‘A long battle full of tears’: Why Thailand became a haven for LGBT couples

“It has been a long battle for us full of tears.”

This is how Ann “Wadado” Chumaporn describes the years that led to this moment – ​​on Thursday, when same-sex marriage became legal in Thailand, and more than a hundred couples tied the knot in one of Bangkok’s largest shopping malls. Will be tied. A riot of color and celebration.

And the same question that has been heard all the time Long campaign to get equal marriage law The passing will then be asked: why Thailand? Why anywhere else in Asia other than Taiwan and Nepal?

People think they know the answer. Thailand is famously open to and accepting of lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans people. They have been visible in all walks of life for a long time. Thai people are relaxed about almost everything. “My pen opinion” – no big deal – is a national catchphrase. Buddhist beliefs, followed by over 90% of Thais, do not prohibit LGBT lifestyles. Surely, then, equal marriage was inevitable.

Except that wasn’t the case. “It was not easy,” says Ms Wadado, who organized the Bangkok Pride march.

The first pride march in Thailand took place only 25 years ago. At that time, it was difficult to get clearance from the police and the march was a chaotic, unfocused event. After 2006, there were only two marches till 2022. In 2009 a planned pride march in Chiang Mai had to be abandoned due to the threat of violence.

“Our own families and society did not accept us,” says Ms Vaddao. “There were times when we didn’t think marriage equality would ever happen, but we never gave up.”

Thailand’s general tolerance towards LGBT people, to achieve equal rights, including marriage, required a determined campaign to change attitudes in Thai officialdom and society. And the perspective has changed.

When Chakrit “Ink” Vadhanaweera started dating his partner in 2001, both of them were playing lead roles in actor TV series. At that time homosexuality was still officially described as a mental illness by the Thai Ministry of Health.

Mr Chakrit recalls, “At that time the society could not accept a gay man playing leading male roles. There was a lot of gossip about us in the media, most of them false, which really stressed us out Was.”

“We decided then that if we were going to date each other, we would have to leave showbiz.”

They are still together but have been out of the spotlight for over 20 years while running a successful production company.

A lot has changed in that time – and their industry deserves some of the credit for that.

There has been a huge difference in the way LGBT characters are portrayed in Thai TV dramas, from comical oddities to mainstream roles, says Tinnaphop Sinsomboonthong, an assistant professor at Thammasat University, who identifies as gay. Recognize.

“Nowadays they present us as normal characters, like you see in real life,” he says. “The kind of LGBTQ+ coworker you might have in your office, or your LGBTQ+ neighbor. That really helped change perceptions and values ​​across all generations.”

The so-called boy love dramas have helped bring the rest of society into the idea of ​​not only tolerance, but full acceptance and equal rights for the community.

The popularity of these romantic television dramas depicting love affairs between handsome young men has increased significantly over the past decade, especially during the COVID pandemic.

They are now one of Thailand’s most successful cultural exports, with huge audiences in places like China. Series like My School President and Love Sick have received millions of views on streaming networks.

At the same time, activists became more focused and united in changing the law. Many different LGBT groups came together in the Change 1448 campaign – 1448 is the section covering the definition of marriage in the Thai Civil Code – and later under the Rainbow Coalition for Marriage Equality.

They connected with other groups fighting for greater rights and freedoms in Thailand, and they learned to work with political parties in parliament to persuade them to change their stance on legislation.

The resumption of Pride marches in 2022, and the government recognizing and promoting Thailand’s appeal as an attractive destination for LGBT travelers also helped change public perceptions.

“We didn’t fight, we talked,” says Mr Tinnaphop. “We knew we had to talk to Thai society and gradually we changed our attitude.”

Political developments in Thailand also helped get equal marriage legislation through parliament.

For five years after a coup in 2014, the country was ruled by a conservative military government that was only willing to consider recognizing civil partnerships for LGBT couples, without full rights such as inheritance.

But in the 2019 election, which returned Thailand to civilian rule, a new, young reformist party called Future Forward, which fully supported equal marriage, performed unexpectedly well. He won the third largest number of seats, revealing a growing appetite for change in Thailand.

when after a year Future Forward disbanded A controversial court decision sparked months of student-led protests demanding sweeping reforms, including curbs on the power of the monarchy.

LGBT campaigners were prominent in those protests, bringing them greater national prominence. The protests eventually subsided, with several leaders arrested for questioning the role of the monarchy.

But in the 2023 elections, he is calling himself the successor of Future Forward. Go ahead, performed even better than 2019, Winning more seats than any other party. Again, it was clear that the desire for change was felt among Thai people of all ages.

Move Forward was blocked from forming a government by conservatives who objected to calls for wholesale political reforms.

But by this time, equal marriage was less controversial. Some people opposed it. And its passage gave the unwieldy and unpopular coalition government, which had been formed without much progress, a quick shot at appeasing the majority of the country.

However, Thailand is different in Asia. Some other countries in the region are also likely to follow suit.

In Malaysia, Indonesia and Brunei the influence of Islam makes the notion of equal marriage irrelevant. LGBT communities there face discrimination and prosecution; In Brunei, sex between men is punishable by death.

There is increasing acceptance of LGBT couples living together openly in the Philippines. But the Roman Catholic Church strongly opposes gay marriage.

In Vietnam, like Thailand, there are no religious or ideological barriers, but campaigning to change the law, as happened in Thailand, is difficult under a repressive regime. Almost the same is true in China also. Unless the ruling Communist Party supports equal marriage, for which it shows no signs, this cannot happen.

Even in democracies like Japan and South Korea – where political parties are largely conservative and dominated by older people – prospects look bleak.

“It’s largely conservative Christians who are stopping it,” says Chae-Yoon Han, executive director of the Beyond the Rainbow Foundation in South Korea.

“Most, if not all, politicians from President Yoon’s conservative party are devout Christians, and they have framed marriage equality as a ‘leftist agenda’ that could potentially open society to a ‘leftist, communist takeover.’ Could.”

India appeared closer to legalizing gay marriage in 2023 when the decision fell in its Supreme Court – but The judges refusedSaying that it was up to Parliament.

So Thailand stands to benefit from being a leader. Tourism is one of the few sectors of the Thai economy that is performing well in the post-pandemic recovery, and the country is seen as a safe and welcoming destination for LGBT holidaymakers.

An increasing number of same-sex couples from other Asian countries are now choosing to live here.

Legal recognition of their marriage will allow them to raise children and grow old, along with almost all the rights and protections given to heterosexual couples.