Sissyphilia and Tropicopolitan Sensibilities: Queering the Star in Thai Boys Love Media
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.25120/etropic.23.2.2024.4041Keywords:
Thai Boys Love, yaoi, sissyphilia, queer Thai media, tropicopolitan sensibilities, Thai LGBTQAbstract
This article investigates the queered star image in Thai Boys Love/yaoi (BL)/Y media released after 2020 through the lens of sissyphilia, queer scholarship, and a newly proposed idea—tropicopolitan sensibilities. The study concentrates on PP Krit Amnuaydechkorn’s BL-star persona. PP Krit practices his sissyphilic persona both within and beyond the Thai live-action BL framework, incorporating elements such as costume, makeup, mannerism, coupling culture, and the spectacle of diverse cultures. Arguably, sissyphilia in Thai BL media of the 2020s is no longer a mere withdrawal from gay men’s sissyphobic masculinity. Instead, it should be approached as a testament to another “queer turn” in the Thai mediascape, where an increasing number of celebrities are disrupting and diversifying Thai LGBTQ stereotypes. The BL industry in Thailand employs critical-creative maneuvers to resonate with the socio-political atmosphere of the period and embrace new tropes of transnational queer media.
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