BANGKOK.- Huang Bingbing, a 36-year-old Chinese woman, claims that at the worst moment of her life, mired in depression, she found solace watching a Thai series about the love story between two men, productions that are causing a sensation in Asia. “All loves are valid, regardless of whether they are between men, women or people of a third gender,” said Huang, who left her village in China to emigrate to China. Thailandspurred by her love for series themed romantic LGBT produced in the country.
One of them, titled Love by Chance, produced in 2018, tells the story of an immature love between two men. Huang assured that the series saved her from a severe depression that she suffered five years ago.
The genre Boys’ Love (boy love or BL) became popular in Japan in the 1960s, represented in mangas called yaoi. But, along with its female equivalent, the Girl’s Love (Girl’s Love, GL), have become an international cultural phenomenon thanks to Thai productions.
These series with plots that show attractive couples, in pastoral landscapes and with a message about being true to oneself, are successful, particularly among heterosexual women.
Cultural influence
“Thai series became very popular during the COVID-19 pandemic,” BL fan Kira Thu-Ha Trinh told AFP. “It may seem rude, but Thais do it better”
China has even been conquered by these dramas, but since 2021 the communist government has prohibited national companies from producing or broadcasting series of this type.
“We like them and we’re going to find ways to keep watching them,” said Huang Bingbing.
For Thailand, the success of its series is a tool to develop its cultural influence in the world, in the midst of the Government’s campaign to improve its international image, with the aim of attracting tourists and encouraging exports, two very necessary sources of income after the impact of the pandemic on the economy.
The number of BL produced in Thailand increased from 19 between 2014 and 2018 to 75 in 2022, said Poowin Bunyavejchewin, a Southeast Asia expert at Thammasat University in Bangkok.
According to him, these television series are popular even in more conservative countries, such as India, Indonesia and Malaysia, although their followers are discreet.
“There are huge fan communities (in those countries), but they cannot say it publicly as they may suffer sociocultural and religious pressures,” he added.
“Trgica”
In Thailand, the LGBT community enjoys more visibility and tolerance than in any other country on the continent and the Government is expected to legalize same-sex marriage in the coming weeks.
Despite their popularity, these series do not realistically reflect the lives of people in this community in Thailand, where activists believe there is still work to be done to change mentalities.
“Life for gay men in Thailand can be quite tragic. They have family problems, but no one wants to talk about it,” Poowin explained.
Actor Suppapong Udomkaewkanjana, protagonist of the successful series Love by Chancecreated his own audiovisual production company in 2020 to develop stories that go beyond romance.
The 26-year-old Thai met, in a temple in Bangkok, with the cast of his latest series, a GL, to pray for its success.
“With BL, I think there are opportunities to defend gender equality and marriage equality,” she said.
FUENTE: AFP
