SOGIE Rights and Thailand’sSouthern Border Provinces/PATANI: The Case of Buku’s Gender and Sexuality Classroom

Abstract

The case of Buku’s gender and sexuality classroom is an incident in which I and my partner as co-founders of the organization, Buku Classroom, were subjected to various attacks on social media by CSOs and Muslim groups. We, our classroom, and football club were alleged of promoting homosexual relationships, which goes against what is perceived as mainstream Islamic religious doctrines. After Klangmuang, a Thai PBS TV programme, featured our story and Buku Classroom’s works on 7 February 2017, there was much contentionacross social media platforms. LGBTI in Thailand’s southern border provinces/Patani became a new topic of discussion in public and social media spaces. The integrity of some CSOs who work on peace and human rights in the region were questioned by academic and civil society. This article documents and provides analysis of the development of the incident. It shows the continuous fights, negotiations, attempts to control and oppression of intersectional and marginalized identities both in and outside the region. In particular, this article illustrates that in this region of Thailand, marginality and majority are predominantly defined by religion, gender, race, as well as the perception of being insider or outsider for the region.