Gays in the military (part 1)

Thai gays and kathoey (ladyboys) with an inferiority complex who try their hardest to stand out in a crowd are the military's worst fear, because they just refuse to fit in.

However, compulsory military service is one way of sorting the men from the boys (or girls), which can have a positive effect on such irritating behaviour.

That's the word from soldier-trainers quoted in a Manager newspaper story on gays conscripted to serve in the military.

Many gays and kathoey fear that as conscripts they they will not be able to adjust. However, that worry appears misplaced, as most do manage to fit in to the group.

They can put aside enough of their gayness to bond with fellow recruits, for the sake of the unity and harmony which the military demands, trainers say.

Young men must register to serve in the military when they turn 20. Anyone whose name is drawn for service must report for duty. About 400,000 are chosen for conscription, but only 100,000 drafted.

If the young man who draws a red card obliging him to serve is of sound mind and body then he is duly conscripted, unless there are special grounds including ill-health or study commitments to let him off.

Previously, the military could also reject anyone who displayed a feminine manner, enlarged breasts, or who had changed his sex, on the basis he was 'mentally disordered'.

The legal provision entered the books in the early 1950s, and was only revoked last year, after gay activists complained that it deprived gays and kathoey of their rights.

So much for the civil rights victory. I doubt if the law change has tapped a huge wellspring of demand, as the idea of serving the country as a conscript for up to two years holds limited appeal, even for many straight men.

Actually, it's probably not the fear that they cannot be their usual extrovert selves that alarms most gay young men about military service.

It's the thought of all that dirt, sweat, and heat.

In most cases a young man's gay identity should not deprive him of the ability to use his body, or exert himself physically - in any case, the letter of the law no longer gives gays that much choice.

At least in theory, they cannot expect to turn up to conscription day, put on a big queeny show, and hope to be turned away as easily as they were in the past.

The 'mentally disorder' exemption gave the military a convenient means to stop gays and kathoey mixing with 'real' men among soldier recruits, which in my view did gays a disservice, notwithstanding the fact that many did not want to join anyway. Sometimes culture shock can be a good tonic.

The 'mental disorder' exemption also had the unintended effect of depriving young gays and kathoey of work. No employer wants to hire someone who has been branded as mentally unstable - even when those granted an exemption were clearly sane. Gays given such certificates also had trouble applying for passports.

In light of the legal about-face, it is instructive to look at what the army said back in 2003, when it announced its plan to make gays and transsexuals exempt from conscription. From one news story which I found on the net:

Army commander Gen Somdhat Attanand said gays and transsexuals will be identified during medical and psychological examinations at draft centres. If discovered, they will be sent back home. 'The military has to keep them out, which is not because we are prejudiced but because we fear that the military will collapse,' he said.

So, now that the military is letting more gays and kathoey serve, has the military collapsed? Evidently not, because both sides learn to tolerate each other.

Few Thais I know who underwent military training ever talk about that two-year period in their lives when they effectively belonged to the army.

It's as if it never existed, or if they did pass through it, then it did not pose much of an ordeal. I have met plenty of young Thai gays. Surely not all of them were able to obtain a certificate of exemption, or bribe their way out of compulsory service?

The Manager newspaper recently talked to the military about those gays drafted as conscripts - how well they fare, how well they get on with 'straight' men in the ranks.

It also talked to gays who drew a black card in the conscription lottery, handing them back their freedom, and those who drew a red card obliging them to serve.

The findings are surprising. They suggest that gays have no trouble fitting in, and that 'real' men and gay conscripts can get on just fine. Nor does the physical hardship involved in training pose much of an obstacle. In fact, some gays say they enjoy it.

now, see part 2