Queer & Feminist Movements against Dictatorship in Thailand
Queer & Feminist Movements against Dictatorship in Thailand
Sirabhob “Raptor” Attohi, co-founder of Serithoey Plus, in conversation with Tamara Loos, Professor of History, Cornell University
Date & Time: Wednesday, October 20, 5:00 p.m. PDT (1:00 p.m. HST)
Register here.
Thailand is internationally famous for its so-called social openness to the diversity of genders and sexualities. Yet, this complex terrain of gender and sexuality barely serves as a central concern in both everyday life and state politics. Relative social progressivism permitted by the state, in other words, only runs in parallel with, rather than confronts Thai political conservatism. The country still lacks internationally-backed policies to protect LGBTQ+ rights and dignity; the society still generally misunderstands and discriminates against sex workers; the healthcare system does not sufficiently attend to gay and trans’ needs; the family institution primarily values cis- and hetero-normativity; and, probably most painfully, some political activists remain ignorant about their toxic masculinist practices.
The continuing pro-democracy protests in Thailand demand a total democratic transformation of the nation. Queer and feminist communities, the most iconic being the drag queens, actively lead these protests against the joint royal-military dictatorship. They combine the overt political demands with a call to restructure the social fabric toward greater gender equality. This discussion aims to both understand the animated queer and feminist activism in Thailand from one of the movement’s key figures and situate this contemporary phenomenon in the long history of sexuality in Thailand.
Sirabhob “Raptor” Attohi, known by their drag name Masala Bold, is a Thai queer feminist and anti-dictatorship activist. They are a co-founder of two radical pro-democracy collectives based in Bangkok: Serithoey Plus, a queer protester collective demanding gender equality and democracy, and Mobfest, a collective weaponizing media in a hegemonic battle to promote a democratic culture. Being a part of these two groups allows Raptor to wield queer culture against the intersected oppressive forces of militarism and patriarchy. All these activisms aside, they are just a student of drama and theatre (at Chulalongkorn University), a queer dressing up as a drag queen on their whim, a young soul interested in religions and spirituality, and a person believing in a better future for the humanity.
Tamara Loos is Professor of Southeast Asian History and Chair of the History Department at Cornell University. Her first book, Subject Siam: Family, Law, and Colonial Modernity in Thailand (2006), explores the implications of Siam’s position as both a colonized and colonizing power in Southeast Asia. Her recent book, Bones Around My Neck (2016) offers a critical history of Siam through the dramatic life of a pariah prince, Prisdang Chumsai (1852–1935). Her teaching and articles focus on an array of topics including sex and politics, subversion and foreign policy, sexology, transnational sexualities, comparative law, sodomy, and gender in Asia. She has been interviewed by the BBC, The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Financial Times, and other global media outlets about political protests in Thailand.
Organized by the Association for Thai Democracy