Thai ministry urged to remove ‘homophobic’ books

[webfact]

Ministry urged to remove ‘homophobic’ books

By KORNRAWEE PANYASUPPAKUN 
THE NATION

 

 

LGBT CAMPAIGNERS yesterday stepped up their efforts to prevent homophobia being encouraged by school textbooks across the country.

 

 

“Students are learning from these textbooks that we [LGBT] people are abnormal,” said Parit Chomchen, who along with Suphanut Aneknumwong handed letters to the Committee for Consideration of Unfair Gender Discrimination (Wor Lor Por) asking for it to scrutinise all health education books used in Thai secondary and high schools. 

 

 

  They hope that the verdict of Wor Lor Por, which operates under the wing of the Ministry of Social Development and Human Security, will force the Education Ministry-run textbook committee to scrap the offending books. Usually, Wor Lor Por takes about 8 to 10 months to handle such cases. 

 

The books are approved by the Education Ministry committee and used in about 30,000 secondary and high schools across Thailand. 

 

One health education textbook for grade 8 students, for example, advises parents to “take their LGBT kids to psychiatrists” to “know and act according to the appropriate and normal gender roles”. It also shows a very limited view on gender roles. Women are supposed to “wear skirts, be gentle, take good care of their appearance and be interested in cooking, housework, knitting, and flower arrangement.” 

 

Men, on the other hand, should wear pants, and play adventurous sports such as boxing and football.

 

 

The textbooks created problems, said Suphanut, a grade 6 student who also handed in a separate letter to Wor Lor Por yesterday morning to scrutinise the books as he been a victim himself. “I am straight but I don’t play football and am not that ‘manly’. I am different from what is believed to be a man, that’s why my friends think I’m not straight and I was even a target for bullies,” he said. 

 

Health education textbooks are either published by, or regularly reviewed by, the education ministry, said Nitsuda Apinunpaporn, head of the committee responsible for textbooks. 

 

Nitsuda said the health education books that had gender-discriminatory content were produced before the rise of LGBT movements. 

 

“The problematic books were written before the Gender Equality Act was enforced in 2015. The ones we have reviewed are free of that biased content,” she told The Nation, but added that some old books were still in the system. 

 

 

However, the LGBT community disputed her claim that the books with biased content had been removed. “The books that are still being used by schools still foster gender discrimination against LGBT people,” said leading LGBT activist Naiyana Suphapung. “The health education textbooks advise students to keep their LGBT friends at arm’s length. The discriminatory content is still there,” she said.

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/national/30356135

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2018-10-10

[manarak]

The problem is mostly with people who interpret a negative meaning into words that otherwise are technically correct.

[jesimps]

Give them an inch............

[RichardColeman]

3 hours ago, webfact said:

Usually, Wor Lor Por takes about 8 to 10 months to handle such cases.

Ah, that must be the timeline after the 5 years of committee setting up

[connda]

Political Correctness: coming to a nation near you soon!

[Khun Paul]

Come on, students do not read these books, in fact in truth STUDENTS do not read any books, they do not have to, they ALL PASS anyway and they know that !!!!!!

[geriatrickid]

1 hour ago, jesimps said:

Give them an inch............

Oh my. You will have the size queens upset next.......   ????

[Lupatria]

5 hours ago, webfact said:

Women are supposed to “wear skirts, be gentle, take good care of their appearance and be interested in cooking, housework, knitting, and flower arrangement.” 

Is there a paragraph saying:

"Men are supposed to to wear uniforms, obey their superiors, and become nicely shaved, silent complacent slaves for the higher ranks, interested in gardening, trash collection, car wash, and maintenance repairs?" 

[jm91]

1 hour ago, connda said:

Political Correctness: coming to a nation near you soon!

Asking to be treated with dignity and respect is political correctness??? Hmm.  Strange I thought treating people with dignity and respectin was common courtesy.  

[wvavin]

What about removing the ladyboys in this country first?

[Zack61]

I doubt there is a country in the world that hasn’t ventured down this same path. Many are still on it. Thailand is but one. There are still western countries that refuse to acknowledge rights of LGBT people.

[Lupatria]

6 hours ago, webfact said:

Women are supposed to “wear skirts, be gentle, take good care of their appearance and be interested in cooking, housework, knitting, and flower arrangement.”

How could they leave out the group of specialist vaginal lessors (pick-up truck provider), pole dancer, Coyote Girls, beer pretties, nurses for farang pensioner, whose members are significantly contributing to the economy?

[fullcave]

6 hours ago, webfact said:

“Students are learning from these textbooks that we [LGBT] people are abnormal,” 

Entertainers are not normal, it's not their purpose. And who's to dictate what is normal? Get over it. 

[toofarnorth]

2 hours ago, jesimps said:

Give them an inch............

and they'l take a smile.

[Belzybob]

We all know that ladyboys, TVs and various other deviant minorities are absolutely normal; nothing abnormal about a bloke wanting to dress in a frock is there?

[Essaybloke]

6 hours ago, manarak said:

The problem is mostly with people who interpret a negative meaning into words that otherwise are technically correct.

Are you referring to this garbage as 'technically correct'?

 

Women are supposed to “wear skirts, be gentle, take good care of their appearance and be interested in cooking, housework, knitting, and flower arrangement.”  Men, on the other hand, should wear pants, and play adventurous sports such as boxing and football.

 

Very likely I probably misunderstood your brief post.

[d2b2]

If the health books in classrooms discouraged young Thai girls from marrying old farang men, then the comments in this thread would be entirely different. 

[scorecard]

1 hour ago, Lupatria said:

Is there a paragraph saying:

"Men are supposed to to wear uniforms, obey their superiors, and become nicely shaved, silent complacent slaves for the higher ranks, interested in gardening, trash collection, car wash, and maintenance repairs?" 

...and compulsory to play football...

[sanemax]

11 minutes ago, d2b2 said:

If the health books in classrooms discouraged young Thai girls from marrying old farang men, then the comments in this thread would be entirely different. 

But the books do not say that

[Lupatria]

A long and winding road to go Thailand:

[Petchou]

3 hours ago, connda said:

Political Correctness: coming to a nation near you soon!

it's well known that homophobic people are deeply homosexual that deny their own state.   

[maddox41]

I don't think  Thais read  many books. 

Thai TV drama all the way strange they want to get rid of this homophobic overtones. Considering most TV Shows have lady boys and gay men on it. 

And as for Thai drama it's OK to hit a thai womem rape them and treat them like  shit and show guns and beatings. 

This country is cracks  me up you cant make this shit up can you 

[Tchooptip]

1 hour ago, Zack61 said:

I doubt there is a country in the world that hasn’t ventured down this same path. Many are still on it. Thailand is but one. There are still western countries that refuse to acknowledge rights of LGBT people.

1

"There are still western countries that refuse to acknowledge rights of LGBT people"

There is always an interpretation of the right of everyone, for instance, I for sure respect gay people, I knew a few gay men for whom I had a great sympathy. During a period I recruited a lot of people for an important company and I would have recruited a gay without a problem. On the other hand, I disapproved the marriage between men or between women, I could easily explain why. We still have the right not to agree 100% with certain things as long it's without the least aggression without being called fascist or homophobic.

[johnnybangkok]

8 hours ago, manarak said:

The problem is mostly with people who interpret a negative meaning into words that otherwise are technically correct.

How is advising parents to “take their LGBT kids to psychiatrists” 'technically correct?' How is suggesting that 'Men, on the other hand, should wear pants, and play adventurous sports such as boxing and football' technically correct?

Your thinly veiled homophobia does not excuse 1950's styled stereotyping. If you cannot help the world move forward in a constructive manner then may I at least suggest you stop trying to drag it backwards. 

[johnnybangkok]

2 hours ago, Belzybob said:

We all know that ladyboys, TVs and various other deviant minorities are absolutely normal; nothing abnormal about a bloke wanting to dress in a frock is there?

Things people do not choose:

Sexual orientation

Gender Identity

Disability

Mental illness

Race

 

Things people do choose:

To be a intolerant a**hole to people over things they cannot control

 

[trianglechoke]

If abnormal means not normal and normal prescribes to over 75% (strong majority) plus the negative connotation with the word abnormal and those in question have a lifestyle which in no way aids procreation.......... They probably are abnormal

[trianglechoke]

30 minutes ago, maddox41 said:

I don't think  Thais read  many books. 

 Thai TV drama all the way strange they want to get rid of this homophobic overtones. Considering most TV Shows have lady boys and gay men on it. 

 And as for Thai drama it's OK to hit a thai womem rape them and treat them like  shit and show guns and beatings. 

This country is cracks  me up you cant make this shit up can you 

This is a good point

[lkv]

8 minutes ago, trianglechoke said:

If abnormal means not normal and normal prescribes to over 75% (strong majority) plus the negative connotation with the word abnormal and those in question have a lifestyle which in no way aids procreation.......... They probably are abnormal

Majority does not equal "normal".

 

I am right handed, therefore "normal". The majority of people are right handed, so "normal" like me.

 

Then, there's some "abnormal" left handed individuals out there.

Edited October 10, 2018 by lkv

[trianglechoke]

1 minute ago, lkv said:

Majority does not equal normal.

1. conforming to a standard; usual, typical, or expected.

   "it's quite normal for puppies to bolt their food"

   synonyms:

   usual, standard, ordinary, customary, conventional, habitual, accustomed, expected, wonted; More

    

   Seems that normal does indeed mean majority. It is normal for Thai people to eat rice. most always do it.

   It is normal for Thai people to enter in heterosexual relationships, both are easy majorities and set a standard for what is deemed normality in Thai society.

   It is not abnormal for a man to have sex with other men and to want to dress and live as a woman with the goal of penis removal being the big winner for man............. yes............ completely normal, in no way abnormal.............. give me a break

   •  
2. 2.

   TECHNICAL

[lkv]

1 minute ago, trianglechoke said:

1. conforming to a standard; usual, typical, or expected.

   "it's quite normal for puppies to bolt their food"

   synonyms:

   usual, standard, ordinary, customary, conventional, habitual, accustomed, expected, wonted; More

    

   Seems that normal does indeed mean majority. It is normal for Thai people to eat rice. most always do it.

   It is normal for Thai people to enter in heterosexual relationships, both are easy majorities and set a standard for what is deemed normality in Thai society.

   It is not abnormal for a man to have sex with other men and to want to dress and live as a woman with the goal of penis removal being the big winner for man............. yes............ completely normal, in no way abnormal.............. give me a break

   •  
2. 2.

   TECHNICAL

Read my post above, i have re-edited it.