Title: A discourse analysis of LGBTI and homosexuality in the Thai secondary-level physical and health education textbooks
Author: Mr. Charoen Sutuktis
Year: 2018
Keywords: N/A
Theme: Gender
Advisor(s): Vong-on Phuaphansawat
The full thesis available here.
Abstract: Textbooks and national curriculum represent "official knowledge", or the set of ideas legitimised by the state and dominant groups in society. This legitimate knowledge constitutes the oppressive structure that fosters and manintains social inequalities and injustice. For LGBTI people, the unequal and unfair treatment that they experience in Thai society can be linked to what has been said about them-and gender and sexuality in general-in texbooks. Thia aims to examine how the physical & health education (PE) texbooks represent the image of LGBTI people and homosexuality by using the concepts of heteronormativity and gender neutrality. The research explores the content of all secondary-level PE textbooks that are available in the market, comprising a total of 36 textbooks. These textbooks are written by six publishers-one government entity (the ministry of education-MOE) and five private publishers. The researcher selected selected only the chapters that deal specifically with sexual development, sexual behaviours, family, and marriage. The analysis found, first, that the level of LGBTI coverage and level of heteronormativity varies among the six publishers. While some publishers are more progressive in the sense that they discusws LGBTI separately and include content on families of same-sex couples, others remain very conservative. For example, some publishers still discuss LGBTI as a 'deviant' behaviour that requires correction and repeatedly utilise words that exclude LGBTI and homosexual identifications, for example, Num-Sao, Por-Mae and opposite-sex. Second, despite some evidence of LGBTI inclusion and challenges to heteronormativity, the overall representation of LGBTI people and homosexuality still reinforces the image of these people as "the other". Moreover, LGBTI identily and homosexuality are constructed as a threat to "Thainess" and as a disadvantaged identity that represents an inferior position. Therefore, the analysis concludes that Thai PE textbooks still largely reinforce gender binary and heternonrmativity.