Representing Gay Sao: Effeminacy and the Blurred Boundary between Thai Gays and Kathoeys (transgenders)1

Dr. Narupon Duangwises This paper is to understand Thai gay self awareness in contemporary Thai society. I would like to investigate the effeminacy or Kwamsao of Thai gay male. To find the relationship between a gay consciousness and self representation of feminine manners, emotions, words, or characteristics, will understand Thai gay personality in recent periods. On the other hand, I would like to reexamine Thai gay feminine characters with some traditional Kathoey, Thai transgender, who performed femininity and have a female emotion. To understands that there are a similarity or difference between them. Thai concept about Kathoey is explained that male who has a female soul. Kathoey identify himself as a woman in a male body. Kathoey lives his life as a woman in everyday practices. On the contrary, Thai gay person doesnt recognize himself a woman and not dress like a woman. He still be a man but not attracted a woman. From this perspective is not understandable with popular Thai attitudes. Thai people perceive gay and Kathoey in the same category. They know that gay is the same kind of Tud, Taew or Kathoey, who has a feminine characters. This attitude very confused with Thai gay male who see themselves as not Kathoey. Thai Gay has a different community from Kathoey and not willing to join Kathoey in their social environment such as gay bar, bathhouse, or any gay scenes. However, in recent decade of 2000s, Thai gay personality has gradually contributed to the mainstream media and Thai people has seen gay as distinct person different from a heterosexual man by which observing in feminine manners. I would like to show that this decade run with separation of gay and Kathoey. Gay community has emerged as consumer culture in gay venue and popular media. While Kathoey has a different development with the female inspiration as seen in female impersonators and drag
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shows theater. This situation comes with a complex identification of gay person. I will try to find out the negotiation of self meanings of Thai gay, who not only dominated by commercial gay scene but also activated by themselves as agent to refuse, receive and adapt personally characters in global and local gay culture. Finally, I hope that my investigation could be a pioneer to rethink about Thai gay characteristics that not take it for granted from western masculine gay identity. To present that contemporary Thai gay male, representing the femininity, Kwamsao, is very important as self identification as the same as a man characters. These two characters are not separate in Thai gay life but come together in Thai gay manner negotiation.

2ooos, When Thai gay community emerged

In 1999, the first Thai gay parade was held in Silom road known as gay venue in Bangkok. This parade is called Bangkok Gay Festival, which is very important in Thai gay history because it is the first time that gay people gathering in the public space to show their pride and liberation among a globalized gay culture in consumer society. Pakorn Pimthon is the leader in this event. He is not Kathoey but a man who love a man, presenting his male character on the street and the public had seen gay character different from Kathoey. Gay parade continued in many years, held in major city of Thailand, such as Bangkok, Phuket, and Pattaya. Even this year the idea of parade come to Chiangmai. This event developed with the rising of new gay generation growing with technology information like computer, internet and mobile phone. Consequently, Thai younger gay accustomed with popular gay media as seen in gay pornography, films, music, magazine and website. They have introduced by masculine gay of western culture and local Kathoey characters in Thai culture. This configuration come a personal lifestyle which had negotiated in practicing sexual life in gay bar, sauna, massage, discotheque, sexual scene and cyber space. Thai younger gay, between 18-25 years old, learn their sexual and identity experiences by consume material goods and services such as fashion, body building, music, and dance. Not surprising, younger gay would be appreciated male body and female costume in the same time.

Thai younger gay have their own group which constructed by commercial gay venue. They are enjoyable in sexual life available at gay sauna and massage. While they need to be fashion consumer, they are also a lover seeker in cyber space. Love and sex in Thai gay community come with many faces of gay male from different background. They do not out of trend in information technology and are instigated by gay website to find sex partnership. There are sexual spaces in public park such as Rachavibha, cruising area in Wang Saranrom and Natinoal Stadium at Haumak, gay bar at Saphan Kwai, Silom, and Surawong and many gay saunas around Bangkok. Nightlife is very important for Thai gay. They would be happy to hang out with friends. The important thing to show them selves in gay venue is that to be good looking. Many young gay usually care their body and appearance. They are not present kathoey characters but only manhood. It is increasingly found that Thai gay people should be more on male look than feminine manners. To be a man is very advantage to live in social world of gay venue. This phenomenon is the evident that gay community is developed out of traditional Kathoey culture. While gay venues are rapidly increased, these younger gay are sensitive to change and instability in love affair and sexual relation. Not surprisingly, many sex partners and lovers always come and go in their gay lifestyles. A part from their friends, many gay identify theirs own self with gay scene that straighten their inner sexual orientation. Their lives largely depend on the capacity to think them selves a gay but not Kathoey. In 2000s, Thai gay come of out the closet and speak in the public. There are many gay groups such as Rainbow Sky Society, Bangkok Rainbow and Mplus. These gay groups set the social space for Thai gay to gather and work for human right and gay dignity. They contribute a media for informing sexual health and education in public area. When the representation of manhood is increase in Thai gay culture, Kathoey will find theirs own way of self representation in different dimension. If Kathoey could adapt to male characters, they will live with other gay people. But many Kathoey are still in theirs femininity, they would be stay in transgender culture. I think that a traditional Kathoey would be more problems when gay consumer culture had emerged in Thai society. Kathoey with theirs female characters are excluded in gay sexual lifestyle and become a part of drag show and transgender beauty contest in gay community. Interestingly, Kathoey present them selves only in social events like gay parade

or party. We would rarely see them in gay sauna, massage or discotheque. I have some comments that social areas of traditional Kathoey are increasing narrow. But transgender areas are more open. In consumer culture in urban area like Bangkok, Kathoey would be negotiated by new transgender characters that were performed by medical and surgical operation. The new concept of beauty and femininity has come with transgender in cabaret show and beauty pageant. On the contrary, some Kathoey who reexamine theirs feeling would found that male characters are better than female characters. They could develop manhood in theirs manner to live comfortable in gay world. However, a lesser feminine in Katheoy characters are not mean that Kathoey would like to be a man. But Kathoey in deprivation of effeminacy may be live in more social arena. This is the negotiation in a gay consumer culture. This opinion may be more understandable in discussing how the representing effeminacy of gay people is connected to decreasing feminine of Kathoey. When gay social spaces are wider than Kathoey, it is good opportunity for Kathoey to realize that how they could involve in gay spaces. It is normally presented that some Kathoey could change theirs character to be gay in sexual situations. Because being gay is advantage in finding sex in gay bar or sauna. Some are not change but live in gay culture by performing in female impersonator and cabaret show. The question is that what is boundary of Thai gay effeminacy. Is it valuable for Thai gay people? If feminine Kathoey has condemned by gay male, feminine gay associated with Kathoey should be blamed too or not. What situations are the gay consciousness related to the effeminacy? These questions would be more discussed in this paper, by examining gay experiences of feminine practices.

Effeminate experiences of Thai gay male

I have interviewed with some young Thai gay males. Their life experiences would be told about an effeminate characters and personality both in different and similar ways. I had found that they could change there feminine characters all the time by learning from right and wrong situations. Their life experiences of effeminacy would be understood in the capability to negotiate the feminine characters into theirs lives. This young gay group that I had studied is urban gay middle class, who had educated 4

and live theirs lives in gay venues of Bangkok. They are accustomed with gay popular culture in website, sauna, bar, pub, karaoke, and nightlife. Aek, 32 years old, come from the Maesod, Tak province in western Thailand. He told that when he was a boy, he was a polite and quiet boy and was called Tud or sissy boy. Although he had a Kathoey friend but he doesnt want to be Kathoey and woman. When he was a teenager, he began to ask himself that why he was attracted by handsome man. In that time, he always looked at a leg of senior boy student in the school, who played basketball. However, Aek had a girlfriend but in a short time. Because of living in the frontier between Thailand and Myanmar, he could met some Myanmar boys and finally found two his boyfriend. He lived with him for 2 years and met a second Myanmar boy in Measod market. Aek stayed with him in his own house like husband and wife but Maymar boy was not gay. When he finished his 6 grade of secondary school in Tak, then he came to Bangkok to live with gay friends. This is the first time that he learned gay urban lifestyle which he thought it is an admirable and enjoyable life he never met before. He lived in Bangkok in several months and came back to study in university in Kampangphet province. After graduating, he returned to Bangkok to find a job. He had met third boyfriend and live with him for 4 years. Living with his boyfriend, Aek doesnt work and happily stayed as a housewife. He told that he had dressed a woman 3 times. But it happed only in special events such as party or photo shoots. He doesnt need to be a woman. It is a familiar in a friend group to show feminine characters. But he never acted like a woman when living in the public space. He was usually be flirted by feminine gay when staying in night club. He knows that if they are passive partner he could be active in sexual role. Aek preferred an admirable gay male who look like Japanese or Korean boy. If they are teen between 17-20 years old, he would be more appreciated. If they are more feminine, he would be denied to contact them. Aek told that he can change a sexual role, passive and active relations, in associated to his partner characters. Kon, 23 years old, was born in Bangkok and raised to be a boy. He had some Kathoey friend but he doesnt like to be Kathoey and accused by his family. When he was 13-14 years old, in the secondary school, he eventually found that he love a man. He usually looked at a handsome man

in the school. After studying in the university, Kon has come out within a friend group. He had met a first boyfriend when he was 19 years old. His boyfriend was a neighbor who came to buy some food in Kons shop. Kon learned a male love from this man and realized that he prefer to be an active partner. He rarely represented a feminine character in a diary life except only in his gay friend group. He believed that acting like Kathoey in his own group is a way to resist a man role in heterosexual norms. Arm, 29 years old, has just graduated in master degree from Rankhamhang university. When he was a child he was a feminine boy always accused by the people to be Kathoey. He never identify him selves like that because he doesnt want to be a woman. He knows term gay from the website when he was teen age. Arm usually lives his life in school and internet which introduced him to know first boyfriend in cyberspace. Arm thought that he come out lately in graduate school when he found the lover. His lover is a feminine gay who came from the country and younger than Arm. In that reason, Arm is very happy to be active role in sexual relations and never absolutely be a passive partner. Rooj, 22 years old, was the Bangkokian. He was a quiet boy and play with both girls and boys. He doesnt want to be Kathoey. He found his boyfriend when he was 15 years old. Rooj learn to be a man when he stayed in the public arena and represented a feminine character in his own group. He would be happy to be a feminine gay in the dancing floor in gay music hall. It is a special time to acting like a woman. But Rooj could be both active and passive partner, Thai gay called Both mean gay who can change sexual role. However, Roojs characters are contrast with Pongs femininity. Pong, 24 years old, working in private company in Bangkok. He told that he always performed like a woman such as having a cosmetic in his lip and face. When he was a child he learn a feminine experience from his Kathoey friend but he hated Kathoey Kwai, Thai slang mean big muscle and ugly faced transgender, and love to look at beautiful Kathoey who looked like a woman. Although he would like to present a feminine look, he never thought to be a woman. He could work and enjoy his life in a gay culture without expressing Kathoey character. Pong is the case to understand that representing effeminacy in gay lifestyle is the gender negotiation of Thai gay male. To more fully comprehend the current character of Thai gay person, I must understand the feminine experiences

form different gay life history. I had learned that Thai gay developed theirs effeminacy in associated with theirs sexual life and social situations. They would represented a feminine manner only in theirs own group and circle of friends and acted like a man in social and public spaces such as in the family, school, university, and workplace. There is not singularity of feminine gay but subjected to vary situations. Thai gays would be compromised with theirs friend to share a feminine experiences and continued theirs social relations within the group by negotiating theirs male characters with effeminacy. Thai gay person often learn to compromised theirs own experiences of male and female traits in theirs process of sexual identification. They should be more open in various situations to present some kind of femininity in associated with love affairs, sexual activities, friendships, studies, work, family and society. However, this compromise is not only activated in gay personal choices but also connected to power relations in commercial gay scene, consumer culture, heterosexual institutions and moral orders. These forms of power come with economic, political, and cultural circumstances that effected to gay person in various degrees. Sexual goods and services that consumed by gay people symbolized theirs need and sexual preferences, are integrated in negotiations of feminine gay characters. This is the continuing process that Thai gay would not be stop only when they come out as a gay. But the effeminacy is still be negotiated throughout gay life.

Masculine and Feminine Characters in Thai Gays Diary Life

In recent Thai gay community, masculine and feminine characters are complex. There are not masculine gay alone from feminine gay. But these characteristics are in the person who share both male and female trait in their personality. I had noticed that although gay person try to compromise his character, he would be developed his male and female character in different area. The growing fear of accusing Kathoey and exploring new friend led Thai gay to a dramatic shift in performing a male character in gay venue such as sauna, bar, and nightclub. In the same time, concerning with friendship relations and heterosexual resistance, Thai gay should represent a feminine character in the group. Thai gay people usually negotiate theirs behaviors in two dimensions. The first is the constructing new relations 7

with other gay males and continuing regular social norms in every life. This process will be constituted by performing maleness and manhood. Second is the confirming friendships in theirs own group by presenting feminine words, manners and characters. These two self realization conjoin in Thai gay personality which compromised by cultural Kathoey and universal gay identity had found in commercial scene. Thai gay people could know that to represent only gay effeminacy is not possible to be gay-affirmative, if gayness should also have been built by gay masculinity. Being Thai gay has certain cultural consequences. These binary division help to create the diversified desiring field across which Thai gay can negotiate in theirs live. However, masculine and feminine experiences of Thai gay are the paradox as social acceptance between private and public sphere of life. Now, there are many teen gays in Bangkok use the internet for coming out and finding sex partners and lovers. These are a sexual practice demonstrated by young gay generation, 18-25 years old they represent them selves a man who discriminate traditional Kathoey. To be a man is very important for them because they could find more new friend, attracted gay in an active role specially. It is more advantage in gay website to be gay without effeminacy. The only proper way of thinking about Thai gay characters in present day is to investigate their compromises in self expression to learn that how consumer gay culture regulates theirs masculine and feminine characters. In commercial gay scene, male appearance is very increasing value, Thai young gay can affirm theirs inner subject from its. But feminine character is less regarded as negative appearance in commercial sex scenes and social institutions.

The problem with Thai gay identity

The idea of Thai gay identity is social research in the past decade is the study of the process of coming out and confirmation of gay self consciousness and lifestyles. The gay researches, Bongkotmat Aekaeim (1989), Aekasat Sappachang (2003), Chiyo Nithiubon(2003) and Purin Naksing(2004), usually describe about the linear development of gay psychology from childhood to adulthood, and the come out is the final self awareness when they live in gay sexual scene and gay identity will be constant identity through entire life. This kind of study only focused on sexual activities which explained self struggling for social acceptance without regarding 8

the unidentified sexual characteristics in homosexual developing process. The problem is that many researches observe Thai gay as separated identity from traditional Kathoey, which misunderstand the complex experience of individual gay, who is active to redefine his sexual characters. The approach what I have in mind different from, proposing that it is not sexual activity alone for examining Thai gay identity, but the negotiation process of masculinity and femininity in gay development is more important to understand Thai gay characters. The sexual boundary between gay and Kathoey is not separated but shared in social and cultural experiences. Thai gay identity was invented as category of homosexuality is not relevant to local practices that distance from western sex system. Representing feminine gay or gay sao in Thai sexual culture is the phenomenal reaction of commercial gay markets in Bangkok that emphasized masculine appearances. Consequently, Thai gay people continued their manhood in relation to feminine to secure theirs private and public social world. The most interesting aspect of this argument is that effeminacy of private life can developed in later life of gay people. The feminine behaviors is not necessary arranged in childhood only but also in any step of self performance. Many gay people learned to behave a feminine character from their gay friends while other learned from Kathoey in school or university. Thai gays compromised this character in private friendship, but Kathoeys would realized them selves only in feminine consciousness to be a woman both in society and sexual relations. There are some notices for rethinking of Thai gay identity as a force not limited to the goals of coming out process, but in fact dynamic negotiating the culturally effeminacy, Kwamsoa, in everyday practices.