 1989) or g out as an openly gay or lbian person.

BANGKOK GAY MASSAGE SPAS & THERAPISTS

Dpe some ambivalence toward homosexualy many Buddhist cultur, Cabezón (1993) not Buddhism only nmns homosexualy more for beg an stance of sexualy rather than s same-genr sex. As for other sectns of the Buddhist non, John Garret Jon has nclud that there is an implic affirmatn om the silence regardg homosexualy, and the silence is certaly not due to the lack of material. “Whereas the non is silent about homosexualy, the Jataka lerature, which the prevly mentned tale of Prce Vsantara is embedd, is replete wh sentiments about same-genr affectn.