Globalisasi dan Penerimaan LGBTQ+ di ASEAN: Studi Kasus Budaya Boys’ Love di Thailand

The global push for LGBTQ + still faces many challenges, especially in Eastern regions, and Southeast Asia is no exception. Most national laws identify LGBTQ + people as a psychiatric disorder who deserve certain penalties. This phenomenon certainly has an impact on how society accepts these people socially. According to research conducted by the Pew Research Center, public acceptance of the LGBTQ + movement has increased since 2002, even in countries that can be described as quite conservative, Thailand is no exception. The culture which became an industrial asset, namely ladyboys, is also an indication of Thailand's acceptance of the LGBTQ+ movement. Now, since 2018, the Thai film industry with the theme Boys' Love (BL) has received a lot of support from film and drama lovers, especially in ASEAN countries. In this paper, we will discuss the development of BL culture in Thailand, which then has the potential to have an impact on public acceptance of ASEAN member countries regarding LGBTQ + issues. Based on the analysis with the queer theory perspective, it is found that BL culture—which is often seen as the impact of socio-cultural globalization—can be a force that "triggers" the fluidity of society in terms of sexuality, even in the cultural environment of Southeast Asia which is known to be conservative.ABSTRAK Dorongan global terkait LGBTQ+ masih menghadapi banyak tantangan, terutama di kawasan-kawasan timur, tak terkecuali di Asia Tenggara. Kebanyakan hukum nasional mengidentifikasi penganut LGBTQ+ sebagai gangguan kejiwaan yang pantas diberi hukuman-hukuman tertentu. Fenomena ini tentu berdampak pada bagaimana masyarakat menerima kaum ini secara sosial. Menurut penelitian yang dilakukan Pew Research Center, penerimaan publik terkait gerakan LGBTQ+ telah meningkat sejak tahun 2002, bahkan di negara-negara yang dapat disebut cukup konservatif, tak terkecuali Thailand. Budaya yang menjadi aset industri, yaitu ladyboy atau wanita-pria (waria), pun menjadi indikasi penerimaan Thailand terhadap gerakan LGBTQ+. Kini, sejak tahun 2018, industri perfilman Thailand bertemakan Boys’ Love (BL) mendapatkan banyak dukungan dari para pencinta film dan drama, khususnya di negara-negara ASEAN. Dalam tulisan ini, akan dibahas mengenai perkembangan budaya BL di Thailand, yang kemudian berpotensi memunculkan dampak terhadap penerimaan publik negara-negara anggota ASEAN terkait isu LGBTQ+. Berdasarkan teori queer, budaya BL—yang kerap dipandang sebagai dampak globalisasi sosial-budaya—dapat menjadi kekuatan yang “memicu” fluiditas masyarakat dalam hal seksualitas, bahkan dalam lingkungan kultural Asia Tenggara yang dikenal konservatif. Kata Kunci: ASEAN; boys’ love; globalisasi; Thailand; queer ABSTRACT The global push related to LGBTQ+ still faces many challenges, especially in eastern regions, and Southeast Asia is no exception. Most national laws identify LGBTQ + people with a psychiatric disorder who deserve certain punishments. Such a phenomenon certainly has an impact on how society accepts these people socially. According to research conducted by the Pew Research Center, public acceptance of the LGBTQ+ movement has increased since 2002, even in countries that can be described as quite conservative, Thailand is no exception. The culture which becomes an industrial asset, namely ladyboys or women-men, is also an indication of Thailand's acceptance of the LGBTQ+ movement. Since 2018, the Thai film industry with the theme Boys' Love (BL) has received a lot of support from film and drama lovers, especially in ASEAN countries. In this paper, we will discuss the development of BL culture in Thailand, which then has the potential to have an impact on public acceptance of ASEAN member countries regarding LGBTQ + issues. Based on the queer theory, BL culture - which is often seen as the impact of socio-cultural globalization - can be a force that "triggers" the fluidity of society in terms of sexuality, even in a cultural environment in Southeast Asia which is known to be conservative. Keywords: ASEAN; boys’ love; globalization; Thailand; quee