Making the GLBT world of hidden Thailand less hidden:
Gay history and the Bangkok Pride Festival 2007
By Jon Fernquest[Introduction|Article: Gay Resource Center|Article: Gay History]
[Reading Questions|Answers]
 |
Thailand is a country known for its tolerance of different sexual orientations including gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender orientations. "GLBT" is the acronym used to express both unity and difference in these groups.
The annual Bangkok Pride festival was held last week from November 3-11. The festival included several beauty pageants and culminated in a parade yesterday. Here is the description of the annual event from the official website:
Bangkok Pride Festival strives to engender a sense of community among the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender (GLBT) population in Thailand, and to empower everyone with a stronger sense of pride. The Bangkok Pride Festival is held around the beginning on November every year. (Source)
In perhaps the most important beauty pageant last week, Miss Tanyarat Jirapatpakon was crowned Miss International Queen 2007 yesterday. (See photo on right.)
Despite general tolerance among the Thai people, all has not been smooth sailing for GLBT rights in Thai government and law. Free speech and the gay media has been suppressed and censored, subject to Social Order crackdowns under the Thaksin administration.
The Thai Queer Resource Centre (TQRC) has been set up as a repository of historical source material on gay history in Thailand to combat this suppression. The first article included today discusses this resource center project that is being spearheaded by Australian National University professor Peter Jackson.
The second article is on gays in Thai history and the references to gays that can be found in texts as diverse as the Buddhist Tipitaka itself, ancient religious texts from Northern Thailand (Lanna), and law texts from the early Chakri dynasty. Prempreeda Pramoj na Ayutthaya, a scholar and researcher, provides the overview.
tolerance - allowing other people to say and do as they like, even if you do not agree with it
sexual orientations - different preferences (likes and dislikes) and beliefs about sex and life
transgender - "a general term applied to a variety of individuals, behaviors, and groups involving tendencies that diverge from the normative gender role (woman or man) commonly, but not always, assigned at birth, as well as the role traditionally" (Source: Wikipedia)
acronym - a short name for a long title (made from the first letters of the words in the title)
beauty pageants - beauty contests
culminated - the event that finishes a series of events
a queen - besides the most common definition of a "female monarch" this word also means an "especially feminine male gay person," a "drag queen" is one kind of "queen"
smooth sailing - have an easy time, be without problems
suppressed - prevent from continuing by force or by making it illegal
censored - when the government prevents the publication of things it doesn't like
references - taling about or mentioning
Reading Questions
Here are some questions to guide your reading (See answers at end):Article: Gay Resource Center
1. What is the TQRC?
2. What kind of resources does the TQRC contain?
3. Who was the TQRC founded by?
4. Why was the TQRC founded?
5. Is any other university or government library in Thailand collecting documenting gay history in Thailand?
6. Is there a lot of interest in researching gay history at Thai universities?
7. How was gay publishing suppressed by the Thaksin administration?
8. Why are historical materials from the past necessary?
9. Who is the co-ordinator of the TQRC?
Article: Gay History
1. What ancient texts was homosexuality mentioned in?
2. What is the evidence that ancient Lanna texts mention homosexuality?
Bangkok Post Article November 05, 2007
Thailand's secret history
An Australian academic is trying to preserve the story of Thailand's gay, lesbian and transgendered communities in the face of official oppositionStories by PICHAYA SVASTI
The Thai Queer Resource Centre (TQRC)
About 2,000 books, magazines, photo albums, video tapes, movie and audio CDs relating to homosexuals fill the small room that is the country's only library dedicated to documenting the local gay community.
Called the Thai Queer Resource Centre (TQRC), it was founded by Australian scholar Assoc Prof Peter Jackson with the aim of preventing the history and voice of the Thai GLBT (gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender) community from erosion by the state.
"No official library in Thailand is collecting this material. Also, the police are out to destroy them. It's therefore essential that the Thai GLBT community, and researchers such as myself work together to save these important records of Thai queer history," explained Jackson, senior fellow in Thai history at the Australian National University's Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies.
There is a lot of interest among Thai university students in conducting research on Thailand's gay, lesbian and transgendered community, he said, but the authorities view material that reflects the lives of the Thai GLBT community as immoral and illegal, which must be destroyed. So there is no place where students or researchers can find such historical records.
Hence his effort to set up the Thai Queer Resources Centre to collect as many publications as possible before the police and ill-informed government policies lead to them being destroyed.
queer - relating to homosexuals (a term preferred by some homosexuals themselves)
photo albums - books to store and view photographs
dedicated to - the only purpose it to
documenting - make a detailed record of (usually in writing)
GLBT - gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender
community - a group of people who live together and have something in common (it is not possible to have a community of strangers, and if you do not even talk to your neighbors then you do not live in a community)
erosion - slow destruction and disappearance (like water eroding the soil on a mountain)
out to - planning to do, determined to do
Social Order Campaigns and Misinformed Stereotypes
The Thaksin administration's social order campaigns, for example, severely affected gay publishing in Thailand, with police raiding magazine and book shops, even second-hand bookshops, to confiscate gay magazines.
"If private citizens, academics and Thai gay organisations do not work together now, then the negative attitudes of Thai bureaucrats and the police may mean that vital historical records will disappear forever in this country," he pointed out.
"To understand the real lives and situations of the Thai gay, lesbian and transgendered communities, it is necessary to read what they say about themselves and their own lives," he said.
Prempreeda Pramoj na Ayutthaya, project secretary for the Thai Queer Resources Centre.
"This material forms an excellent record of how Thai gays, lesbians and transgendered people have lived their lives in Thailand over the past few decades amid so many negative and misinformed stereotypes of gays, lesbians and transgender people in the Thai press and media."
Thai GLBT magazines have been written and published by people from these communities, for readers who are gay, lesbian and transgendered. They include short stories and novels, biographies and autobiographies and movie reviews.
social order campaigns - when the government takes very visible (an usually democratically very popular) actions against something they claim is bad for society as a whole
police raiding - when the police enter a building suddenly to look for illegal activities or people suspected of breaking the law
second-hand bookshops - stores that sell used books
confiscate - take away an illegal thing
bureaucrats - government officials (with a stereotype of slowness and inefficiency)
vital - important
amid - surrounded other things
misinformed stereotypes -
biographies - the story of a person's life
autobiographies - a biography written by the person who it is about
movie reviews - an article in a newspaper or a magazine in which someone gives their opinion about a new movie
Jackson's Personal Collection
Jackson himself has his own academic collection in Australia, now kept at the Australian National University. It will eventually be transferred to the National Library of Australia. To him, it is important that a similar collection also be established in Thailand.
He started collecting Thai magazines and books on gay, lesbian and transgender issues in Thailand on his first research visit to Thailand in 1982.
"I now have about 300 Thai-language books, and about 2,000 Thai gay magazines, which have been published since the early 1980s. I think I probably have the largest collection of Thai-language publications on gay, lesbian and transgender issues in the world," he said proudly.
His collection includes the photo of the front cover of the over-50-year-old book Phuey Cheewit Dao Katoey Yod Karee (Revealing the Life of a Queer Prostitute Star), a biography of a katoey who was born in Bangkok about 80 years ago; the Cheewit Gay (Gay Lives) issue of Por Inthalapalit's Pol Nikorn Gimnguan comedy series; and Cheewit Sao (Sad Lives), which is a compilation of questions and answers on homosexual problems from a popular column by Ko Pak Nam in the magazine Plaek (Weird).
academic - for researchers and students in a university
transferred - moved to
compilation of - many different items gathered together into one publication
According to researcher Prempreeda Pramoj na Ayutthaya, co-ordinator of the Thai Queer Resources Centre, the centre was officially opened on June 9, during the Rainbow Book Day Fair at Kanmanee Palace Hotel in Pradiphat.
"The centre aims to collect all forms of media about homosexuals and sexual diversity. We welcome donations of theses, diaries, gay history books, magazine columns, CDs, pamphlets and everything about homosexuals, even movies and photo albums," said Prempreeda.
Apart from buying gay publications at weekend markets and seeking donations from collectors, the centre has also been accumulating free magazines printed for the gay community, a sector that has grown considerably since 2000. These free magazines, including Max, Spice and Variety, deal not only with entertainment, but also issues such as welfare, sexual health, safe sex, HIV/Aids and gay rights.
The centre has also been trying hard to get complete collections of non-pornographic magazines aimed at the GLBT community, such as Hong Ha Liam (Hexagonal Room) and Neon for the historic perspective they give on the local gay community.
These magazines served as forums for well-known members of the GLBT community, such as transsexual showgirl Dechawut Chanthakaro, to talk about themselves and their social activities, which reflected the evolution of the gay movement here. The publication of gay magazines reached its peak in 1982 with more than 12 titles, but many ceased publication in the 1997 economic crisis.
according to... - it is the opinion of (the expert)...
co-ordinator - organise the people and things involved in an activity ("co-ordinator" usualy indicates a more cooperative project than "director" or "chief" which indicate authority)
donations - money or things given for free to an organisation that helps people in need (a charity)
theses - research contributions to knowledge written as part of a masters degree or a PhD degree
diaries - a book where a person records what happens in their day to day life and reflects on these events
magazine columns - a section of the magazine that is written regularly by a person
accumulating - collecting or gathering over a period of time
sector - an separate area of economic activity
considerably - greatly, quite a lot
welfare - living conditions, financial problems, health, comfort, happiness,...
non-pornographic - no having photos of people with no clothes on
perspective - a particular way of thinking about and viewing a topic or situation, influenced by experience and beliefs
showgirl - woman who sings and dances as part of a group in a musical show
reflected - showed
evolution - growth and development
gay movement - the political movement that defends and fights for gay rights
ceased - stopped
News Clippings
The centre also collects news clippings about gay advocacy work as well as chronicling the life stories of homosexuals and the transgendered, especially those who make the headlines, because they often expose the discrimination the gay community faces.
Some topics in the news clipping files: Movies that ridicule transsexuals, a hotel's ban on transsexuals and military draft documents that label transsexuals as "mentally sick".
Still in an embryonic stage, the centre has focussed only on collecting gay publications and media. They have still not been catalogued due to a shortage of personnel and funds. At present, the centre is run by Jackson and Preempreeda, with help from Finnish student Cimo Ojanen.
news clippings - articles cut out of the newspaper
advocacy - public support and promotion of a cause or issue
gay advocacy work - public promotion gay rights
chronicling - writing the history of
make the headlines - become news, be included in a newspaper
expose - uncover something that is hidden so it can be seen
ridicule - make fun of, make people laugh at something
military draft - when people are ordered to serve in the military for a period of time
label - describe as
in an embryonic stage - still not fully developed
catalogued - included and described in an extensive list
shortage - not enough
personnel - employees, staff
funds - money, project financing
Student Research
|
"The centre provided me with both current and historic information. With the material available, more people will study sexual diversity, I believe," she said.
Knowledge, said Prempreeda, is the most effective way to tackle prejudice.
"When people know more about transgendered people and sexual diversity, they will eventually develop positive attitudes towards us. This is a process of redefining and rethinking gender and sexual diversity issues," she said.
prejudice - an unreasonable dislike of a particular group of people
tackle prejudice - solve the problem of prejudice
positive attitudes towards - hopeful and confident about something, describing good aspects of something
University Library Collection in Thailand is the Goal
The centre's ultimate goal is to find a university library to provide a permanent home for its collection, so that Thai students and researchers can have access to these historical records, said Jackson.
At present, the National Library of Australia, which has one of the largest collections of Thai-language books in the world, is interested in saving all records of the Thai GLBT community.
"It's ironic that while foreign libraries are interested in saving Thai queer history, the Thai authorities and government are more interested in destroying it.
"We need Thai libraries and government officials to support the preservation of historical records of Thailand's gay, lesbian and transgendered communities in the future.
"Without accurate information there is no way to improve public understanding of, and the lives of Thailand's GLBT community," the TQRC founder said.
ironic - something with the opposite meaning than what is commonly thought
To learn more about the Thai Queer Resources Centre or to make donations of media, visit http://www.tqrc.org/ or email thai_queer@yahoo.co.th.
Bangkok Post Article November 05, 2007
NOTHING NEW UNDER THE SUN
Homosexuality Mentioned in Ancient Religious Texts
|
According to Prempreeda Pramoj na Ayutthaya, a transgendered researcher, the ancient Lanna texts mention the creation of the Earth and three genders - puri, itthee, and nuppoongsaka, believed to be men, women and homosexuals, respectively.
This corresponds with the Tipitaka, which categorises people who didn't readily fall into traditional male or female stereotypes (bandoh) into five sub-divisions, in accordance with their sexual orientation, one of these being nuppoongsaka.
"This means the Tipitaka recognises sexual diversity," Prempreeda noted.
documentation -
Tipitaka - the Buddhist scriptures of Thailand, Burma, and Sri Lanka written in the Indian language of Pali
Lanna - northern Thailand (Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai)
Tra Sam Duang [Three Seals] legal code - ancient legal code compiled at the beginning of the Bangkok period of Thai history
genders - male, female, transgendered
transgendered - does not have the traditional male or female gender (homosexual, bisexual, asexual, etc)
stereotypes - negative ideas about people that are too simple (harm people because they are often not true)
recognises - accepts its existence (denial of existence being one way used to suppress)
diversity - a variety, many different kinds
Homosexuality in Premodern History
|
And while homosexuality is nothing new in Thai history, nor is discrimination.
While the mention of homosexuality in the Tipitaka was aimed at warning monks what not to do, the ancient Kod Montien Barn legal code of the Ayutthaya period targeted homosexual members of the court. It imposed such penalties as being hit on the fingernails and neck tattooing for those engaging in homosexual sex, both len peuan and len sawaat.
Despite such discrimination, Assoc Prof Peter A. Jackson, senior fellow in Thai history of the Australian National University, argued that the situation is gradually improving.
According to him, the broader Thai community admires beautiful katoey, and people who are successful in their careers, and there is an increasing number of successful katoey performers and business people.
sdasdasdasdasdasdasdasdad
dance troupes - a group of artistic dancers who travel around and put on dance performances
lesbian - homosexual women
rumoured to - unofficially people said and believed that
feminine - of woman
discrimination - treating a group differently in a negative way just because they are different
mention of - talking or writing about
the Tipitaka - the Buddhist scriptures of Thailand, Burma, and Sri Lanka written in the Indian language of Pali
aimed at - had as a goal
targeted - was made to deal with
members of the court - people who were in the royal family of the King, or who held positions serving him
imposed penalties - punished
Prempreeda's Research and Advocacy
|
To help redress the problem, Prempreeda has written more than 20 research papers on transgender issues and has also been working as a consultant for researchers on the subject. Among her works are Ladyboys in Cabaret Shows, her master's thesis for Chiang Mai University, and The Fluidity of Thai Queer Sexuality and Experiences of Accessing Sexual Health Care, her master's thesis for her degree in health social science from Mahidol University.
"The more I learned, the less I could turn a blind eye to gender inequality," she noted.
sexual orientations - the role that sex plays in a person's life (male, female, homosexual, bisexual, asexual, etc)
redress the problem - correct the problem, make a wrong thing right
fluidity - when things are continually changing and transforming
turn a blind eye to - pretend you don't see something you actually do see
inequality - when people from two groups are not treated equally, discrimination
Recent Discrimination
|
|
But due to misconceived stereotypes of transsexuals as untrustworthy, such bans are still the rule at many hotels and nightspots, especially those in tourist destinations such as Pattaya and Phuket, said Sitthiphan Boonyaphisomparn, an advocate for transsexual rights.
Without legal recognition for transsexuals, they also routinely suffer discrimination. When Prempreeda lost her ATM card, for example, her bank refused to cancel the card over the telephone because her feminine voice did not match the "male" designation in her bank documents.
Another big problem for transsexuals in Thailand is the lack of Thai-language information on the pros and cons of gender reassignment surgery to help them with such important decisions.
"Policies relating to rights and laws for the transgendered are still overlooked in Thai society, even though the Thai transgendered culture is richer here than in many foreign cultures," Prempreeda said.
faced discrimination -
brand manager - person managing promotion and advertising of a brand of a product
made headlines - was in the news, was in the newspaper
as a matter of policy - a policy that applies to everyone, not treating on a case by case basis
a campaign - a plan of activities to achieve a goal
pressure - taking action to persuade someone to do something
revocation of - taking away, canceling
ban on - a prohibition on (by law cannot be used, done, or shown)
misconceived - not right for dealing with a problem
stereotypes - negative ideas about people that are too simple (harm people because they are often not true)
untrustworthy - cannot trust, unreliable
nightspots - places where people go for entertainment at night (cafes, bistros, nightclubs, discos, pubs, bars)
advocate - a promoter and defender of
legal recognition - legal acceptance of
routinely - done normally (as a part of a larger job or process)
feminine - qualities that are considered typical of women
designation - the name, title, label, or categorisation given to someone or something
the pros and cons of - the good and bad aspects of
gender reassignment surgery - surgery to change from one gender to another
overlooked - do not notice, do not reaslise how important it is
Answer Key:
Article: Gay Resource Center
1. What is the TQRC?
The TQRC is the "Thai Queer Resource Centre" which contains material documenting the history of gays in Thailand.
2. What kind of resources does the TQRC contain?
Books, magazines, short stories, novels, biographies, autobiographies, movie reviews, newspaper clippings, gay history books, magazine columns, diaries, theses, pamphlets, photo albums, movies, video tapes, movie and audio CDs.
3. Who was the TQRC founded by?
Australian scholar Assoc Prof Peter Jackson who is an associate professor at Australian National University (ANU).
4. Why was the TQRC founded?
To prevent the "history and voice of the Thai GLBT (gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender) community from erosion by the state."
5. Is any other university or government library in Thailand collecting documenting gay history in Thailand?
No, "no official library in Thailand is collecting this material."
In fact, the police are "out to destroy" this material.
("Hence his effort to set up the Thai Queer Resources Centre to collect as many publications as possible before the police and ill-informed government policies lead to them being destroyed.")
6. Is there a lot of interest in researching gay history at Thai universities?
Yes, but resources are not available to do this research.
7. How was gay publishing suppressed by the Thaksin administration?
Police raids during "social order" campaigns confiscated gay magazines and reading material from bookshops and magazine stores.
8. Why are historical materials from the past necessary?
Historical materials from the past are necessary to understand the "real lives and situations of the Thai gay, lesbian and transgendered communities" and what they had to "say about themselves and their own lives." Historical materials give you fact. Without fact, you only have opinions.
("This material forms an excellent record of how Thai gays, lesbians and transgendered people have lived their lives in Thailand over the past few decades amid so many negative and misinformed stereotypes of gays, lesbians and transgender people in the Thai press and media.")
9. Who is the co-ordinator of the TQRC?
Prempreeda Pramoj na Ayutthaya.
Article: Gay History
1. What ancient texts was homosexuality mentioned in?
a. The Tipitaka (the Buddhist scriptures).
b. Lanna religious texts.
c. The Tra Sam Duang [Three Seals] legal code.
2. What is the evidence that ancient Lanna texts mention homosexuality?
In the creation myth three genders are mentioned, one of which appears to a neutral homosexual gender, the nuppoongsaka, which is also mentioned in the Tipitaka buddhist scriptures. (Note: Investigating further the chain of reasoning that supports this thesis would be a good research project.)
