Why Thailand became a destination for LGBT couples

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

That’s how Ann “Waaddao” Chumaporn describes the years leading up to this moment – when hundreds of couples tied the knot in a riot of color and celebration as Thailand legalizes same-sex marriage.

And the same question has been heard throughout the long campaign for equal marriage legislation Passed it is asked again: why Thailand? Why not anywhere else, except Taiwan and Nepal, in Asia?

People think they know the answer. Thailand is famous for its openness and acceptance of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people. They have long been seen in all walks of life. Thai people are easy with everything. “Mai pen rai” – it doesn’t matter – is a national phrase. Buddhist beliefs, followed by more than 90% of Thais, do not prohibit LGBT lifestyles. Then, surely equal marriage was inevitable.

Except it wasn’t. “It was not easy,” said Ms. Waaddao, who organizes the Bangkok Pride March.

The first Pride march in Thailand took place 25 years ago. At that time it was difficult to get permission from the police, and the march was chaotic, unfocused. After 2006 there were only two marches until 2022. In 2009 another planned Pride march in Chiang Mai had to be canceled due to threats of violence.

“We were not accepted, by our families and the community,” added Ms. Waaddao. “There were times when we didn’t think marriage equality would ever happen, but we never gave up hope.”

For all of Thailand’s general tolerance of LGBT people, gaining equal rights, including marriage, required a determined campaign to change attitudes in Thailand’s legal environment and society. And attitudes have changed.

When Chakkrit “Ink” Vadhanavira started dating her partner in 2001, they were both leading actors in TV serials. At that time homosexuality was still officially defined by the Thai Ministry of Health as a mental illness.

“At that time society could not accept leading male roles played by a gay man. There were many rumors about us in the media, most of which were not true, which stressed us a lot,” recalled Mr. Chakkrit.

“We decided that if we are going to love each other, we have to leave showbiz.

They are still together but have been out of sight for over 20 years, running a successful production company.

A lot has changed in that time – and their industry gets credit for that.

The way LGBT characters are portrayed in Thai TV dramas, from unusual to mainstream roles, has made a big difference, according to Tinnaphop Sinsomboonthong, an assistant professor at Thammasat University who describes himself as a magician.

“These days they represent us as ordinary characters, as you see in real life,” he said. “The kind of LGBTQ+ colleague you might have in the office, or your LGBTQ+ neighbor. This has really helped change perceptions and values ​​across generations.”

Dramas called Boy Love helped bring the whole society to the concept of not only tolerance, but full acceptance and equal rights of society.

These romantic television shows with love stories between handsome young men have grown in popularity over the past decade, especially during the Covid crisis.

It is now one of the most successful cultural export destinations in Thailand, with large audiences in places like China. Series like My School President and Love Sick have received hundreds of millions of views on broadcast networks.

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

They joined forces with other groups fighting for greater rights and freedoms in Thailand, and learned to work with political parties in the parliament to persuade them to change their stance on the law.

The resumption of Pride marches in 2022, and making the government recognize and promote Thailand’s attractiveness as an attractive destination for LGBT travelers also helped change public opinion.

“We didn’t fight, we negotiated,” said Mr Tinnaphop. “We knew we had to talk to the Thai public, and little by little, we changed the attitude.”

Getting equal marriage legislation through parliament was also helped by political developments in Thailand.

For five years following the coup in 2014, the country was ruled by a strict military government, which was only willing to consider recognizing the civil relations of LGBT couples, without full inheritance rights.

But in the 2019 election that returned Thailand to civilian rule, a new, youth reformist group called Future Forward, which was a staunch supporter of equal marriage, did unexpectedly well. They won the third largest number of seats, revealing a growing hunger for change in Thailand.

There a year later Future Forward was disbanded The controversial court ruling sparked months of student-led protests demanding radical reforms, including curbing the monarchy’s power.

LGBT campaigners were prominent in those protests, giving them greater prominence in the country. The protests have finally ended, many leaders have been arrested for doubting the role of the Kingdom.

But in the 2023 election that followed Future Forward, which calls itself Go Forward, do better than 2019, by winning more seats than any other party. Also, it was clear that the desire for change was felt by all Thai people of all ages.

Move Forward was blocked from forming a government by conservatives who opposed its call for radical political change.

But by this time, equal marriage was no longer controversial. Few were against it. And its passage gave the tired and unpopular coalition government formed outside of Move Forward a quick win that will please most of the country.

Thailand, however, is outside of Asia. Few other countries in the region are likely to follow this example.

The influence of Islam in Malaysia, Indonesia and Brunei made the idea of ​​equal marriage a non-starter. LGBT communities when faced with discrimination and persecution; in Brunei sex between men carries the death penalty.

In the Philippines, there is a growing acceptance of LGBT couples living together freely. But the Roman Catholic Church strongly opposes same-sex marriage.

In Vietnam, like Thailand, there are no religious or ideological barriers, but the campaign to change the law, as in Thailand, is difficult under a repressive regime. It is the same in China. Until the ruling Communist Party approves equal marriage, which it shows no signs of doing, it will not happen.

Even in democracies like Japan and South Korea – where political parties are largely conservative and run by old men – the prospects look bleak.

“It’s especially Christians who are holding on to the ban,” said Chae-yoon Han, executive director of the Beyond the Rainbow Foundation in South Korea.

“Most, if not all, politicians in President Yoon’s conservative party are devout Christians, and have put marriage equality as a ‘leftist agenda’, potentially opening the public to ‘leftist, communist takeovers’.”

India appeared close to legalizing same-sex marriage in 2023, when the decision came down to the Supreme Court – but the judges refusedthey said it was going to the parliament.

So Thailand hopes to benefit from being a pioneer. Tourism is one of the few areas of the Thai economy that is doing well in recovering from the epidemic, and the country is seen as a safe and welcoming place for LGBT tourists.

Growing numbers of gay people from other Asian countries are choosing to live here now.

The legal recognition they would receive from their marriages would allow them to raise children and grow old with all the rights and protections afforded to heterosexual couples.