In light of Pride month, researchers wanted to know how accepting Thais are to members of the queer community

As Thailand joined the rest of the world in celebrating Pride this month, Nida Poll conducted a public opinion survey to find out the attitude of Thais toward the LGBTQ+ community, or members of the ‘third gender’, in everyday scenarios and in terms of legal rights. A total of 1,310 people aged 15 years and older with different education and occupations were interviewed by phone throughout the country. Six questions were asked, and here are the results:

1. Is a person from the LGBTQ+ community acceptable as friends or colleague in the workplace?

92.82% had absolutely no problem with it, while 7.18% said no.

2. Would you accept a queer family member?

90.61% said yes, 9.31% said no, and 0.08% were uncertain.

3. Should people of a third gender be allowed to change the title preceding their names?

63.59% said yes, 36.18% said no, and 0.23% were uncertain.

4. Which groups should be allowed to change their title? (Of the 833 respondents who agreed)

57.62% said all groups and 42.38% said only those who have undergone a sex change.

5. Should same-sex marriage be legalized?

79.62% were in favor and 20.38% weren’t in favor.

6. Should there be a third gender checkbox on official forms?

77.63% said yes, 22.14% said no and 0.23% were uncertain.

While the idea of equal rights is largely supported, legal equality is still not a reality in Thailand. As discussed in an earlier story on Koktail, LGBTQ+ activists are currently pushing for true marriage equality in Thailand, despite a civil partnership bill currently being reviewed by Parliament.