Boys Love: Queer Romance on the Small Screen

LGBTQIA+ visibility is a curious thing in Southeast Asia. The region isn’t exactly welcoming to anyone non-binary, legally speaking. So, one would expect that anyone who doesn’t identify as cisgender would either be hiding or closet-mongering. But, the truth is that gay men, lesbian women, transgender individuals, and those in between can lead normal lives, albeit without the recognition of the government. But, whether there’s legal support to their existence, the queer community here stopped waiting and it’s not as it they need permission to be their real selves.

That’s not to say that that’s enough, because it’s not. Everyone in this side of the world except for Taiwan has a lot of catching up to do. The laws, rights, and society’s acceptance must be on level with the international standards. There’s really nothing to it than that, but in a region that can be seen as fighting progress back, it’s easier said than done.

However, returning on visibility, media acceptance makes up for what the legal side of LGBTQIA+ existence is lacking. Drag Race recently concluded their latest seasons in Thailand and the Philippines. The newest owner of Miss Universe is Anne Jakrajutatip, a Thai trans woman media mogul . Vice Ganda in the Philippines is an extremely visible non-binary figure who is at one point, the most famous celebrity in the country.

Thailand, however, has a particular cultural export that they can be proud of that is very gay and very popular: Boys Love.

Treating Gay Romance as Romance

Boys Love, abbreviated as BL, wasn’t a Thai thing, originally. The Japanese beat them to that with yaoi, fiction stories about homoerotic love marketed to women and gay men. It’s still going strong in Japan, but it’s Thailand who is making a name in the world of homosexual love on screen. Since the release of “Love of Siam,” Boys Love media has been a mainstay in Thai media.

There’s a lot to be said about BL shows, but they do one thing better than most LGBTQIA+ media from the west: BL treats gay romance as romance.

Considering that the world is just starting to warm with queer leads in love stories, it’s not the worst move for productions to play it safe in their production of same-sex or non-binary love. There’s nothing like that in BL media. It’s rarely explicit, but it doesn’t hide that the story is about two men falling in love. Nonetheless, it shows romance and how love develops between two men, which to the surprise of no one, falls in love the same way as everybody else. There’s a back and forth between two people, somebody plays hard to get, one or both parties have some issues to work on, and probably some heartbreak deters them yet from full commitment.

But, just recently, there’s been an explosion on the appeal and popularity of BL TV series. Just last year, “KinnPorsche” made waves all over the world and gotten so much demand from fans that the cast toured several Asian cities. Two years previous, it was “2gether’s” turn to gain a few hundred thousand fans in Japan.

Thai Pride on the Small Screen

The popularity of BL media is also a testament to Thai filmmaking, which is deserving of more praise. Take KinnPorsche, for example. Does the premise of an “action romance drama” show something HBO or Netflix could have accommodated, much less made? Maybe. But, the show blew up for a reason. It’s bingeable just as any of the most viral TV shows, which had much to do with its production as it did with the show’s storytelling.

BL TV shows have a bright future, and they have the perfect caretaker in Thai production houses. They’re already exceptionally popular in Asia, rivalling Korean shows, and before long, they’ll start making appearances in western media. Hopefully, they won’t just be another Asian export and retain their quality of telling good stories and treating queer stories with the respect they deserve.