While the interest and market for gay-themed stories continue to grow -- on online channels, on television series and in cinemas -- the sub-genre of lesbian movies has still got some catching up to do, especially in Thailand. Once in a blue moon, a lesbian film would drop on our cinema or TV screens, and the ones that had an actual cultural impact can be counted on one hand. At last week's LGBT Film Festival, which saw an enthusiastic turnout, there was then just one lesbian film among a dozen gay-themed international titles. All of this seems to signify that truly fair representation of gender and sexuality in the media still has quite a way to go.
Last month, one of the big openings in Bangkok was Disobedience, a tale of colliding sexuality and faith starring Rachel Weisz and Rachel McAdams. It came and went quietly, despite the film's reputation. The film, which has been getting rave reviews worldwide, is famous also for its sex scene, in which director Lelio together with Weisz made an active effort to put the protagonists' three-dimensional lives "front and centre" rather than objectify them for male pleasure (and submit them to the male gaze).
Prior to Disobedience, well-known titles of the genre that were screened here included the Cate Blanchett movie Carol, the Palme d'Or-winning French film Blue Is The Warmest Colour and even the South Korean The Handmaiden, an eclectic adaptation of the lesbian-themed novel Fingersmith.
Internationally, lesbian films are enjoying at least part of the attention that comes with the increasing global openness towards same-sex relationships (one of this year's most talked-about films is Kenyan lesbian film Rafiki). This does not apply to Thailand, unfortunately, since Thai lesbian films seem to have disappeared in the past few years. This is a stark contrast to gay love stories having become more mainstream on Thai television and in Thai movies -- gay drama -- or "Y drama", as it is also known -- is now a popular genre on streaming services such as Line TV, while standard channels embrace gay characters and subplots. It's also a cultural phenomenon that's worth addressing given Thailand is moving towards legalising same-sex marriage.
The reason for the scarcity of lesbian stories, suggested Anoporn Khruataeng from the Love Pattaya gender advocacy group, is that most films dealing with the subject have tanked at the box office in the past.
"The market for lesbian films can be quite small. It's not mainstream," said Anoporn. "Most of the time, it's just lesbians that watch these films. Comparatively, gay films have a much bigger market as their audience base can be found in both gay men and straight women."
But making a loss is just one part of the vicious cycle. The arguably biggest obstacle for lesbian films lies in their scripts, which tend to take a depressive turn and have failed to empower audiences. And when people don't like the story, the film isn't profitable and sponsors refrain from supporting similar projects.
The relatively short-lived trend for modern lesbian films in the country began when Yes Or No -- a story of female university students becoming roommates and subsequently lovers -- debuted in 2010, grossing over 16 million baht and generating quite a fanbase around Asia. A sequel followed in 2012, which even grossed over 20 million baht.
Apinya Sakuljaroensuk and Isabella Lete in 1448 Love Among Us. Photo © 1448 Love Among Us
"Yes Or No is one of the only lesbian films we have that is not dark," said Anoporn, adding that the positivity and gender sensitivity portrayed in the film contributed to its box office success. It is perhaps the only profitable lesbian film made here.
Positivity is not a term often associated with lesbian or LGBTI films in general. In the 2012 Thai drama She, a terminally ill woman finds love with a younger woman despite already having a husband and a grown daughter. In 1448 Love Among Us, released in 2014, a woman whose girlfriend passed away ends up losing the business they created together as they were not legally bound together. The number 1448 is taken from Thailand's Civil and Commercial Code, Section 1448, which states that only a man and a woman can be legally married.
"These stories are often tied to unhappiness," said Anoporn. "They focus largely on what these women lack, from legal recognition to social acceptance, that it gets depressing and not empowering. The message of these films rarely comes positive and most of the time it just tells audiences to put up with how things are. Who would want to watch that for a second time?"
"On the other hand, I like Disobedience because the story ends with possibilities that viewers can mull over. It's refreshing compared to Thai endings, which often conclude that you will just be miserable and die," she added.
The gender advocate suggested that LGBTI films can be told from so many other angles than romance. It can show legal struggles, rights, the issue of children, family and more. Moreover, she wishes that films would get people to start asking questions and see different possibilities in a situation.
Anoporn pointed to Love, Not Yet -- a culmination of three short films focused around teenagers and sex, which was released as a feature film in 2011 -- as one example. In the part titled Tom Hang, the main character is a tom (a butch lesbian) who gets drunk one night and is raped by a man. She becomes pregnant and, despite her mother's encouragement to keep the baby, decides to get an abortion to regain her normal life.
"The character goes back to hitting on girls as usual. It goes to contradict the myth that women who like women can be 'converted' if they try sex with men." Thai lesbian films can be divided into two subsets depending on the main characters -- those with a butch and femme, or "tom and dee", and one with two femmes, though the former seems to be getting more onscreen representation. A reflection of our society, in a sense.
"Films can mirror the male-dominated, binary society. Not many people understand gender fluidity and feel that if they don't identify with one sexuality, then they have to be the direct opposite. The education system is partly to blame as it's never really allowed nor taught people to explore their own thoughts and bodies," said Anoporn. "Even in lesbian films, some filmmakers are stuck with binarism that sees their characters assuming certain stereotypical gender roles, where one still has to be feminine and one has to be masculine even though the line is much more blurred in real life".
The last Thai film that explored a romantic relationship between two women was perhaps the docudrama BKKY (2016) by Nontawat Numbenchapol. Comparatively, stories of gay men are flourishing with the arthouse Malila: The Farewell Flower being released earlier this year. On the small screens and streaming services, there are a handful of series available in the Yaoi (Boy's Love) genre, whereas gay women enjoyed their last mainstream hurrahs in Hormones: The Series and Club Friday The Series.
Still, the increase (or decrease, in some cases) of LGBTI films doesn't necessarily reflect the country's level of acceptance or openness towards gender diversity, according to Anoporn. It's also simply a trend in certain cases that as discussion around LGBTI issues grows, interest in the population does, too, but not always understanding.
Nevertheless, Anoporn sees progress in onscreen representation during the past decade, with social media helping to play a role in sparking discussion and spreading awareness on sexuality and films that surround the issue.
But both locally and internationally, going mainstream remains a struggle that LGBTI films as a whole still face. Most of the time, they come in the form of independent and arthouse projects, rarely getting backed by major studios. Love, Simon -- a coming-out story of a high schoolboy -- was a glimmer of hope that queer cinema might become a little more mainstream. A pioneer for many more to come, as many hope that eventually we will see more LGBTI representation on our screens.
