Narration of Love Relationship of Gay and Bisexual Characters in Thai Television Series and the Audience Perception on Alternative Genders

Abstract

This research aimed to investigate the narration of love relationship of male homosexual characters in Thai drama series programs and the audience perception of alternative genders. The research was conducted on the framework of theories of narration and perception. Three TV drama series programs namely: Club Friday the Series: The Heart Secret (5 episodes), Love Sick the Series, and Sotus the Series were selected for data analysis. Data were collected from in-depth interview with the audience of those three programs. The result revealed that the narration of love relationship of male homosexual characters was similar to the narration of love relationship between male and female characters. However, the ending was found to be different since some male homosexual series embraced the theme of hidden love and had unhappy ending as same-sex relationship were seen as reprehensible. The result of the audience perception revealed that both male and female audience could understand and recognize kissing scenes and perceive the love relationship of male homosexual characters while viewing the series on air through the television.