Why Thailand became a haven for LGBT couples

“It’s been a long, tearful battle for us.”

This is how Ann “Waaddao” Chumaporn describes the years leading up to now – Thursday, when same-sex marriage will become legal in Thailand, and more than a hundred will tie the knot in one of Bangkok’s most popular shopping malls, a riot of color and celebration.

And the same question has been heard everywhere long campaign for equal family law what has passed will be asked again: why Thailand? Why not anywhere else, except Taiwan and Nepal, in Asia?

People think they know the answer. Thailand is famously open to gay, lesbian, bisexual and non-gay people. They have been seen for a long time in all areas of life. Thai people love to do everything. “Mai pen rai” – no big deal – is a national catchphrase. Buddhist beliefs, followed by more than 90% of Thais, do not prohibit LGBT life. So, of course, equal marriage was inevitable.

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

The first Pride march in Thailand was held 25 years ago. Back then it was difficult to get the police to agree, and the march was chaotic, thoughtless. After 2006, only two trips were made until 2022.

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

For all of Thailand’s tolerance of LGBT people, achieving equal rights, including marriage, required a determined campaign to change attitudes in the Thai government and society. And attitudes have changed.

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

“Back then people wouldn’t accept high-profile roles played by gay men. There was a lot of gossip about us in the press, most of it was false, which stressed us out,” Chakkrit recalls.

“We decided then that if we want to be in a relationship, we should leave showbiz.”

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

A lot has changed in that time – and their companies get credit for it.

The way LGBT people are portrayed in Thai TV shows, from comedies to leading roles, has changed dramatically, according to Tinnaphop Sinsomboonthong, a self-proclaimed queer assistant professor at Thammasat University.

“These days they represent us as ordinary people, just like you see in real life,” he says. “The kind of LGBTQ+ colleagues you have in the office, or the LGBTQ+ neighbors. This has helped change attitudes and morals across generations.”

The play called Boy Love play has helped to bring all people to the idea of ​​not tolerance, but full acceptance and equal rights for the community.

These romantic TV shows about love between handsome guys have become very popular over the past decade, especially during the Covid pandemic.

It is now one of Thailand’s most successful cultural exporters, with many people in places like China. Series like My School President and Love Sick have hundreds of millions of views on social media networks.

At the same time, the activists were determined and united in their demand for the law to be changed. Various LGBT groups came together in the campaign for Change 1448 – 1448 is the section in the Thai Civil Code that defines marriage – and later under the Rainbow Coalition for Marriage Equality.

They joined forces with other groups to fight for freedom and greater freedom in Thailand, and learned to work with political parties in the parliament to persuade them to change their views on the law.

The resumption of the Pride parade in 2022, and the government’s recognition and promotion of Thailand’s appeal as attractive to LGBT travelers also helped change public opinion.

“We didn’t fight, we talked,” says Tinnaphop. “We knew we had to talk to the Thai people, and little by little we changed our minds.”

Getting the same-sex marriage bill through parliament was also supported by the political situation in Thailand.

For five years after the terrorist attack in 2014, the country was ruled by a permanent military government, which was ready to consider recognizing the relationships of LGBT couples, without full rights as inheritance.

But in the 2019 election that returned Thailand to civilian rule, a new youth reform party called Future Forward, which supported same-sex marriage, did unexpectedly well. They won a third of the seats, revealing the growing hunger in Thailand.

When the following year Future Forward was cancelled and a controversial court decision, sparked months of student-led protests demanding reform, including curbing the monarchy’s powers.

LGBT campaigners were prominent in these demonstrations, giving them national prominence. The protests eventually died down, and many leaders were arrested for questioning the kingdom’s authority.

But in the 2023 election the successor of Future Forward, is calling himself Go Ahead, it did better than in 2019, getting more seats than any other party. Again, it was clear that the desire for change was felt by all Thai people of all ages.

The Move Forward movement was blocked from forming a government by conservatives who rejected their calls for radical political change.

But by this time, equal marriage was easy. Few were against it. And passing it gave the unstable and unpopular coalition government that had been put in place without Move Forward to take immediate action that would please the majority of the country.

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

The influence of Islam in Malaysia, Indonesia and Brunei makes the idea of ​​same-sex marriage a non-starter. LGBT groups there face discrimination and prosecution; in Brunei sex between men is punishable by death.

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 campaigning to change the law, as was done in Thailand, is difficult under an authoritarian regime. The same is true in China. Until the ruling communist party accepts equal marriage, which it shows no signs of, it will not happen.

Even in democracies like Japan and South Korea – where political parties are deeply partisan and dominated by older men – the prospects seem dim.

Chae-yoon Han, CEO of Beyond the Rainbow Foundation in South Korea said:

“Many, if not all, of the politicians in President Yoon’s next party are devout Christians, and they have set up marriage unions as a ‘leftist agenda’, which could open people up to ‘communism’.”

India appeared close to legalizing same-sex marriage in 2023, when the decision reached the Supreme Court – but the jury refusedsaying that it belongs to the parliament.

So Thailand hopes to benefit from being a pioneer. Tourism is one of the few economic sectors in Thailand that is doing well in the recovery from the epidemic, and the country is seen as a safe and welcoming place for LGBT holiday makers.

An increasing number of gays from other Asian countries are choosing to live here now.

Legal recognition of their families will allow them to raise children and grow old together with almost the same rights and protections afforded to married couples.