Advocacy
Freen, Becky, Ling Ling & Orm: Thailand’s GL Series Redefining Love and Breaking Barriers
While traditional TV shows are serving us endless boy-meets-girl tales. Thailand has ...
Ballroom culture pulses through Thailand’s journey, symbolising the energy behind the nation’s move towards legalising same-sex marriage. This legal milestone marks the beginning of a future where all love stories are cherished, safeguarded and allowed to flourish without fear.
As Thailand prepares to implement its groundbreaking same-sex marriage law on 23 January, the echoes of global LGBTQ+ movements resonate through the streets of Bangkok.While this is about the legitimisation of love that defies and transcends the constraints of gender binaries, it is also a recognition of generations of resilience, community building and the undeniable influence of queer culture that has shaped Thailand’s journey towards equality. With this in mind, we are focusing on ballroom culture, which is a vibrant facet of the queer community globally and uniquely reflective of each culture, including Thailand.
Understanding Ballroom Culture: A Global Revolution
The ballroom scene can be viewed as a community or an alternative family structure for the queer community, historically born out of the harsh necessity of survival as countless queer youths found refuge here after being cast out by their biological families. It is a glittering underground revolution – part high-fashion spectacle, part tightly-knit chosen family and a fierce act of defiance against a world that sought to extinguish their brilliance.
In this world, ‘houses’ exist as families led by ‘house mothers’ or ‘fathers’, who provide shelter, guidance and fierce love to the ‘sons’ or ‘daughters’ they welcome and regard as their own. These houses compete in balls—elaborate competitions where members ‘walk’ in categories that celebrate fashion, beauty and ‘realness’: the ability to embody various aspects of identity and society that have often excluded them.
To learn more about and understand this culture, explore famous series like POSE (2018–2021) and documentaries such as Paris Is Burning (1991), which immortalised ballroom as a sanctuary for Black and Latino LGBTQ+ youth in New York.
The influence of ballroom culture extends far beyond its origins, inspiring everything from contemporary fashion and dance to Madonna’s Vogue . When Madonna released the single in 1990, she wasn’t just creating a hit song – she was introducing the world to a dance style born in Harlem’s ballrooms. Voguing, with its angular poses inspired by fashion magazines and Egyptian hieroglyphics, emerged from the creativity of Black and Latino queer performers who transformed fashion magazine poses into a revolutionary dance form.
But the influence runs deeper than just one song. Terms like “serving”—used to describe delivering something with confidence and flair, “shade”—a subtle, often cutting, form of criticism, and “reading”—pointing out someone’s flaws with sharp insight and wit—now part of mainstream vocabulary, were born in these spaces of creative resistance and community-building.
The drag elements of ballroom culture – the elaborate looks, the storytelling through appearances of the art of “serving face” – have shaped modern drag performance globally. RuPaul’s Drag Race, which has spawned international versions including Drag Race Thailand, draws heavily from ballroom culture’s vocabulary, performance styles and competition format. The show’s signature challenges, from runway walks to “reading” sessions, are direct descendants of ballroom traditions.
The art of drag itself, while existing in various forms across cultures for centuries, was profoundly shaped by ballroom culture’s emphasis on transformation as both art and resistance.
Thailand’s Dip in the Ballroom Culture
The ballroom scene’s approach to drag went beyond female impersonation to encompass a broader commentary on gender, power and society – elements that continue to influence drag artists worldwide.
From the original RuPaul’s Drag Race, which first originated in the United States in 2009, the show has since become a global phenomenon, making its way to different parts of the world. It soon found a significant following in Thailand, a country where gender fluidity has long been part of the cultural fabric. In this context, Pan Pan Narkprasert, better known as Pangina Heals, emerged as a powerful figure in the drag scene.
The Pangina Effect: More Than Just a Queen
Pangina’s influence goes far beyond the glittering world of drag performance. She made her mark as the host of Drag Race Thailand, and her rise in the global drag community was cemented when she competed on RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars 6, where her presence was a testament to her impact on the drag world. Through her work, Pangina Heals has become a symbol of how drag transcends borders, showcasing the power of self-expression and the ongoing evolution of drag as both an art form and a platform for social change.
Thailand’s embrace of marriage equality feels both like a revolution and a return to values deeply woven into Thai society. The path to this historic moment has been paved by iconic figures such as Pan Pan Narkprasert, along with those who came before her, whose contributions are now being recognised.
Pangina has achieved far more than just bringing drag culture into the mainstream; she has become a beacon of empowerment and a catalyst for social change. By using her platform to amplify Thai LGBTQ+ voices, she has created safe, inclusive spaces where individuals can not only see themselves represented, but can also experience pride in their cultural heritage and queer identities.
Her work mirrors the spirit of New York’s ballroom scene, where acceptance and self-expression are core values. Through her advocacy and performances, Pangina has nurtured a community that bridges the gap between traditional Thai values and the evolving LGBTQ+ movement. In doing so, she has proven that embracing one’s heritage while championing progress is not just possible but vital for a thriving, inclusive society.
Pangina’s influence goes beyond drag; she’s reshaping the landscape of visibility and pride for a new generation, showing the world that cultural heritage and queer identity are not only compatible, but stronger when united.
A Thai Take on Chosen Family: From Tiffany’s to Tomorrow
Thailand’s journey toward LGBTQ+ recognition has always been in motion, forging a distinct path to equality. While ballroom culture was taking root in the West, Thailand was also pioneering its own revolution in visibility, most famously through the globally renowned Tiffany’s Show in Pattaya. Founded in 1974, Tiffany’s Show became one of the world’s first and most famous transgender cabaret shows, creating not just entertainment but a legitimate career path and community for transwomen in Thailand.
This early emergence of trans visibility in Thai entertainment helped pave the way for broader acceptance. Thailand’s journey toward marriage equality builds on this unique foundation if we truly consider it. Thailand’s LGBTQ+ movement has often progressed through cultural visibility and gradual social acceptance. From the mainstream success of transgender actresses like Poy Treechada to the phenomenon of cabaret shows and the international platform of Pangina Heals, Thailand has creatively carved its own path toward recognition.
Yet this visibility hasn’t always translated into legal rights. The same society that celebrates trans performers in entertainment has historically struggled to provide full legal recognition. The new marriage equality law bridges this gap, transforming cultural acceptance into legal protection. It’s a uniquely Thai solution that honours both tradition and progress – acknowledging that the same culture that gave space for gender diversity in entertainment must now provide space for it in law.
Winners of the 25th Miss Tiffany Pageant
This legal recognition builds on decades of work by Thai activists, performers and everyday citizens who’ve shown that gender diversity is compatible with Thai values. The marriage equality law is deeply inscribed in the mind as a natural evolution of Thailand’s own journey, proving that progress can wear different faces in different places while moving toward the same goal of equality.
The Road Ahead for All
Thailand has made history as the first country in Southeast Asia, and only the third in all of Asia, to legalise same-sex marriage, following Taiwan and Nepal. In a region where LGBTQ+ rights often face significant barriers, Thailand’s progress serves as an encouragement for its neighbours and the broader region to foster wider acceptance and legal protection for diverse sexual orientations and gender identities.
As 23 January approaches, Thailand stands at the intersection of tradition and transformation. The same spirit that drove the ballroom scenes of New York, which fuels Pangina Heals’ artistry, now propels Thailand toward a future where love knows no boundaries. At its roots, this legislation is about acknowledging the beautiful complexity of the human experience and the right of all people to create families built on love, rather than convention.
As Thailand takes this step, the upcoming law represents more than legal recognition. We see this as a celebration of Thailand’s journey toward a more inclusive future, where every love story has the right to be told, honoured and legally protected.
