Marriage equality brings joy
by Poramet Tangsathaporn
July 2, 2024
Same-sex couples have been expressing joy since the passage of Thailand's Marriage Equality Bill in the Senate two weeks ago.
They say they have been waiting patiently for this moment for a long time, and once the bill becomes law, they will apply for a marriage licence.
The law is meaningful to them because it helps guarantee a happy and healthy relationship as long as they are committed to the values that keep them together.
On June 18, the Senate endorsed the Marriage Equality Bill at its final reading.
The bill allows same-sex couples to register their marriage, with their relationship protected under the same law that applies to heterosexual couples.
The bill is expected to become law and take effect by the end of this year, when Thailand is set to become one of 37 countries in the world and the first Southeast Asian nation to legalise same-sex marriage.
A long fight
The initiative to allow same-sex marriage was first proposed in 2001 by then-interior minister Purachai Piamsomboon. However, it was shot down by Thaksin Shinawatra, prime minister at the time.
The idea was brought back in 2019 during Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha's administration. Legislation on marriage equality was approved but later dropped as parliament was dissolved.
The Lower House finally passed the Marriage Equality Bill on March 27, and 84 days later, the Upper House announced its final approval of the bill on a 130:4 vote.
The law will take effect 120 days after it is published in the Royal Gazette following royal endorsement.
The Thai LGBTQ+ community considers it a victory after having fought for their rights for more than two decades.
The Bangkok Post recently sat down with some community members to seek their thoughts on the much-anticipated law.
Room to improve
Prinn Vadhanavira, 44, and Chakkrit Vadhanavira, 49, are among those looking to tie the knot, despite having been together in a relationship for 22 years.
Mr Prinn said that because there was no legal recognition for same-sex couples in the past, the couple faced many difficulties, especially when buying property, getting a loan together or listing each other as insurance beneficiaries.
They eventually solved these problems by having Mr Prinn's parents adopt Mr Chakkrit as a son so that they could have legal benefits as legal siblings.
The couple said they would register their marriage as soon as the law was in effect, adding they had already consulted legal experts and studied the procedures for changing their legal status from adoptive siblings to spouses.
The law is also expected to relieve crucial concerns for Sirorat Kanjanasumranwong, 38, and her partner Palita Areeras, 30. The couple have been in their relationship for three years.
"The fact that we couldn't sign medical approval for each other because we were not legally related always bothered us. Now we are relieved that the issue will soon be fixed," Ms Sirorat said.
While the law allows same-sex couples to register their marriage, some sections need to be improved, especially regarding gender-specific status, which may lead to the misgendering of some LGBTQ+ people, especially trans people.
Nachale Boonyapisomparn, vice president of the Foundation of Transgender Alliance for Human Rights, said that she, as a trans woman, would like to be a mother while her partner, a transman, would like to be a father if they decided to register their relationship.
Technically, they can register their marriage as a heterosexual couple. However, they have determined their gender identity is not the same as their biological sex.
However, the law still uses "father" and "mother", referring to biological males and females. Such terms could lead to misgendering in transgender relationships.
"Thailand has come far. Still, many things are left undone, such as the issue of legal guardianship and reproductive health," Ms Nachale said.
"Also, we still need to adapt our [education, welfare, justice and labour] system to the legal changes. We also need to work on stigma and discrimination prevention.
"The Marriage Equality Bill proves Thailand can change, but we need to make sure Thai society progresses along with this change as well," she added.
'Pink economy'
After the equal marriage bill becomes law, certain global demographic and economic trends will bring benefits to Thailand, according to Lee Badgett, Professor Emerita of Economics at the University of Massachusetts Amherst and the Chief Economist at Koppa LGBTI+ Economic Power Lab.
She said the LGBTQ+ market has been growing rapidly as more young people have been identifying themselves as LGBTQ+, especially among millennials (born between 1981 and 1996) and members of Generation Z (between 1997 and 2012).
She pointed out that from 2021 until 2023, when Gallup, an American analytics and advisory company, surveyed people in the United States, about one in 10 millennials and about one in five Generation Z people identified as LGBTQ+.
She also said Ipsos, a multinational market research and consulting firm, conducted research in 30 countries and found that one in five Gen Z and one in 10 millennials identified themselves as LGBTQ+.
"This is a remarkably consistent pattern around the world. So clearly, the world is changing dramatically in terms of demographics," she added.
She pointed out that such a demographic change matters to businesses as more customers and tourists to Thailand will be LGBTQ+.
LGBTQ+ people are looking for products that represent them, and these consumers are expected to spend about US$4 trillion (146.7 trillion baht) around the world a year.
"[For Thailand], more employees, business owners and investors will be LGBTQ+. So, demographics will really drive this big economic wave over time as young generations move forward, in particular," she added.
Meanwhile, Prof Badgett pointed out that there are still roughly about 65 countries around the world which criminalise homosexuality or LGBTQ+ identities.
"This is clearly the way to go for Thailand to gain benefits from the pink economy," she said.
https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/sp ... brings-joy
Same sex marriage in Thailand
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Gaybutton
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Re: Same sex marriage in Thailand
Yes, and if the Gallup Survey would have included Baby Boomers only one in a hundred would identify as LGBTQ. Why? Because the more we move into the future the more willing LGBTQ people are to come out of the closet. There aren't more gay people now than before. It's the fact that gays are gradually becoming accepted in society making their real numbers more visible. That's based on the 2024 DGAS (Dodgers Global Analytical Survey)...555.Bangkok Post wrote: ↑Tue Jul 02, 2024 8:09 am She pointed out that from 2021 until 2023, when Gallup, an American analytics and advisory company, surveyed people in the United States, about one in 10 millennials and about one in five Generation Z people identified as LGBTQ+.
DGAS results also conclude that approximately 50% of the worlds population falls somewhere in the LGBTQ spectrum and the other 50% are still evolving.
By-the-way: What comes after Gen Z? Do they invent another Letter - or just start with "A" again?
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Gaybutton
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KeithAmbrose
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Gaybutton
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Re: Same sex marriage in Thailand
‘Pink baht’: Thailand’s businesses chase same-sex marriage bonanza
Wedding planners, hotels, malls and mortgage brokers are hoping to cash in on the legalisation of same-sex unions.
By Vijitra Duangdee
July 4, 2024
For three decades, Dujruedee Thaithumnus has presided over symbolic weddings between same-sex couples on the white sand beaches of Thailand’s Samui island.
As Thailand prepares to legalise LGBTQ marriages, Dujruedee is looking forward to officiating legally recognised ceremonies for the first time – and cashing in on the “pink baht”.
“Samui has all the ecosystem required to organise weddings, the island is a one-stop shop. I have no doubt after the bill passes, we’re going to be on the world map as an LGBTQ wedding destination,” Dujruedee, who charges anywhere between $1,000 and $50,000 for her beach packages, told Al Jazeera.
“There are no words to describe how thrilled I am,” Dujruedee said.
After years of failed attempts, Thailand’s marriage equality bill last month cleared its final parliamentary hurdle.
To become law, the bill must still receive royal assent – a step that is widely seen as a formality.
Once the law is on the books, Thailand will be one of only three places in Asia where same-sex couples can wed, along with Taiwan and Nepal.
Activists hope that the first same-sex weddings will take place as soon as October.
As the law finally catches up to Thai society’s broadly accepting attitudes towards sex and gender, countless businesses, from wedding planners to hotels, malls, medical institutions and mortgage brokers, are poised to benefit.
Apart from opening up new income streams for event planning businesses, the law will grant LGBTQ couples legal recognition of joint ownership of property, mortgages and insurance plans for the first time, bringing a new stream of consumers into the realm of financial services long denied to them.
Ploy Rahong, a real estate broker on Samui Island who plans to wed her girlfriend in October, said the legal change has her thinking about how to target sales of homes, island getaways, assisted living and retirement communities at the LGBTQ community.
“We want to create something special on the island, specifically for these couples,” she told Al Jazeera.
While government estimates vary, Thailand’s Pride month of celebrations, which have their most visible presence in Bangkok, Phuket, Pattaya and Chiang Mai, have been calculated to generate up to $120m in tourism and extra spending.
In a flurry of rainbow flags and floats, Bangkok on Sunday brought the curtain down on its Pride month festivities, billed by Thai authorities as the largest of their kind in Asia, featuring parades, drag catwalk competitions, art exhibitions, pop-up markets and concerts.
Thailand’s Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin strongly backed the law, seeking a rare political win and an economic boost for Southeast Asia’s second-biggest economy, which has struggled to match the post-pandemic recoveries of its regional peers.
Thailand’s central bank has forecast the economy to grow by a tepid 2.6 percent this year, up from 1.9 percent in 2023, but still behind neighbouring Malaysia and Indonesia.
“The government is ready to support Pride Festival … to boost the nation’s economy especially when it comes to spurring tourism,” Srettha said at the start of the closing “Love Pride Parade” on Sunday.
In late July, Thailand will formally put in its bid to host World Pride in 2030.
Thongnakarin Sukvatanachaiwongs, co-founder of Prism, an EDM festival that targets LGBTQ customers, said that he estimates Thai-run festivals aimed at the community are currently worth about $10m a year.
“It’s likely to be a lot more once we attract the global community, too,” he told Al Jazeera.
“If it’s done well, the pink economy has a lot to offer. Look at Taiwan Pride, it’s got bigger every year and it’s driving the economy … we‘re heading in that direction.”
Even so, the growing commercialisation of Thailand’s relatively liberal LGBTQ scene has not been without its sceptics.
“It’s natural that you see every mall in Thailand catch on to this Pride trend,” a branding officer at one of the kingdom’s biggest retail groups told Al Jazeera, requesting anonymity as they were not authorised to speak to the media.
“At the same time, in order for malls to survive, they can’t just do sales and promotions any more, they also have to be discerning with global issues, they have to be empathetic and loved by their customers.”
Still, many entrepreneurs are confident that the future is pink.
At the Pink Power Up Business Forum in Bangkok last month, speakers reeled off Thailand’s selling points as a global marketplace for everything from LGBTQ-focused film production to medical services and beauty.
“Thailand is already one of the top destinations for the LGBTQ community,” Manatase Annawat, president of Thailand Privilege, an enterprise under the Tourism Authority of Thailand that aims to lure expats to settle in the country, told Al Jazeera.
“Imagine after we pass the bill, Thailand could become the centre of the world for the community.”
Nikki Phinyapincha, a transwoman entrepreneur who founded Thailand’s first and only diversity equity and inclusion agency, said that there is growing appreciation that growing tolerance in society extends to consumers as well.
“I believe Thailand can become the first pink tiger nation … a global equality destination.”
https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2024/ ... e-the-pink
Wedding planners, hotels, malls and mortgage brokers are hoping to cash in on the legalisation of same-sex unions.
By Vijitra Duangdee
July 4, 2024
For three decades, Dujruedee Thaithumnus has presided over symbolic weddings between same-sex couples on the white sand beaches of Thailand’s Samui island.
As Thailand prepares to legalise LGBTQ marriages, Dujruedee is looking forward to officiating legally recognised ceremonies for the first time – and cashing in on the “pink baht”.
“Samui has all the ecosystem required to organise weddings, the island is a one-stop shop. I have no doubt after the bill passes, we’re going to be on the world map as an LGBTQ wedding destination,” Dujruedee, who charges anywhere between $1,000 and $50,000 for her beach packages, told Al Jazeera.
“There are no words to describe how thrilled I am,” Dujruedee said.
After years of failed attempts, Thailand’s marriage equality bill last month cleared its final parliamentary hurdle.
To become law, the bill must still receive royal assent – a step that is widely seen as a formality.
Once the law is on the books, Thailand will be one of only three places in Asia where same-sex couples can wed, along with Taiwan and Nepal.
Activists hope that the first same-sex weddings will take place as soon as October.
As the law finally catches up to Thai society’s broadly accepting attitudes towards sex and gender, countless businesses, from wedding planners to hotels, malls, medical institutions and mortgage brokers, are poised to benefit.
Apart from opening up new income streams for event planning businesses, the law will grant LGBTQ couples legal recognition of joint ownership of property, mortgages and insurance plans for the first time, bringing a new stream of consumers into the realm of financial services long denied to them.
Ploy Rahong, a real estate broker on Samui Island who plans to wed her girlfriend in October, said the legal change has her thinking about how to target sales of homes, island getaways, assisted living and retirement communities at the LGBTQ community.
“We want to create something special on the island, specifically for these couples,” she told Al Jazeera.
While government estimates vary, Thailand’s Pride month of celebrations, which have their most visible presence in Bangkok, Phuket, Pattaya and Chiang Mai, have been calculated to generate up to $120m in tourism and extra spending.
In a flurry of rainbow flags and floats, Bangkok on Sunday brought the curtain down on its Pride month festivities, billed by Thai authorities as the largest of their kind in Asia, featuring parades, drag catwalk competitions, art exhibitions, pop-up markets and concerts.
Thailand’s Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin strongly backed the law, seeking a rare political win and an economic boost for Southeast Asia’s second-biggest economy, which has struggled to match the post-pandemic recoveries of its regional peers.
Thailand’s central bank has forecast the economy to grow by a tepid 2.6 percent this year, up from 1.9 percent in 2023, but still behind neighbouring Malaysia and Indonesia.
“The government is ready to support Pride Festival … to boost the nation’s economy especially when it comes to spurring tourism,” Srettha said at the start of the closing “Love Pride Parade” on Sunday.
In late July, Thailand will formally put in its bid to host World Pride in 2030.
Thongnakarin Sukvatanachaiwongs, co-founder of Prism, an EDM festival that targets LGBTQ customers, said that he estimates Thai-run festivals aimed at the community are currently worth about $10m a year.
“It’s likely to be a lot more once we attract the global community, too,” he told Al Jazeera.
“If it’s done well, the pink economy has a lot to offer. Look at Taiwan Pride, it’s got bigger every year and it’s driving the economy … we‘re heading in that direction.”
Even so, the growing commercialisation of Thailand’s relatively liberal LGBTQ scene has not been without its sceptics.
“It’s natural that you see every mall in Thailand catch on to this Pride trend,” a branding officer at one of the kingdom’s biggest retail groups told Al Jazeera, requesting anonymity as they were not authorised to speak to the media.
“At the same time, in order for malls to survive, they can’t just do sales and promotions any more, they also have to be discerning with global issues, they have to be empathetic and loved by their customers.”
Still, many entrepreneurs are confident that the future is pink.
At the Pink Power Up Business Forum in Bangkok last month, speakers reeled off Thailand’s selling points as a global marketplace for everything from LGBTQ-focused film production to medical services and beauty.
“Thailand is already one of the top destinations for the LGBTQ community,” Manatase Annawat, president of Thailand Privilege, an enterprise under the Tourism Authority of Thailand that aims to lure expats to settle in the country, told Al Jazeera.
“Imagine after we pass the bill, Thailand could become the centre of the world for the community.”
Nikki Phinyapincha, a transwoman entrepreneur who founded Thailand’s first and only diversity equity and inclusion agency, said that there is growing appreciation that growing tolerance in society extends to consumers as well.
“I believe Thailand can become the first pink tiger nation … a global equality destination.”
https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2024/ ... e-the-pink