Modern Thailand has a reputation as a place of tolerance and acceptance for transgendered people. What elements of Thai history and/or have culture led to this being the case? Has it long been a society tolerant of alternative gender/sexual roles?

by TheJucheisLoose

I suppose a threshold question might also be: is Thailand's reputation as a haven/Mecca for transgendered people/culture (and I suppose this is primarily male-to-female transgendereds that I'm thinking of) deserved? And are the cultural and historical trends that led to this level of acceptance uniquely Thai, or do they extend also to neighboring countries and cultures?

CatalyticDragon

I think you've got a somewhat false perception there. It is quite a conservative society in many regards, pornography is banned and the internet is heavily filtered. And "Thai law currently does not recognize same-sex marriages, civil unions or domestic partnerships and it is unclear if a same-sex couple or an individual LGBT Thai would be permitted to adopt or have custody of children."

That said it is generally tolerant and it has been progressing steadily like many countries when it comes to attitudes toward homosexuals.

  • 1956 sodomy was decriminalized in Thailand
  • 2002 the Thai Ministry of Health publicly declared that homosexuality was no longer to be regarded as a mental illness or disorder.
  • 2005 the Thai armed forces lifted its ban on LGBT serving in the military. Prior to this reform, LGBT people were exempted as suffering from a "mental disorder" law of 1954.
  • 2007 the Thai government broadened the definition of a sexual assault or rape victim to include women and men. The government also prohibited marital rape, with the law stipulating that women or men can be victims.
  • 2009 the Thai Red Cross reaffirmed its ban of men who have sex with men (MSM) from being blood donors, despite prior campaigns.

But there are still no anti-discrimination laws in effect.