Queer Media Loci in Bangkok: Paradise Lost and Found in Translation

Journal of Lesbian and Gay Studies 17(1):169-191, 2011

25 Pages Posted: 8 Nov 2012 Last revised: 25 Feb 2013

See all articles by Dredge Byung'chu Kang

Dredge Byung'chu Kang

Emory University - Department of Anthropology; Department of Anthropology

Date Written: January 1, 2011

Abstract

In the Western popular imagination, Bangkok is a “gay paradise,” a city that affords cheap and easy access to exotic “boys.” This reputation for sex tourism as well as a local cultural tolerance for homosexuality and transgenderism is a common representation of queer Bangkok in English-language media. This article juxtaposes Thai media and lived experience to displace, recontextualize, and expand the prevailing Western view. It argues that Western gazes that depict Thailand as especially tolerant of homosexuality and gender variance may in fact inhibit the free expression of Thai male-bodied effeminacy. Finally, this article argues that the hypersexualization of Thais and new regional alignments are molding local desires and subjectivities away from the West toward East Asia.

Keywords: queer media, Thailand, tourism, nationalism, globalization

Suggested Citation

Kang, Dredge Byung'chu and Kang, Dredge Byung'chu, Queer Media Loci in Bangkok: Paradise Lost and Found in Translation (January 1, 2011). Journal of Lesbian and Gay Studies 17(1):169-191, 2011, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2173037

Dredge Byung'chu Kang (Contact Author)

Department of Anthropology ( email )

San Diego, CA 92093-0532
United States

Emory University - Department of Anthropology ( email )

Geosciences Building
Atlanta, GA 30322
United States

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