Desiring Thai Men: Asian Gay Media and Transforming Masculinities

Desiring Thai Men traces the transformative influence of vernacular Thai-language media on Thailand’s gay communities from the 1980s through the 2010s. Narupon Duangwises and Peter A. Jackson analyze dramatic changes in the visual representation and languaging of masculine desire and sexual identity among Thai gay men that were reflected in Thai gay magazines and gendered practices in Bangkok’s gay bars, fitness centers, and video chatrooms. Multiple masculine identities emerged in Thailand’s communities of men who have sex with men from the intersecting influences of commercial gay media and gay venues. Distinctive class-based, contextualized, and flexible masculinities evolved among ethnically diverse Thai gay men in a capitalist setting of print and online media and expanding consumerist lifestyles.

Desiring Thai Men argues that evolving forms of masculinity among Thai men who pursue men offer insights for reexamining class dynamics in transnational queer and media studies and for the applicability of hegemonic masculinity beyond Western contexts.

Narupon Duangwises is head of the research section at the Sirindhorn Anthropology Centre, Bangkok, Thailand. His research focuses on gender, sexuality, queer theory and cultural anthropology.

Peter A. Jackson is Emeritus Professor of Thai history and cultural studies at the Australian National University. His research focuses on Buddhism, magical cults and gay, lesbian and transgender cultures in Asia.