A MISSED OPPORTUNITY
Our monthly rundown of LGBTI news, including a highly-anticipated but ultimately disappointing event
At the end of last month, we watched the inaugural Thailand LGBT Expo, and unfortunately it bombed.
I was there on the last day of the event. At 11am on Sunday, the Impact Arena hall was understandably empty. But when I had a chat with a guy handing out flyers at his beauty clinic stall, he told me it had been dead quiet since day one.
“The exception is only when there are contests going on at the main stage, with people coming in to cheer for their friends. Otherwise, the hall is mostly deserted,” he said, speculating that Muang Thong Thani may be a location too far out of the city that — also due to the nature of the event itself — and can’t really draw in the general public, casual passers-by, and even LGBTI people themselves.
But even if the expo was held in the middle of Bangkok, would it succeed in bringing in a crowd? Looking around the hall, there were only a handful of stalls to begin with. Bangkok University’s Theatre Company was there promoting their free-for-public musical — the Thai rendition of the award-winning La Cage Aux Folles (performance now ongoing). Krungthai Axa declared itself a pioneer insurance company in Thailand for allowing policyholders to list their same-sex partners as beneficiaries (this comes with a long list of criteria, however). The rest were stalls selling clothes, lingerie, fetish rubber costumes, resort packages, books and more.
The name LGBT Expo does carry a lot of expectations. Personally, I expected there would’ve been more booths dedicated to products and services that cater to the needs of LGBTI people. This might include anything from shops selling chest binders for lesbians and transgender men (they’re mostly available online otherwise). Dental dams, even. And I anticipated seeing stalls dedicated to LGBTI rights, job opportunities, and healthcare promotions that could offer counselling services on anything from safe sex to the transition process. There was barely anything of the sort.
Another thing the event missed out entirely on was the “L” and half of the “T” of its LGBT acronym. From stalls to stage, it was apparent lesbians and transgender men — and also bisexual people — were under-represented.
Are they excluded and forgotten? Or do they choose not to get involved in the first place? Which questions should we try to seek answers for, and what would that reflect about the LGBTI scene in this country?
It was unfortunate that the LGBT Expo ended up being a letdown, with its focus riding mainly on fleeting entertainment and not enough on empowerment. The fun was good, yes. But an inclusion of more useful things won’t hurt.