'The Iron Ladies" would have been a fearless statement for gay pride if it

had been released in, oh, say, 1960. Its attitudes are so dated it plays like a
float in a Gay and Lesbian Pride Parade, featuring drag stereotypes of the
past. That the movie is fun is undeniable. That it is bad is inarguable.

The film is about a Thai volleyball team made up of gays, transvestites, a

transsexual and one allegedly straight member (ho, ho). Locked out of
volleyball courts, scorned by the league, the victims of cheating and
pigheaded officials, they fight their way to the national finals. Think of "The
Mighty Ducks," with a slight adjustment in spelling.

That gays can excel at volleyball is beyond question. That they can play
their best game only when wearing a lot of makeup is questionable. That
they must win by shocking their homophobic opponents with flouncing,
flaunting, flamboyant behavior and limp-wristed serves is offensive--
especially in Thailand, where transsexuality and transvestism are minor
tourist industries.

The story arc of the movie is familiar to anyone who has ever seen a
formula sports film about an underdog team. Every act seems recycled
from the archives. We see the early setbacks. The recruitment of a team of
misfits, losers and reluctant heroes. The key player who needs a lot of
convincing. The coach with personal issues of her own (she may be a
lesbian, but the movie refuses to commit). The sports authorities who want
to ban the team. The early victories. The setbacks. Capturing the popular
imagination. The big game. The crisis. The realization that the team can
win only by returning to its True Nature (i.e., gobs of foundation, lots of
lipstick).

It's a good thing "The Iron Ladies" is about a gay team, because if this team
were straight, the film would be an exercise in formula. The characters
redeem the material by giving us somewhere else to look. It is, alas, too
shy to look very hard. Judging by this movie, gay volleyball players have no
sex lives at all, and don't even smooch a little in public.

"The Iron Ladies" make admirable role models for celibacy in drag. I found
myself intrigued, however, by the matter-of-fact Coach Bee (Siridhana
Hongsophon). Her performance is so utterly without spin, style or affect that
it could be lifted intact from a documentary. She is utterly convincing as--a
volleyball coach. It's as if a real coach is being filmed with a hidden camera.
There is no attempt to "perform," no awareness of punch lines, no artificial
drama. Just a flat, straight-ahead, no-nonsense coaching job. It is either
one of the most convincing performances I have ever seen or no
performance at all.
At the end of the film, we see newsreel footage of the real Iron Ladies, who
are, indeed, a gay Thai volleyball team, and did indeed become national
favorites. I understand that the story of the film is only adjusted slightly from
real life (although greatly adjusted, I suspect, from real sex lives). This is
the kind of movie you kind of enjoy, in a dumb way, with half your mind on
hold, wishing they'd tell you more about some of the characters--especially
Pia (Gokgorn Benjathikul), the glamorous transsexual. There's something
sexy about the way she says, "Your serve."

In 1996 Thailand watched as The Iron Ladies, a men’s volleyball team

made up of gay and transgender athletes, shattered expectations and won
the national championships. Since then their legacy has been immortalised
in two feature films that question the country’s relationship with its LGBTQ
community.

The 2001 film The Iron Ladies details the rise to stardom of Thailand’s first-
ever LGBTQ volleyball team (of the same name), bringing audiences
unmistakably Thai-comedy. Brace yourself for over-the-top antics, cheesy
underdog cliffhangers and of course the character development of the
team’s token heterosexual player, ultimately acknowledging his own
ignorance and intolerance. But the storyline—at the time the second-
highest grossing Thai film ever—succeeds in driving home its main
message, one that is still hotly relevant today – that discrimination is still
alive and well in even the most inclusive-looking societies.

LGBTQ Thailand

Changes in public policy toward LGBTQ issues first manifested in Thailand

in the 1990s, evolving generations of the country’s own brand of quasi-
acceptance. Entrenched in Buddhist-driven norms, Thai society has long
been tolerant of those identifying as LGBTQ, but a placated public
sentiment doesn’t always mirror the liberal image framed by lawmakers and
ambassadors promoting Thailand to the global community. Even as
recently as 2002 the Ministry of Health’s official stance was that
homosexuality was regarded as a mental illness or disorder.

As 2018’s pride month draws to a close, the story of these 1996 champion

volleyball players—at the time considered the first film to portray gender
diversity in a positive light—begs the question of how much things have
actually changed in the lives of LGBTQ Thais more than two decades later.

The Iron Ladies

The true story begins with volleyball players Mon and Jung, two natural
talents who had consistently struggled with rejection from top teams
because of their openly gay appearance. Then when a local team in the
province of Lampang gets a new coach, she holds open try-outs that Mon
and Jung each swiftly pass, prompting the existing team members to resign
in protest.

BOOK THE TRAVEL YOU'VE MISSED

Mon and Jung turn to enlist their university volleyball friends, including a
gay army recruit and kathoey cabaret star, building a team that is entirely
made up of LGBTQ members except for one – who in the film acts as the
necessary dramatic foil to the narrative. Time and again the team’s efforts
are snubbed by discrimination from officials, who swiftly change their tune
once the Lampang team garners significant public praise and support.
Ultimately, the team, picking up its Iron Ladies moniker, goes on to win the
Thai national men’s championship.