Kiss a provocation

Re: “A kiss is still a kiss”, (Opinion, Dec 23).

Having married my Thai partner in France under the same-sex marriage law, I am very keen for same-sex marriage to be legal and recognised in Thailand. This being said, unfortunately, I do not believe that men kissing in public and in the parliament does anything to further this objective. Thai heterosexual couples do not kiss in public. The Thai public frowns on what is considered lewd behaviour between boys and girls, or men and women, in public.

So, how can Melalin Mahavongtrakul interpret criticism of men kissing in public as an indication of disapproval of a particular sexual orientation? More generally, it is unfortunate that LGBTI associations and militants think that they have to reinforce stereotypes of sexual promiscuity by kissing in public, engaging in sexual acts in the street during Gay Pride parade, wearing sexually provocative outfits, etc. These self-appointed representatives do not in fact represent and in fact are very embarrassing to average LGBTI people, who only want to have equal rights and society to be indifferent to their sexual orientation. If the message of the kiss was lost, these militants carry all the blame. Provoking the public is counter-productive.

BAFFLED READER

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