In Bangkok, a form recently surfaced at a hotel in Nana, and it has gone viral. It tells guests to be aware that "the person" -- an allusion to a prostitute -- they are bringing to the room could be a "ladyboy".
A form found at a hotel in Nana asking guests about ladyboys. www.facebook.com/missladyboys
Very Poor form
"Have you negotiated the price before he [the ladyboy] is going to your room?" asked the aforementioned form, which also extended a warning for the guests to be careful of thievery when they encounter these "entertainment people".
Bangkok is known to farangs for a lot of things: cheap street food, grand temples, even grander shopping malls, and -- undeniably, even though the government and conservatives would never accept it -- our red-light districts.
With red-light districts and prostitution (which is still illegal, by the way, despite everything), another thing that's associated with the two is, unfortunately, transgender women -- also being referred to as ladyboys and katoeys.
Over the years, stories of their crimes and misconduct have been a regular commodity in the news, often reported in a tone of exotic excitement and colourful debauchery -- from cases of conflicts like brawling and stealing from tourists, to drug-related charges and more.
If we only consider these cases alone, the hotel's form may not seem so unreasonable after all. Of course, this also means we choose to neglect all other good deeds done by transwomen in other occupations and only focus on the negative aspects of the group.
But the Thai LGBTI circle is outraged by the form. Many are saying the hotel has committed an unforgivable act of sexism, homophobia and discrimination -- for branding transgender women as prostitutes and thieves.
The argument goes as follows:
Why does the form not mention anything about female (or male) prostitutes, too? Why is it being directed at katoeys alone? Some even call it a violation of rights for trying to reveal a transwoman's identity to someone else when they themselves are not ready. Opinions are mixed on this one, however. As gathered from online comments, some transgender prostitutes do lie about their gender identity to clients. Upon being found out later, some of the "deals" go awry, leading to the client's outburst in a public area with hospitality staff, and even police, ending up being involved to try and settle the fight.
If we consider it as a form of service, shouldn't the "consumer" be informed of the services the "service provider" is offering? But, of course, as prostitution is still illegal, no one is covered. And so we're left with the argument of whether transwomen should reveal their identity or not. Must they? Are they not violating their client's rights in return for hiding their sexuality? At the same time, revealing their gender identity can also take a dangerous turn if met with a wrong, homophobic crowd.
Some people are defending the hotel's decision, saying staff must have faced some problems in the past so they put out this form to prevent any further issues. Some agree that, indeed, the actions of a few problematic katoeys are spoiling the reputation of all. In any case, it's the innocent who are the ones paying the ultimate price for the consequences of others' actions.
Vitit Muntarbhorn. Photo: Melalin Mahavongtrakul
BIDDING FAREWELL
The news that shocked Thai and global LGBTI communities this month was the resignation of Vitit Muntarbhorn from his position as the UN's independent expert on sexual orientation and gender identity. His resignation will be effective come Oct 31.
In his letter sent to the president of the UN Human Rights Council, Vitit cited illness and family reasons for his eventual decision to leave his post.
The law professor was appointed to the position back in September last year. As one of his last responsibilities for the job, Vitit will be presenting his report on the mandate for the UN General Assembly next month.
The celebrations for Viet Pride are taking place all over Vietnam. www.facebook.com/vietpride.vn
PRIDE AND PREJUDICE
Viet Pride 2017 is still ongoing! Since the end of July, a series of events have taken place all over Vietnam in celebration of LGBTI pride which has seen local organisations coming together to host events and parties in their own region.
This year's pride took off in the province of Lang Son, up in the far north of Vietnam. Over the weekend, the celebration went down in Ho Chi Minh City.
The culmination of pride will take place this coming weekend in the province of Vinh Phuc.
It's good to see the spirit of pride alive and well in our neighbouring country, as we wait for our own pride event to finally take place after being postponed several times. The Bangkok Pride -- which was intended to be a first pride parade in the capital after 11 years -- was initially set to be held back in May. Later, it was postponed to the end of November, and now to early 2018, out of respect for the national mourning period for King Bhumibol Adulyadej.
The pride parade will hopefully be able to raise visibility and awareness of the Thai LGBTI community, in order for the public to see different images and angles of homosexual and transgender people aside from all the stereotypes being portrayed in the media. It could serve as a form of public education rolled in with the fun, at least that's what we are hoping it will turn out to be.
For a country known as a gay paradise, and a home of the world's largest transgender beauty pageant, the image of our society seems very tolerant and open. With that in mind, it's quite baffling how we're not actually leading the gay pride movement in this region, or even to have one annually already in Bangkok.
But, at the same time, this so-called paradise also has no marriage equality and gender recognition, only a botched gender equality bill which still permits discrimination based on religious beliefs and national security among other reasons.
We see katoeys laughing and gay characters kissing on our screens. We see LGBTI couples holding weddings and starting a family, making headlines while doing it. But this is no paradise. Not when weddings still lack legal recognition. Not when families are not legally considered as families. Not when transgender people can only be a laughingstock on our TV. Not when we have a beautiful surface of acceptance, but a hollow, prejudicial reality within.
Contact melalinm@bangkokpost.co.th for news and views of LGBT.
