I was surprised to see an article in the news today concerning
an anti-trans advert that has been airing in Thailand
over the Christmas period. Anti-trans
content in film and cinema is, unfortunately, nothing new but what surprised me
the most was that it came out of Thailand.
As far as I was aware Trans people are more visible and
accepted in Thai culture than other countries, generally being treated with respect. Yes, I’m sure we’ve all heard about the
stereotypes of ‘Thai Lady Boys’ being sex workers, which I’m sure is true, but
there is more to any gender, race or religion than those few who work in the
sex industry. Thailand
has had many Trans beauty queens, champion Trans Volleyball teams and even Thai
Boxers.
For a country that seems to be so progressive with their
acceptance of Trans people and acknowledge that they are just ordinary folk
living normal lives it’s shocking to see a television advertisement where they
are so openly mocked.
The advert in question if for Ikea, and is called Luem Aeb
which translates to ‘forget to deceive’.
The advert show a couple that are walking through an Ikea store when the
woman is so surprised by the deals that she slips into a male voice, much to
the horror of her male companion. The
woman is then seen carrying a heavy box as her companion runs away.
Thai Transgender Alliance has issued a letter of complaint
to Ikea and has said that the company should issue an apology.
It seems like ever step forward the Trans community takes we
have to deal with another knock back. I
don’t understand why people see to still think that it’s okay to be able to use
the Transgender community as a joke subject.
The advert isn’t one of the worst offenders, but even small slights
against the Trans community can have a devastating effect.
Amy.
Thats a joke? It's not funny. I get that in order to raise the large sums of money required for genderassignment (forgive me I don't know terms to use) that a lot of transgender people work in sex industry. That says more to me about the men who pay them than the morality of the sex worker. People should stop blaming victims and put the shame on those that exploit others.Am I missing the point here?
ReplyDeleteThis is especially odd since I'm pretty sure I saw a pro-trans IKEA ad before.
ReplyDelete