Yvonne Bohwongprasert, a feature writer in the Life section of the Bangkok Post, writes in a column on Mar 1, 2012:
On the outside, it might seem that gays, transgenders and lesbians have assimilated well into Thai society. However, in reality this is far from true. While I don't fall into any of the aforementioned sexual orientations, I have an uncle who is gay, a nephew who is showing likely signs of being gay and a handful of gay friends who have become a part of my family through years of friendship. From spending time in their circle of friends, I have deduced a genuine need to campaign against homophobia, which can demonstrate its ugly side through various ways. What I have found is not so much outward hostility towards or fear of gay people, but rather social ideologies which stigmatise homosexuality.
Homophobia is unfortunately far from new in this predominantly Buddhist nation. Despite the Buddha's core teachings of compassion, most people opt to treat such individuals with disdain, often making homosexuals and transgenders objects of ridicule in movies, television commercials and daily conversation. They are often labelled as being promiscuous, self-indulgent and deserving of little respect. The holier-than-thou approach of people who feel they are justified in poking fun at gays and lesbians because of the belief that they have supposedly committed sins, particularly adultery I was told, in their past lives is in my opinion the perfect excuse to have a laugh at the expense of someone who has little means of retaliating.
...
Truth be told, Thai-style "tolerance" is only applicable when you stay put in your place and march to the drum of the cultural pecking order. It is a well-known fact that Gay Pride parades in provinces such as Chiang Mai are often not encouraged on the pretext that it will damage their reputable cultural heritage. Marginalising people due to their sexual orientation is taking the country back to the Stone Age. It is pivotal to address LGBT rights, which is an integral part of human rights.
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Reader's Comments
Yes there are workplace issues with individuals and "regular" straight men and women are always expected to live up to social "ideals" but I am not sure if /how much this is different for gay/lesbians. I speak fluent Thai and am in BKK from time to time but more often in NE Thailand and I just do not hear a lot of negative chatter about gay people or lesbians. Let's face it, trannies are different because they tend to be a bit "outrageous" sometimes in their dress and deportment but they have chosen to be like that so that is their short term "karma."
We must also stand tall and demand the respect from the people around us. The holier-than-thou approach of people who feel they are justified in poking fun at gays and lesbians must stop !
If we amongts our selves cannot even stand united as one - how else can we expect to blend with the mainstream ? We got to get our acts together !!
I find many Phillipino's do not know how to handle a gay person who is generally straight acting and do not fit into thier preconcieved ideas (largely from TV) of what gay people are. I hope in time this will change but with many social changes in the Philippines it is likely to slow and full of pitfalls.
Matahari_gar I agree in principle, but we have to act with respect so we can get it. Everybody gets fun poked at them, so we are no different. A self effacing sense of humor can really disarm the opposition anyway.
Harvey Milk knew that if everyone on earth who was queer came out to their friends, relatives and coworkers, then homophobia would have to be confronted, battled, and defeated forever, rather than be allowed to linger on, in public or in the shadows.
We don't like to push for this option, as we know it will likely bring suffering and pain to both gay people and those around them. But I truly believe it's the only way that true equality, and true acceptance has a hope of being realized. Gays fought - actually FOUGHT - for acceptance in the 60s, 70s and 80s. Why aren't we taking up the fight?
I didn't know about Thailand LGBT until now.
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