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.