Thailand and the façade of tolerance

By Low Jia Wei

‘LGBTs are like tuk-tuks’.

Quite the odd comparison isn’t it? Still it’s a seemingly apt simile as told by Paisaran Likhitpreechakul. A tuk tuk is showy, fun and novel, but still far from being on par with an actual taxi. Paralelly, people of different sexual orientation and gender identities outside of the norm face a similar problem. To the untrained eye (i.e. tourist), Thailand looks to be a haven for the LGBT. After all, transwomen walk the streets of Bangkok in perfect normalcy, with no one batting an eyelid, save perhaps a first time visitor, while gay men from around the world flock to Bangkok for ‘the most beautiful boys in the world’ as put by Likhitpreechakul. Yet despite the open secret that is the LGBT community of Thailand (most know, but won’t admit it), it is hardly free of the pervasive grasp of homophobia and transphobia, let alone a ‘haven’ for LGBTs.

It is not to say that LGBTs don’t enjoy a certain amount of ‘tolerance’ (and I use this in the loosest sense of the word). Many find their place in Thai society. Yet the place is one of deferment; to know their place in the order of things and not to step out of bounds and demand more. Trans and looking for a job? Don’t worry; sex work is not your only option. There’s an endless possibility of menial jobs like store clerks, waitresses and cashiers. Just don’t exceed your grasp and hope to be a doctor, lawyer or teacher. God forbid that a transperson help change the world. The shame!

It would seem the tenuous ‘tolerance’ stems from objectifying, commodifying and exploitative roots. It’s good for business that there be a Bangkok Gay Pride parade. After all street parties mean that plenty of farangs will be there, readily doling out the dollars, pounds or euros to gay related business establishments. It would seem the pride event has become less of a statement for equality and more of a bank statement for the businesses that began the thing.

The subject of gay and trans is also often a subject of ridicule and derision. While ‘tolerated’, to be gay or trans is not exactly what many Thais would consider shouting about. It is a culture that is permissive, so long as you’re not caught. Much like other societies, there are always ones that live in the glass closet. The whole world knows, or at least speculates, that the sexual orientation of these individuals are not of the norm, yet most turn a blind eye. And should the proverbial cat be let out of the bag, tolerant is the last word that would be use to describe the angry mob that would vilify the person, despite whether it is true or not. It is certainly not false in the Malaysian context, in reference to certain allegations thrown at a certain politician, and certainly true in Thailand as well. Former Thai premier, Abhisit Vejjajiva was the target of trans and gay insults by opposition protesters. Which begs the question, can a society that deems being gay or trans as inherently ‘bad’ be considered ‘tolerant’.

To say that Thai society is an LGBT tolerant nation simply because of the non-issue of being trans or gay is oversimplifying things. I say that LGBT ‘tolerance’ is a façade created by outside eyes as they fail to see the real deal for LGBT individuals that live within the society. There are many examples to support this case, such as the classification of transwomen as having ‘mental psychosis’, failure to allow name changes for trans individuals after sexual reassignment surgery, homosexual relationships not being afforded the same rights as heterosexual relationships of the same nature and in worse cases, attacks against LGBT individuals for being LGBT. The nature of the beast is hard to discern. It could be that the transphobia and homophobia stem from the popular rhetoric according to Thai Buddhist belief that being LGBT is immoral and because of sins in a past life, or the hierarchical structure of Thai society that places LGBT individuals at the bottom of the totem pole, or perhaps it because it doesn’t match up to the notion of ‘Thai culture’ (sound familiar?). Whatever it maybe, one thing is clear at least, the notion of Thailand as the LGBT paradise where everything is accepted as is, is a fallacy and a façade. 

Low Jia Wei, 24 is majoring in Writing and International Studies and enjoys the simple things in life, like 6x6 Sudoku puzzles and beginners level Minesweeper.