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20 Austl. J. Asian L. 165 (2019-2020)
Thailand and 'Diverse Sexualities'

handle is hein.journals/ajal20 and id is 166 raw text is: Australian Journal of Asian Law, 2019, Vol 20 No 1, Article 13: 165-185 Thailand and 'Diverse Sexualities' Douglas Sanders* Thailand has no criminal laws against same-sex acts or cross-dressing. There are numerous commercial businesses catering to LGBT individuals, primarily gay men. Police do not harass LGBT venues, conferences or events. Government policy statements speak of encouraging acceptance, recognising diversity and supporting partnerships. The National Human Rights Commission actively supports LGBT rights. The Gender Equality Act aims to end discrimination on grounds of sex and gender expression. A number of court cases have ruled against discrimination in employment or access to public services. The drafting of a 'life partnership' law has proceeded, intermittently, from 2012, receiving cabinet approval in December 2018, however it was not considered by the legislature before the March 2019 election. Some drafting work on a gender identity law has been taking place. Four 'out' politicians, standing for a major party, were elected to the national legislature in 2019, the first time '>ut'candidates have campaigned for office. Thailanl was the IIrsI country in \sia to advertise itself as a gay and lesbian friendly lourist (desIination and( there are many positive aspects to lifIe in ThailanI foir 1LGB'T persons.1 Neverheless,. as this article (demonstrates. the legal f'ramework loes not match social reality. and( the legal foiund1at ion for sexuality and gener rights is shaky. at besI. Evid(ence of' public acceptance. and indeed oficial celebration. of sexual (liversity abounds. .A government promot ional vid1eo f'rom 2013 calls out lo LG. T lourists lo Thai. Be Free'. There is an appealing website and ongoing campaigns. Bangkok has long been a vloured site fIor L.(GBT conferences,3 In the pas,. prile paradIes hmve sometimes been heldI in hree cilies,. backed( by bars and massage parlours. although in 2019. only ('hiang M;ai held a prile paradIe (\1;1ahavongtrakul. 2019a;: 2). IBangkok has the most open ;any of gay-foc'used( bars. restauran Is massage parlours and saunas in .\sia. The commercial gay scene includes 'host' bars andl massage parlours with thinly disguised prositution.4 Somelimes t here are venues or events fIor lesbians. Trans perloirmers fIeature in cabaret shows, drag shows an( a range of beauly pageants. A half'dozen large trans cabaret shows. in purpose-built theatres, pack in the tourists in Bagkok, Chiang M;ai. 'attaya and( LhukeI. High f'ashion lilslyle magazines often feature alluring photographs of' shirtless young men. 'Boy love' novels. both locally proluced( and translated f'rm Jahpanese. are plent iful in novel or manga cartoon style. IHowever,. here are no shops selling vileos or magazines with f'ull nulity or (lepicting sex acts an eroic magazines and vid;eos, st raight or gay, do not get regular dist ribut ion. There are no criminal laws against samNe-sex ctNs or cross-d(ressing and in general the legal sysnem leaves sexual minorities alone. 'olice enforementn palerns are aimed at venue closing hours, underage patrons, drugs and foreign or underage sex workers, rather than policing gender Professor Emeritus, Faculty of Law, University of British Columbia; Emeritus Visiting Professor, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok; Academic Associate, Mahidol University, Bangkok. Resident of Thailand since 2003. 1 LGBT is the term more commonly used in Thailand than LGBTIQ. 2 See <www.gothaibefree.com>. A video on this site shows eight different same-sex couples enjoying themselves in the Kingdom. The government's Tourist Authority of Thailand hosted a two-day LGBT+ Travel Symposium at the So Sofitel hotel, a gay friendly venue in the central business district of Bangkok, 29-30 June 2018, and earlier in the year was the presenting LGBT partner at ITB Berlin 2018, see: Liang-Pholsena, 2018. It had a promotion at the 50rt anniversary Pride Parade in New York City. See: Bangkok Post, 2019b: 1. See also Worrachaddeejchai, 2019: B5. 3 The largest world conference of ILGA, the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Intersex Association, was held in Bangkok in 2016 (possible even during the mourning period after the death of King Bhumibol Adulyadej). 4 Regular payments to police units serve to protect both straight and gay sex-oriented venues. The venues with sex workers are slightly discrete, with no workers positioned outside the bars, with the exception of women in dresses outside the bars aimed at Japanese customers. There are generally no depictions of sex workers or dancers in pictures outside venues. In the host bars, sex workers are free to leave the premises with a customer who pays a 'bar fine' or 'off fee' to the venue. Sexual activity does not occur on premises. Payment for sex is between the worker and the customer, not involving the bar. This allowed police in Pattaya to say that there was no prostitution being conducted in an area of host bars on the walking street: See: The Thaiger, 2019. Sexual services in massage parlours also involves direct payments to the masseur, separate from a payment to the parlour.

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