Editor's Last Words

By Low Jia Wei

As I stepped into the familiar 7-Eleven corner store of my apartment back in Malaysia, something rang different about it. Sure, it had the iconic ‘7’ and the familiar dee-doo ring that greeted patrons, but there were some things amiss. As I stood in front of the beverage chillers, my eyes searched the cans, looking for that refreshing manao soda and the cultured milk drink we so fondly dubbed ‘wizard drink’. Sadly, there were none to be found. At the cashier’s desk, in place of rotating sausages of all manners (pork, chicken, cheese filled, spicy, etc.) were breath mints and condoms. When I received my change from the cashier for my paltry pack of Chips Ahoy, the words that were my mantra for the past 9 days escaped my lips. Khob kun khap.

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It’s been quite the journey for me, this year’s study trip. I had a feeling I might have bitten off more than I could chew when I unceremoniously became Chief Editor (which I shamelessly vied for). My premonitions were correct. This year’s team of travelers had quite the personalities, from the headstrong leader of the video team, Farah to the sassy (I mean that in a good way) webmaster, Leena to our very wary chaperone, Andrea, who must have needed a ton of eye drops from keeping her eyes peeled all the time in the dusty city of Krung Thep. In the immortal words of Helen Sneha, “This can go either really badly or really well.” Thank the divine it was the latter.

We’ve been mostly free of major conflicts throughout this trip, for which I am very much grateful. Indeed, our journey through Bangkok and Buriram was very much drama free and our team really did well in working together. Special commendations should be given to the writers, editors and the online team (basically everyone) for maintaining an excellent work ethic and updating the blog on time every night. Ironically, however, I am writing this post five days late.

For the ‘study’ portion of the study trip, I for one had a fantastic time with our speakers and facilitators. It’s really the opportunity to see the underbelly and lived experiences of a place that makes it all the more special to me, and that we did. Learning about the politics and history of Thailand from Professor Thitinan was especially enlightening to me, short as it may have been, and it really was quite the eye opener to learn of the many, many coups that Thailand has experienced in a century alone. And talking to Empower and learning about Bangkok’s sex tourism industry was also an experience unto itself which I hope has cleared some preconceptions that some of us might have had about sex workers. And I daresay all of us got quite a kick out of watching a spunky, five foot, middle aged lady wear a sparkly bikini top (it’s less sordid than I make it out to be). Learning about Thailand’s supposed LGBT acceptance is also a learning opportunity that was invaluable. So many of us (don’t deny it) associate Thailand with the kaythoey (ladyboys), gay Thai boys, and society’s perceived tolerance, that we automatically assume it must be a Mecca for LGBT people. But as always it’s never quite as cut and dry as it seems. I guess while I’m at it, I should say that Muay Thai is really, really fun. Though the experience could have been made better by not having to put on extremely sweaty gloves and handwraps. And not having a professional Muay Thai fighter send bullets of sweat flying onto a certain editor’s face via backflips.

It’s nice to be home, but at the same time I will miss things about Bangkok and Thailand. I’ll miss the food. I’ll miss the clean streets of Bangkok. I’ll miss the 7-Elevens. I’ll miss Dr. Moore chattering away in Thai and calling us lunatics. I’ll miss singing loudly in a tourist bar with reckless abandon. I’ll miss the polite nature of Thais. I’ll miss the 30 baht cans of beer. I’ll miss watching other tourists squirm at the sight of fried insects. I’ll miss being able to practice my badly mispronounced Thai, limited as it may be. I’ll miss being able to have a delicious meal for less than 40 baht (~RM4). I’ll miss waiting for the ridiculously packed BTS train and chatting with my fellow comrades. I’ll miss discussing politics, religion, shopping and music with my fellow travelers.

But most of all, I’ll miss the mangoes. By Jove, I’ll miss the mangoes. 

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

Thai Advertising: A Genre of its Own

Commercials and advertisements have always been a great source of intrigue and enjoyment for me. They reveal a lot about the society we live in through signifiers in advertisements, be it television, online or print. And when it comes to foreign advertising, no other country does it like Thailand.

I remember a few years ago, there was a slew of really gripping Thai commercials that surfaced on YouTube. And I do mean gripping. It’s the kind of ads you don’t mind watching over and over again, no matter how much it might annoy your friends, like listening to ‘Rolling in the Deep’ by Adele. It’s the kind of commercial where you wish the starchy soap opera would quickly reveal who the real father is just so it’ll jump to commercials (hint: it’s usually the brother). I’m sure we all have at least one such ad in mind. Well in the case of Thailand, they really outdid themselves when in comes to the advertisement department. They’ve managed to make 30 seconds to a minute (sometimes two) of airtime more engaging than a two hour-long Michael Bay film. Although to be fair, a baby rattle is usually more engaging than most of his films (and considerably less expensive too).

Despite not being able to understand Thai (with the exception of hello and thank you), the kinds of work that comes out in Thai television airways is quite universal, like this Pantene ad: 

I know what you’re thinking. What does a deaf girl playing the violin have to do with shampoo? Quite frankly, nothing. As far as stretches go, this one was really reaching for it. Still, one can’t deny that it was an absolutely enthralling piece that pulled at your heartstrings. Who’d want to watch yet another ad of a pretty girl with unbelievably smooth, silky hair tells us that a RM20 bottle of shampoo is her secret (I’m not sure how much a bottle of shampoo costs in Thailand). Not me, for sure. While the story might be a little contrived following in the vein of television dramas (complete with the archetypal jealous rival), it was a stroke of creative genius to use a genre that appeals to the female as means of hitting the mark with their target demography.

Let’s not forget his little gem as well: 

A little closer to home with the story than the Pantene one and still a very watchable ad. These tear jerkers are very reminiscent of Malaysia’s own late creative genius, Yasmin Ahmad. While she was still alive, around major festive seasons (Hari Raya, Chinese New Year and Deepavali) I’d wait with bated breath for her newest Petronas ad. While the cynics in us might not see Malaysia as a truly united nation, her optimism in her ads offer a contrary to the view, often done in the most delightful and poignant way.  

But I digress.

Thailand has no shortage of creative juices when in the advertising department, judging from the ads I’ve seen on the trains and on the local television. But much like how others fail at capturing our hearts with 60 seconds of air time when compared to Yasmin Ahmad’s ads, Thai commercials thus far have been a let down compared to the great stuff it’s churned out previously.

I wonder what happened.




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

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.