THE MISSING PIECE
It's almost a trend in the country now to have haircare ads focusing on transgender women.
Following Sunsilk's heartwarming father-daughter ad featuring Miss Tiffany's Universe 2017 runner-up Kwanlada "Rock" Rungrojumpa, which was aired earlier this year to positive reception from the public, another brand is now catching up in making a more LGBTI-oriented promotion campaign.
Released this month was Pantene's #SeeBeautyNotGender video ad led by Thailand's own transgender superstar Treechada "Poyd" Malayaporn (who was recently nominated for Best Rising Actress at Nataraj Award for television achievements) serving as a narrator. Aside from Treechada, model Sarina Thai and another Miss Tiffany's alum Nicha Rongram also made their appearances.
The ad -- directed by Tanwarin Sukkhapisit of Insects In The Backyard -- is a collage of transgender women in different professions: parcel messenger, hairstylist and fashion model. We see them working. The courier delivers and interacts with her client. The model tumbles on the runway, but gets up and continues strutting fiercely. The hairstylist gives her mother a hair wash. All gorgeous long hair. All smiling faces.
"Do you see only her gender?" asks Treechada in the video. "Do you see determination? Do you see care? Do you see strength? I see neither female nor male. I see beautiful humans who want to be the best versions of themselves."
Interestingly, a director's cut of the video was also released a few days later on Hello Filmmaker production house's Facebook page. While not as popular or well-known as the official cut on the Pantene page, the clip offered a look at another subject -- a transgender woman, who is a wedding organiser, being proposed to by her boyfriend -- that was somehow edited out from the final version.
The director's cut is over three minutes long, while the final cut is shorter than two minutes. It's unclear why this scene was eventually omitted. Was the subject's hair not gorgeous enough? Was the original version too bulky and long, hence the cut? Or it could be something else entirely.
For whatever reasons, we end up with images of transgender women here as a potential workforce, as someone's child, but not as someone's lover. It's quite unfortunate that an opportunity to present LGBTI couples in mainstream media vanished. Marriage equality still has a long way to go in Thailand, and in the video too, even just the prospect of it.
It's also worth noticing how these transgender women assume a more independent, entrepreneurial role in their line of work, as portrayed in the clip in readily available images people often associate with transgenderism -- a reflection of society, in a sense. While we may be comparatively more open than other countries, transgender people here still find their job opportunities quite limited. Some gain jobs related to entertainment, beauty and fashion. Others operate on a freelance basis so they don't have to deal with the rules and regulations of certain workplaces that may dictate their uniform, conduct, expression and more.
In a more "serious" setting, we rarely see a transgender soul among the crowd.
Determined and strong. Pretty smile. Gorgeous hair. And a limited opportunity in life. The clip actually did capture the essence of what it is like to be a transgender person. It will be interesting to see what other promotional campaigns will bring LGBTI people in front of the camera again, and what storyline or aspect of their life would see the light of day.
MOVING OUT
The international gay pageant Mr Gay World 2019 has moved from Hong Kong, with organisers citing the authority's crackdown on LGBTI "affirming" events as the reason for this move.
Set to take place in April-May next year, the pageant is relocating to Cape Town, South Africa. The pageant's official site released a statement saying that its hosting company resides in mainland China and wouldn't be able to proceed with the contest.
"It is with great disappointment that I've been informed that Mr Gay World will not be able to go ahead in Hong Kong due to the struggles that our Chinese colleagues and their families are facing in their homeland," quoted Eric Butter, president and founder of Mr Gay World, in the online statement.
He also added that: "The safety of our delegates and their families is of utmost importance."
In Hong Kong and China, while same-sex activity is not criminalised, LGBTI people remain in a challenging position in both social and legal aspects. There is no marriage equality or any form of legal recognition of same-sex relationships. Adoption is not permitted for same-sex couples. But transgender people can change their legal gender following sex reassignment surgery.
Mr Gay World has been held annually since 2009. During that time, it has been hosted in different countries and regions around the world: Canada, Norway, the Philippines, Italy, Malta, South Africa and more. So far, the Philippines was the only Asian nation to ever host the pageant.
The contest is set to return to South Africa next year, which has successfully hosted Mr Gay World pageants three times; Johannesburg in 2012 and Knysna in 2015 and earlier this year.
SNIPPETS
-- Christine Hallquist made history by becoming the first openly transgender nominee for governor from a major party in the US. The former utility executive won the 2018 Democratic nomination for governor of Vermont earlier this month. The news was received with both positive and negative reactions from the public. It was revealed last week that Hallquist has been receiving death threats since she won the party's primary. Her security protocol has been tightened as she continues her campaign for the November election.
-- The Australian state of New South Wales recently passed a law stating that people who were found guilty of publicly threatening or inciting violence against LGBTI and people living with HIV/Aids could face fines and/or three years of jail time. Known formally as the "Crimes Amendment (Publicly Threatening and Inciting Violence) Act 2018", this new law covers threats and incitements on grounds of race and religion, on top of sexual orientation and gender identity.
-- Have you been rooting for any of Miss Tiffany's Universe hopefuls this year? Don't forget to cheer on the ladies during the final round of the beauty contest on Friday night, which will take place as usual in Pattaya. The final round is set to begin at 8.30pm, with broadcast available from 10.15pm the same evening on GMM25. Avoid social media if you don't want the results spoiled. Meanwhile, catch an episode of the pageant's reality show on Wednesday at 9.25pm on GMM25, with reruns available on Line TV.
Contact melalinm@bangkokpost.co.th for news and views of LGBTI.
