05.02.09 No place for gays in Chiang Mai culture ?
Source: The Nation
Conservative groups in Chiang Mai have petitioned the governor to
ban the second Chiang Mai Gay Pride parade planned for February 21,
arguing that such an event undermines the city's age-old culture. As
director of MPlus, one of the event's organisers, I believe that
cultural heritage and the expression of sexual identities are not
mutually exclusive.
A flowing current brings fertility from upstream to downstream and
prevents the decay that comes with stagnation. Likewise, culture,
without being held hostage, renews itself in time and nourishes
subsequent ages. This is true of all cultures, as they withstand the
passage of time and pass on the legacy of previous generations. For
a culture to bear the passing of time, it needs to evolve alongside the
people in that culture. It can't be frozen like a dead entity, because
like life itself, culture goes through the cycles of creation, change
and evolution. Should it stand still and fail to enrich itself with new
values, decline would immediately set in. We should remember that all
cultures are social constructs that are born, exist and pass away,
according to the Buddhist principle of impermanence. It
is simply untrue that local cultures are completely distinct and
separate from other cultures, as no cultures exist in a vacuum. They
evolve through interaction within the culture and with other cultures.
As a result, no individual or group can claim exclusive ownership of
the culture in question. What exactly is a culture? How
did it come to be? Who owns it? For whom does it exist? These are
questions that must be asked about any culture, including Chiang Mai
culture, rather than accepting exclusive claims and definitions imposed
by powers-that-be such as the nation state. Culture is
the total sum of the ways of life for various groups of people. It is
not a sole property of the government, or capitalists, to be
conveniently put in a neat package and sold for monetary gain, Every
Chiang Mai citizen is entitled to dignity and the right to contribute
to their own culture according to their life being lived, not for other
incentives. The capitalist culture or the authority culture is
obviously not the same as the people's culture. However,
even in terms of people's culture, Chiang Mai culture today is not the
same as it was 100 years ago. The differences reflect the inevitable
changes in society. It is neither possible nor desirable to stop new
elements flowing into Chiang Mai culture, just as it's impossible to
stop tributaries pouring into a river. A more
constructive way to preserve Chiang Mai culture is by recognising
impermanence and the changes to social and cultural constituents rather
than categorically blocking all new elements without any guiding
principles or sense of direction. The latter will become a dead weight
that inhibits the regeneration of culture. It is time to
expand the ownership of Chiang Mai culture to include all subgroups of
people with different ways of life and who are ready to share with and
learn from others. A society and culture of diversity is more adept to
cope with adverse social issues. To resist change and hang on to
outdated images of culture will only cause conflict and alienation,
both mental and physical. The question should be how to happily exist
in a society with great diversity in sexuality, ideas, religion,
politics and history. Most importantly, every individual
has a unique way of life, often in contradiction of an imaginary
"golden age" of culture. The simplistic value judgement of good versus
bad is an obstacle to the flow of the cultural stream and the
recognition of the inherent diversity within culture. Gay
Pride is the expression of a group of people who exist in our society.
Notwithstanding the negative portrayal of gays and lesbians often fed
to society at large, it is important to remember that homosexuals exist
in all professions; that they are our colleagues, friends and
relatives; and that they make no less a cultural contribution to
society than any other group. When we talk about gay
pride, some people conjure up the tired image of "improperly dressed"
marchers. The truth is, Gay Pride parades in various countries also
vary in character, depending on the issues being presented. Some Gay
Pride participants in the West may be scantily clad, but that's to
attract the attention of the public and not to sexually arouse. (This
writer also believes that anyone who is so easily aroused by such
images needs professional help.) Intelligent viewers can
recognise the message that any parade intends to impart, whether its
human rights, HIV prevention or anti-discrimination. Nobody seeks out a
Gay Pride parade for sexual pleasure, which can be found much more
easily and abundantly elsewhere. On the contrary, Gay
Pride is a form of social expression by sexual minorities who, as
citizens, are entitled to the right to freely express their identities
and sexualities - so long as that expression does not infringe on the
rights of others. Such rights of expression are also
afforded to heterosexuals. But Gay Pride has another dimension for gays
and lesbians. In addition to allowing people to "come out" on an
individual level, Gay Pride is also a "coming out" on a social level,
because it opens up not only a physical space but also a conceptual
space in the minds of others to recognise sexual minorities. Gay
Pride is thus part of the natural cultural evolution, a reflection of
the river of social change and diversity. It's hoped that people in our
society will think further than the simplistic binary system of what's
sexually explicit or sexually arousing, polite or impolite, good or
bad. This will be a learning process that takes us beyond the
superficial attitudes that can only increase social conflict. Let us
all hope for peace based on the understanding of the inherent diversity
in all areas of life.
MPlus is an NGO working in HIV prevention among men who have sex
with men, in Chiang Mai since 2002. Pongsathorn can be reached at mplus_msm@hotmail.com
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