Douglas Thompson is the Co-Chairman of Bangkok Pride Coalition (BPC), a group made up of individuals, community-based organizations, and Bangkok businesses. The group is organizing the Bangkok Pride festival, which culminates in a street parade on Silom Road on Sunday, 17 November. The festival aims to promote a positive image of the gay and lesbian community in Bangkok and to raise money for community needs.
æ: Tell us a bit about yourself.
douglas: I am 52 but look 51 and have been living and working in Thailand for six years. I was active in community organizing and HIV prevention activities since 1978 in my native San Francisco. Wrote The Men of Viet Nam, the first guide to gay visitors to Vietnam. I am Director of Marketing and a major partner in Utopia tours, one of Thailand's most successful gay businesses. I was instrumental in founding the Thai Alternative Travel Association (TATA, Asia's first gay tourism trade organization) and am one of the original organizers of Bangkok Pride Coalition. This year I am co-Chairman. Yikes!
About Bangkok Pride Coalition
æ: Can you tell us more about the BPC and how it started?
douglas: Several members of the business community and leaders of community came together in 2001 to create events around the time of the third annual Bangkok Gay Festival Parade. We produced a number of sporting events as well as a highly successful "Pink in the Park" outdoor festival.
æ: What are BPC's aims and achievements to date?
douglas: We have three major objectives: To bring our very diverse gay and lesbian community together, to improve public perceptions about Thai gays and lesbians, and to raise money for charities. Parties and other activities during the past six months have brought us a lot of publicity. We are producing the 4th annual gay parade this year. We brought a major gay and lesbian film festival to Thailand. Considering this is really our first year producing a huge series of events, I think we have achieved quite a bit.
æ: How has BPC affected the gay and lesbian community in Thailand?
douglas: It's still early to say. We have to prove ourselves to our own community. However, by parade time we think our work will inspire both pride and tolerance, and also show many people in our community how much we really have in common.
æ: What are the difficulties of having a gay and lesbian group in terms of governmental policies, religious and societal pressure?
The Community
æ: Have you ever encountered prejudice because of your gender/sexuality? How did you deal with it?
douglas: I am originally from America, so I have been subjected to as much prejudice as most gay men my age. I have dealt with it by becoming an activist and an organizer.
æ: What do you think we need most in Asia's gay and lesbian community?
douglas: We are surrounded by fear and superstition. Gay men and lesbians need to do their part to build a bridge of understanding with the rest of society. We can do a lot together to accomplish this through groups like Bangkok Pride, ProGay, PLU and others. Individually, we can all help build tolerance and understanding through teaching by example. All of us can be role models for society and give hope to countless young people struggling with their sexual identities by living as a responsible citizen who also happens to be gay. Many people do not understand that it is possible to be a well-adjusted doctor, librarian, bank clerk or taxi driver who is also gay. If you are still living in the closet, you are robbing those around you of the chance to learn that someone as wonderful as you are can also be special.
æ: What advice would you give to someone who is trying to come to terms with his or her sexuality?
douglas: Be yourself. Your sexuality is something you can't change. Pretending to be something or someone you are not will just bring you and the people around you a lot of unhappiness and you will never live up to your destiny. Your mother already knows anyway.
About Douglas
æ: When did you realise you were gay or lesbian? What was the process like?
douglas: I was an early bloomer. I realized I was different when I was nine or ten years old. Like most young people who begin to come to terms with their sexuality, I thought I was the only homosexual in the world.
æ: Are you out to family and friends? If yes, could you tell us something about it? Is it an important factor in your life?
douglas: Everyone knows. I have been a very public person most of my life so I have become very comfortable with my identity. Is it an important factor? Yes and now. In a way, is no more or less important than being a little chubby or having brown hair. On the other hand, I own a business that caters to gay and lesbian customers and I have been involved in gay political, social and health issues since 1978. So it is clear that much of my life has been modeled by my sexuality.
æ: Do you believe in monogamous or open relationships? Are you in one?
douglas: Monogomy is a dark wood used for making furniture. I admire couples who have been able to survive together for years and years. As much as I would like to be in that kind of relationship, that is not my destiny.
æ: What kind of underwear person are you?
douglas: Unusally none. Boxers occasionally.
Aprs Interview
æ: Tell us something about your first sexual experience?
douglas: I had played around with other boys my age since I was about ten years old. At nineteen I had a part time job in a department store. The boss was gay and I was very, very infatuated with him. However, he was involved and unavailable. He and his boyfriend eventually broke up, and he was miserable. To console him, we drank quite a bit together one night and things evolved very naturally. It was not particularly tender or romantic but I like it a lot. He's about 55 and bald now.
æ: What is your favourite fantasy?
douglas: To watch television every night with a bald fifty-five year old lover. Not!
æ: What is your kinkiest experience?
douglas: Getting a blowjob at the top of the Eiffel Tower. Giving a blowjob to a California Highway Patrol officer who stopped me for exceeding the speed limit.
æ: What's the stupidest pick-up line you've ever heard?
All pick-up lines are an act of bravery. I take them all seriously. If they are stupid enough to make me laugh, they are a great success.
æ: Which is sexier, mind or meat?
douglas: I think a leg of lamb is very, very sexy. I can always perform at the table.
æ: Towel or tissue?
douglas: Towel, of course. Monogrammed.
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