How do the media influence the changed roles and perception of non-binary genders in

Thailand ?

In Thailand, genders were categorised on the basis of biological binary, recognizing only male
and female genders. As a result, traditional sexual categorisation maginalized the non-binary
genders and LGBT groups in terms of their social roles, community participation and general
preconceptions toward such genders. With the helps of social media, the changed gender roles
and preconception toward different genders have been changed over times. These helps are
characterised with the increased representation of different genders.

Traditional media marginalised the non-binary genders. Traditionally, representation of genders

were limited within the notion of binary gender. That is to say, traditional media only recognized
man and woman as two legitimate gender and sexuality. Moreover, it characterised men and
women according to the gender norm set by patriarchal value rooted in Thai and Asian cultures.
Thus, mean were portrayed as the breadwinner of the family and women were put women into
inferior position. Though these representations of the two gender were outdated and hardly
accurate, they were portrayed on the basis of normality, genders that were acceptable in Thailand.
On the contrary, traditional media portrayed the non-binary genders in the form of mockery,
abnormality, or even a kind of mental disorder. For example in many Thai soap operas- gay
characters are portrayed as the In this way, the media created and reinforced negative
stereotypes towards the non-binary gender. The unjustified representations of genders that do not
fall within the conventional ideas of binary genders, as a result, marginalized and exclude them
from various kinds of social participations.

The development of social media and mobile technology has enabled ordinary people to have
control over their own self-presentation. In the issues of genders and sexual representation, social
media platforms can be empowering as they provide an arena for people to create their own
presentation including displaying their genders, sexualities and abilities outside of the mockery
and humorous stereotype enforced by traditional media. In recent years, there have been a
growing number of independent media organization and individuals advocating the re-
presentation of LGBT. For example, Diary of Toosies, a facebook page that narrate a series of
stories from a perspective of a gay person. The stories on her facebook pages were published. It
can be seen that once the social media platforms have become increasingly mainstream, so as
the presentations of different genders on the social media. Having control of people’s own
presentation of themselves broadens the recognition of gender spectrum and the notion of
sexualities as fluid. Therefore, people of alternative genders can counter the stereotype and be
recognized by their identities beside their stereotypical gender identifies crated by the
conventional values.

Moreover, social media also help bring attention to the issue regarding gender discrimination.
Recently, there was a series of posts criticising a teaching member of famous university making
repulsive comments about a gay faculty. Although relying solely on the news shared on social
media could not validate the facts of the situation, it still brought the public attention to gender
discrimination issue. Social media made people aware of the existence of discrimination,
opportunity disparity and a number of many problems such as violence against gay people,
problems of unrecognised legal marital status, and medical issues as a result of discrimination
and shame perpetuated by the non-binary genders’ stereotypes existing in Thailand. Those
problems may not be solved by the social media. However, by bringing attention the problems,
they can be alleviated through the change in perceptions so that the LGBT community can have
more participation in society.

To conclude, media, particularly social media, can be a powerful means in shaping how people
view different genders. This is because it can help counter the stereotypes that are imposed
genders by providing a platform where people with various gender identities can present their
identities outside the limitations of binary genders. In consequence, it can be the first step
towards solving a number of social issues that emerge from gender discrimination.