Steph Galera reflects on day to day life, travel and rights as an LGBTQIA+ person in Thailand
One year ago, on 23 January 2025, the Marriage Equality Act was officially enacted in Thailand. While this was a momentous occasion for the 1,832 couples who registered their marriages nationwide on the day, it was bittersweet for my wife Jeiz and I (pictured). While we live in Thailand, having moved there from our birthplace of the Philippines, we weren’t able to participate because we were away travelling at the time.
Pure selfishness aside, this milestone is a reflection of the country’s support for the LGBTQIA+ community, with 99.3% of Thais in favour of the Marriage Equality Bill. And while marriage equality covers only a percentage of the LGBTQIA+ population – those with long-term relationships – it signals a path forward for LGBTQIA+ rights. It shows that dialogues are happening and that challenges are getting attention from law-makers. Surrogacy, adoption, gender recognition, home ownership and more are now topics for discussion, because of the visibility that marriage equality provided.
Asia still has a long way to go with LGBTQIA+ rights. Progress is present, albeit slow for some countries because of the complexity and diversity of cultures in the region. Factoring in elements of honour, family, religion and many other cultural differences, conversations around LGBTQIA+ inclusion become quite nuanced. Thailand is only the third country out of 48 countries in Asia to legalise same-sex marriage, following in the footsteps of Taiwan and Nepal. But these three countries are accelerating the advancement of LGBTQIA+ inclusion. They are paving the way for increased talent attraction, better national reputation and national productivity. It’s not a far-fetched aspiration for other places like Japan, Cambodia or even Vietnam to start considering introducing Marriage Equality laws in their own countries.
Many Asian countries face challenges around rapidly ageing populations. South Korea has the world’s lowest fertility rate with an average of 0.72 children per a woman’s lifetime. Many countries are also managing declining tourism, and while Thailand is on that list, there is hope that the country will recover quicker due to its forward-thinking strategies. LGBTQIA+ inclusion isn’t the cover-all answer for these problems. However, it does help facilitate the creation of an innovative and resilient society.
Open For Business’ recent City Ratings Report reveals that cities with higher LGBTQIA+ inclusive environments benefit from stability and resilience in volatile markets, outperforming less inclusive counterparts during disruption. Furthermore, a 2024 Open For Business report estimated that Southeast Asian countries, including Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam, lose 1.47% of GDP (equivalent to 33 billion US dollars) every year. Potentially, this could be regained through policies and laws that address discrimination by means of wage and health gaps.
The world is changing and more people are actively seeking inclusive, sustainability minded organisations to join. Thailand is well positioned to get the biggest slice of pie when it comes to LGBTQIA+ communities looking for a safer, more open society to live, work and retire in. With Brain Drain (the emigration of highly skilled and educated individuals from one country to another, looking for oppor-tunities and a better quality of life) affecting many countries across the world, and with Thailand operationalising its five-year “digital nomad visa” option, the strategy is to clear: make Thailand the destination of choice, not only for the LGBTQIA+ community, but for skilled individuals across the world.
Brain Drain is a deeply personal concept for me and my wife. We have firsthand experience of being discriminated against and deciding to leave our home country of the Philippines to live somewhere we could be ourselves. For us, this was a complicated process involving difficult decisions along the way. What’s important is that we are no longer living somewhere we feel less than our straight counterparts. Now, we feel valued and we are in a much better place.
I’m not paid by the Thailand tourism authority, but I can surely attest that living here has improved our lives. We have great healthcare (the country sits within the top 10 healthcare index in the world), access to the best food and spices, to unique experiences and culture, and, most importantly for us – as a family and as travellers – amazing pet care and cat hotels that can accommodate all six of our fur babies. Yes, we took them with us from the Philippines all the way to Thailand! We love them and they are our emotional support animals. Needless to say, I wholeheartedly recommend Thailand, and with the recent passing of the Marriage Equality law, it makes visiting or living here extremely attractive. If I could, I’d invite everyone to at least visit the country and see for yourself what Thailand has to offer.
Even though my wife and I already got married decades ago, we missed our chance last January. So in the hopes of my ever-sup-portive wife reading this, and because she popped the question decades ago, it’s my turn now. Jeiz, will you marry me… again?
This feature can also be found inside the pages of our December/January issue. You can read more delights inside it’s pages by getting your hands on a copy via divadirect.info.
Love media made by and for LGBTQIA+ women and gender diverse people? Then you’ll love DIVA. We’ve been spotlighting the community for over 30 years. Here’s how you can get behind queer media and keep us going for another generation: linkin.bio/ig-divamagazine
Did you know that DIVA has now become a charity? Our magazine is published by the DIVA Charitable Trust. You can find out more about the organisation and how you can offer your support here: divacharitabletrust.com