With a full moon on Nov 5, both the "Bangkok Together 2006" pride parade and the Buddhist Loi Krathong festival (festival of lights) fell on the same day. "How auspicious," Bangkok people might say, as their krathongs (lo-tus-shaped vessels) floated down river, taking candles, incense and flowers in the direction of Singapore and Bali.
This year's parade was striking in the strong presence of community based NGOs - Anjaree, Sapan, Bangkok Rainbow - and the leading gay HIV/AIDS organisations - Rainbow Sky and Swing. This made the parade less commercial, over all, than in past years.
Rainbow Sky, the leading gay HIV/AIDS organisation held a seminar at the offices of the National Human Rights Commission. It focused on a challenge to the military pattern of labeling transgendered individuals as sick. The Thai who is challenging the military policy denied any illness. "I'm just a normal guy who feels like a woman," she was quoted as saying.
With the return of Tang to Bangkok, the Anjaree lesbian organisation which first started in 1986, has been reborn. Together with the Sapan group, Anjaree organised a workshop for lesbians "In or Out? Which is Better?"
The largest float in the parade was the lesbian float - with Sapan head Lek looking like a Tom (a Thai slang to mean butch lesbian) and Anjaree leader Tang dressed as a court lady. And flowers, flowers, flowers.
A Bangkok designer decided that Toms are a 'niche market' - and designed a line of special Tom clothing. Regular men's clothes, she pointed out, are not cut right for a female body. Sapan and Anjaree agreed. They organised a Tom fashion show at the annual Pride in the Park event, showing the new fashions. It competed with the male swimtrunk contest. Males crowded around the swimming pool - and females around the entertainment stage.
Old Thai hands had said in the 1990s that a pride parade was impossible in Thailand. Yes, Thais did not get upset about sexual matters. But the price of tolerance was a comfortable closet. As Tang put it, lesbians had been satisfied to be accepted and had accepted to be silent.
The assumption was that no gay Thai would show up to a pride parade - even as part of the sidewalk audience. This common wisdom was challenged by Pakorn. He was a dancer with links back to pioneer activist Natee, whose White Line Dancers did AIDS education in the bars in the 1980s. Pakorn, with his entertainment friends and support from a couple of gay businesses, held the first parade in 1999.
Police did no traffic control for the first parade, and stopped it near the end, confiscating costumes. No media noticed the police action, so the parade was seen as a big success. Negotiations with the police were still difficult over the next couple of years.
This year, as is now the pattern, police were there to block a lane of traffic and guide the parade through its full circle route in the main business and bar area of downtown Bangkok. Businesses were happy. Soi 4, with its bars and restaurants, was packed after the parade.
The parade has always had a strong commercial component. For the last few years the driving force has been Lee, originally from the US, the owner of Telephone Bar, a Bangkok gay institution. But there were tensions and a drop in membership in the organisation. At the beginning of 2006, a board meeting decided that leadership would shift from Lee and other farang (foreign) business owners to Thai organisations. But it was unclear who would take the lead. In the end it seems to have been a combination of Thai NGOs and Thai owned businesses.
The 2006 Pride Festival poster lists an amazing 62 sponsoring organisations. Corporate sponsors ranged from Singha beer and Fridae. A leading role was assumed by the Beach Group, which now runs three saunas, a residence, a bar and restaurant. Its head is Danny the Beach (who often calls himself Danny the Bitch). In the parade Danny sat like the Pope on a high throne bestowing blessings. Unlike the Pope, he had beautiful kathoey (ladyboy) attendants.
This year's parade was striking in the strong presence of community based NGOs - Anjaree, Sapan, Bangkok Rainbow - and the leading gay HIV/AIDS organisations - Rainbow Sky and Swing. This made the parade less commercial, over all, than in past years.
There are still a limited number of community-based organisations in Bangkok. There seem no university LGBT groups, and none were in the parade.
There were no allies. Amnesty International Thailand was not involved in any Pride Festival events, nor was the regional human rights group Forum Asia. Amnesty in the Philippines, in contrast, has been very active over time in Manila pride. Women's groups were not there. The only ally was the National Human Rights Commission, which for the second time sponsored an event organised by Rainbow Sky at its offices.
Unlike the current pattern for the big Western pride parades, no politicians or political parties were represented. Even without the military coup of Sep 18, there would have been no politicians or party representatives. We aren't that respectable yet.
There were no celebrity entertainers, though some in Thailand are gay - at least everybody says so. No national figures are "out" in the magic Kingdom. But we keep being told that "everyone knows" that _____ and _____ are gay. A senior civil servant once casually commented that Thailand has had two gay prime ministers. Some, only half-jokingly, expressed surprise, saying the real number was three.
No allies joined us on the streets, but the bar boys were cute and the kathoeys were gorgeous.
Douglas Sanders is a retired Canadian law professor living in Bangkok. He can be contacted at sanders_gwb@yahoo.ca
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Reader's Comments
Although the Phuket gay scene is smaller than Bangkok's, the Phuket parade is longer and nicer with a large mixed audience. In Phuket the beach road is closed for traffic during the parade. Just check it yourself in April 2007!
Nearly naked guys which seem to indicate the gay community is only about sex, Kathoey in colorful costumes....things like these tend to reinforce the negative stereotypes of the gay community.
I know they could be fun and enjoyable, but the vast majority of the gay community is completely opposite these stereotypical views that are shown to the public and picked up by the media.
Where are the gay businessmen and women? Where are the gay doctors, lawyers, and policemen? Where are the positive role models for today's gay youth? Yes, I know, they will not draw the crowds that the flamboyancy does, but it seems to me Pride events are just showcasing good looking bodies and the sexual or "deviant" aspects of our community, not the positive impact that our community contributes to society.
The business man and woman can join them if they feel as proud. Or perhaps they are already in their costumes. Like my friend said to me at one point of time, dont be a prude!
nevermind that i'm not (yet) inclined to be part of the great spectable of a pride parade. i celebrate the visibility, the giant poke at people to know that we're here and a part of their society and that i could be their friend, sister or co-worker.
but for others less inclined such as yourself, what's holding you back from being a gay (and out and proud) businessman, doctor, lawyer, or policeman? who says there's any less impact and effect and visibility? why can't we all express our own visibility and pride in the myriad ways we can and are inclined to express?
your comment seems to harbour a tinge of homophobia. there are all sorts of different gay people only united by their sexual orientation, and diversity doesn't and shouldn't stop anywhere.
be the change you want to see in the world. and stop raining on the parade of these fabulously out, loud and damn proud gay people. shame on you.
Leave your worries at home - come join the love parade!
When the time comes that WE (homos) are really "equal", that will also be the END of our parades, lobbying, controversies, media attention....sometimes, come on admit it, it's FUN to be "special" (a marginalised sub-culture)....
The biggest problem facing gay people in Thailand is this habit of Thai's to turn the cheek and pretend something that is there, isn't. The only way to get noticed is to be loud to be flamboyant, to be over-the-top.
Obviously they have a ways to go.
I do feel, however, that I have been somewhat misunderstood. So please let me clarify some points -- not for the sake of argument, just for my own piece of mind.
Haiks so eloquently said,
"I dont think i am flamboyant, but seeing these people dressed up and celebrate makes me proud to be one of them. Not afraid to make a statement, always fighting to be themselves and their rights. Isnt this what this parade is about?"
I agree. I cannot deny that for many people this is true. My point was simply this: Out of the many 100's of GLBT people that I know throughout the world, only a small percentage of them would ever consider showing off their flesh and "dressing up" so flamboyantly in such an event. When you ask an average heterosexual what they think of when they think of homosexuality, the things that usually come first to their mind are the stereotypes portrayed in these Gay Pride parades, not only in Thailand, but throughout the world. Why is that? Again, the media. The media usually only portrays these stereotypes.....not the mainstream gay society.
In my opinion, Gay Pride should be celebrating the huge contributions our community makes to society as a whole. Contributions to education, science, art, humanity, medicine, sports, politics, etc. Most worldwide Gay Pride events place little emphasis on this and a much larger emphasis on the aforementioned stereotypes.
forgedkismet commented,
"your comment seems to harbour a tinge of homophobia. there are all sorts of different gay people only united by their sexual orientation, and diversity doesn't and shouldn't stop anywhere."
I understand why you may think my concerns are homophobic. My thinking does go against the grain of many outspoken gay people. I accept that. I guess it is because I consider people as members of the human race first and foremost andthen consider their character and integrity next. Membership in subcultures.... whether racial, sexual orientation, gender, religion.....is far down the list.
She further stated,
"be the change you want to see in the world. and stop raining on the parade of these fabulously out, loud and damn proud gay people. shame on you."
I do apologize for "raining on the parade". That was not my intention. I am all for a good party and celebration. The Nation Parties (may they RIP or be resurrected) are fabulous celebrations of our community. Mardi Gras parties are wonderful human celebrations. My contention is that Pride Events should act, in a large part, as a positive public relations tool not as reinforcement of stereotypes.
Finally, harrisben made this point:
that I "would have a point if any if any Thai media had picked up on the parade or any of the festivities,"
True, having lived here in Bangkok for nearly 5 years and in Asia for the past 11 years, the media seldom picks up on these things. However, my comments were intended to focus on the concept in general, not specifically the event here in Bangkok.
I had never commented in this forum before, nor am I very active in other fora. These thoughts have just been circulating in my mind frequently over the past few years and something inside me told me to express them today, so I did. My apologies if I have offended and my thanks to those who have written and sent me hearts due to my comments.
I feel so sad to discover at the bottom line of the article that it is written by a legal scholar. With respect, where is your legal point of view? I would love to see more of that. Instead, I see a number of general Western activist comments. Remember they are from your narrow American point of view and, impractical and inapplicable in Thailand or elsewhere in Asia. Inasmuch as your named legal career, I wish you should be careful to examine the case unless you love to get attentions.
Sincerely,
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