Gay Guys And High-school...

[ChrisP]

They told me that being gay was no more accepted in Thai schools than it was in most western schools. So they keep up a 'straight image' until they go to university. Then are able to 'be themselves'.

and

It's not so easy for thai teenagers to meet each other in real life because we're really scened and classified.  There will be gay guys who are really effiminate and they stick together. There were gay guys who act straight and sometimes just pretend to be bisexual if anyfriends got some clues about his gayness.

(Taken from another posting..)

ChrisP

Edited February 27, 2005 by ChrisP

[ChrisP]

My bf, - who isn't exactly "butch", and is certainly on the fem side of "pretty", (although not a LadyBoy) tells me that he was also the subject of ridicule when he was in High-School for being "obviously gay"...

Hmmm. I'm really surprised that for such a tolerant society towards gays generally, that the Thai High School environment is so intolerant (like the rest of the Western World).

ChrisP

PS you can always go see him perform at the Freeman Dance Arena midnight show..!

[wowpow]

Youngsters can be very cruel to anyone who is not the 'norm' be it too fat, too tall, too tiny, too bright, too stupid etc. I suspect that in Thai schools it is more of than than any homophobia. I mean when did any Western school open a toilet for katoey students so that they feel more comfortable.

A friend of mine went to teach at the Montessori school in Naklua. When he went to class the young students c 5 years old all cuddled up together sitting on the floor and not at their desks which he found charming. They asked if he was married "no' "Have you a girlfriend? "no' Have you a katoey?" "no'. They seemed to find the idea of living alone much less acceptable than living with a katoey.

Students in Pattaya go to the katoey shows at Alkazar and it's paid for by the Ministry for Education. From some of the outfits that students wear in the 'Walk for Life' on World Aids Day their sex education is pretty good.

[Ijustwannateach]

It is getting better, both in the states and here. There was a news article recently about the proliferation of gay-straight student alliances (often in the face of administrative opposition) in American high schools, the point being to foster good relations between non-homophobic straights and their gay peers.

Here in Thailand, I've found that in many schools the kathoey-types are not only tolerated, but also encouraged- a kathoey group performed at a teacher retirement ceremony at my school not long ago. Non-flamboyant gay students are also feeling stronger, I think... A gay student once openly asked to hug me in front of his entire class (I refused out of professionalism, though I was mightily tempted) and occasionally students would gossip with me not only about this girl and that boy, but also this boy and that *boy* dating.

"Steven"

[ChrisP]

I mean when did any Western school open a toilet for katoey students so that they feel more comfortable.

Wow.. I had no idea Thailand did that..!

ChrisP

[PeaceBlondie]

At our province (famous for its katoeys) the ladyboys can use the girl's toilet even though they're wearing the male uniform. I once asked a local ladyboy about having separate katoey toilets at the uni (or technical college) and he said no problem, the more agressive katoeys might jump the straight boys! He may have been kidding.

The totally out of the closet ladyboys that were in my M4 class, and another M5 boy, were very open about looking for a boyfriend. May saw me the other day (she's a beautiful straight girl) and told me that good news that "Paulla" had finally gotten a boyfriend. One older couple (I think M6) shocked the people a little bit during the marathon by walking across the finish line hand in hand, but most folks weren't shocked at all. Of course, they would never kiss in public!

At my current school, the flamboyant ladyboys flirt shamelessly with me; it's just a game. That is, their style of speech is like on the TV, as if to say, "Hey big boy, come up and see me sometime."Of course, as an older ajarn, I pretend they're not flirting. They never try to touch me.

I'll check with my daughter in a month (she teaches 10th graders who are gifted and talented, of course the drama majors include a high % of gays) in Texas. I doubt they've got it easier in Texas than in Thailand, but I may be surprised how much "live and let live" there is. In our old neighborhood in Houston, 1990-1998, bisexuality was popular among teens.

[The_Eye_Of_Sauron]

why the Intolerance...?

Becuase kids can be cruel and like to mock those wot don't fit in.

Hence why they choose to keep a low profile, so as to avoid a booting.

...but you already surely knew this, so your question is rhetorical.