SETTING THE RECORD STRAIGHT
Pride Month is here! Colourful events and celebrations are taking place across the world. Rainbow banners are flying on social media. The spirit of pride is alive and well, though it seems that certain parties are feeling left out of this whole extravaganza and are coming up with a celebration of their own.
And thus enters the idea of Straight Pride, with a parade, march, flag and all. As strange as it sounds, a group of men -- calling their campaign Super Happy Fun America -- has been trying to push for that to happen in the US.
Not to blame them, of course. It's very understandable how LGBTI Pride events may look to ignorant individuals. They see parade floats and kisses and assume people are simply celebrating for no reason, only clapping themselves on the back for being gay. Why can't straight people do the same too?
US politician Shawn Olson captured the sentiment felt by LGBTI people toward this news when he tweeted: "Gay pride was not born of a need to celebrate being gay, but our right to exist without persecution. So instead of wondering why there isn't a straight pride movement, be thankful you don't need one."
Evidently, not many realise or acknowledge the ultimate price the entire LGBTI community still collectively pays around the world today for living their truth. Homosexuality is criminalised in several countries, and even when it's legal, people are met with violence and unacceptance nevertheless.
This month, a lesbian couple was attacked in London. Doctors also refused to treat wounded transgender people in Pakistan. The right to marry someone becomes a luxury many are denied. Well, even the modern gay-rights movement was born from violence and oppression.
So, to all who are throwing tantrums because the grass seems greener -- or, well, more rainbowy -- on the other side, do continue to enjoy your straight birthright and be glad you never have to experience the hefty price tag that comes with Pride.
How great would it be if we never had to celebrate Pride Month anymore? How incredible, really, if it won't even be necessary to talk about equal rights and inclusion because they would come naturally and be granted to all around the world with no exception, and not something we need a global movement to accomplish? To never have to come out because there won't be a need to ever hide in the first place?
We wait for the day no one has to live in fear of being disowned and attacked for loving who they love.
Wishful thinking, yes. We simply dream we will see this happening in our lifetime.
Pimchanok 'Baifern' Luevisadpaibul as Nira in Bai Mai Tee Plid Plew.
ROLE OF A LIFETIME
It's rare to find a TV series that centres on a transgender character, and so the introduction of Bai Mai Tee Plid Plew did create some buzz around here.
The series, now airing on Channel One 31, focuses on Nira, a transgender woman who returns home upon the death of her mother, for which she blames her estranged, abusive father. Both plastic and sexual-reassignment surgeries have transformed Nira until she's unrecognisable to her father's side of the family. She vows to avenge her mother's death and all the maltreatment she's suffered since childhood, but the one thing standing in her way is her kind uncle-in-law, whom she has always had feelings for.
Bai Mai Tee Plid Plew was originally a novel by National Artist Tommayanti. This is the first time the tragic drama has been adapted for screen. It stars cisgender actress Pimchanok "Baifern" Luevisadpaibul in the role of Nira. Her performance and also a scene in which she appears to be using a vaginal dilator -- as a transgender woman who's had a surgery is required to use -- have become talking points.
Again, concerns have been raised as to why a trans actress wasn't cast for the role, though it's undeniable Pimchanok certainly did a fine job in portraying the emotionally scarred Nira. The story and its portrayal of a transgender woman does raise the question of what kind of message it is sending in today's society, where we struggle to break free from the trope of the tragic ending of transgender women onscreen.
Catch the series on Monday and Tuesday at 9.20pm on Channel One 31. Reruns are available on LineTV.
Contact melalinm@bangkokpost.co.th for news and views of LGBTI.
Upcoming events
LGBT+ Film Festival: Head to the Bangkok Screening Room on July 2-7 for a film fest that will explore different facets of sexuality and gender. Some of the films on the line-up include Antonio Lopez 1970: Sex Fashion & Disco, Being 17, My Own Private Idaho, Rafiki, Family In Transition, and more. Visit bkksr.com/lgbtff2019-movies for info and ticketing.
Miss Tiffany's Universe 2019: The well-known beauty pageant for transgender women is back at the Tiffany's Show Theatre in Pattaya. Catch the preliminary show on July 18 at 2pm, with live broadcast available on Miss Tiffany's Facebook page. The final round will take place on July 20, starting at 8pm. Audiences at home can watch the final show on GMM 25, which will be broadcast later in the same evening. For more information, visit facebook.com/MissTiffanyUniverse.
MONTHLY SNIPPETS
Pride Month opened with a bang here when Kulchaya "Candy" Tansiri became the first transgender woman to win the modelling-themed reality show The Face Thailand Season 5. The previously female-centric show officially accepted transgender contestants in 2016. So far, three transgender women have competed on the show, including Kulchaya.
Each June also marks the anniversary of the Pulse gay nightclub shooting, which took place on June 12, 2016. Forty-nine victims were killed that night. Thoughts and prayers are with their families. May they rest in power.
Several countries are making progress when it comes to LGBTI rights. Bhutan and Botswana became the latest nations to decriminalise homosexuality. Same-sex marriage is now legal in Ecuador. The Brazilian Supreme Court ruled gender-based discrimination a criminal offence. So long, homophobia and transphobia!
James O'Neill, commissioner of the New York Police Department, publicly apologised for the police raid of Stonewall Inn in 1969 that brought about the modern LGBTI rights movement. This came in time for the 50th anniversary of the violent raid, with a commemoration set to take place later this week.
Taylor Swift is back with a new music video, You Need To Calm Down, and it's set to be a shiny new Pride anthem. The candy-like, colourful MV features a scene from a gay wedding, LGBTI people being fabulous and ignoring the haters, plus tons of celebrities such as Adam Lambert, Ellen DeGeneres, Adam Rippon, the guys from Queer Eye, RuPaul and his drag queens, and more. Earlier this month, Swift also gave a surprise Pride performance at Stonewall Inn. Way to go, ally!
YouTuber Eugene Lee Yang released a powerful coming-out video, which has garnered over 10 million views since its release, while also raising more than US$93,000 (2.9 million baht) for the Trevor Project — a suicide-prevention and crisis-intervention organisation for queer youth. Featuring music from electronic music duo Odesza, the wordless video pictures Yang in a family and church setting, with scenes also alluding to same-sex attraction, nightclub shooting and bullying.
