The review I posted on The Sign has the correct date: Jan 25, 2024
I would like to add that although marriage equality has been approved in Thailand, decades of institutionalized racism, discrimination, and homophobia cannot be erased with a stroke of the pen or a royal decree. The police, for example, continue to treat the few complaints that reach the police authorities from members of the LGBT+ community with morbidity and discrimination. In other words, members of this community today do not even dare to report rapes of any kind committed against them. Sexual violence persists in that country, as does the reluctance of those attacked to report it to the police. Despite the approval of marriage equality, there remains a lack of resources for transgender people to change their legal gender. Multifaceted stigma and discrimination persist in the education system, in housing, in the workplace, in healthcare, and in the military. Social isolation and exclusion persist in families. Discrimination and marginalization in employment persist. LGBT+ disparities in health and mental health persist. While there is no doubt that the legalization of marriage for LGBTI couples is a key milestone for Thailand, much more needs to be done to ensure full protection for LGBTI people in the country. The LGBTI population in Thailand, for example, continues to experience multiple forms of violence and discrimination, including technology-enabled gender-based violence, often directed against human rights defenders. Thailand passed the Gender Equality Act in 2015, which aimed to provide legal protection against discrimination based on sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, and sex characteristics. However, this did not resolve the problems faced by the community over the years. If you study the criticisms directed at the Thai government by the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women regarding this law, you will see that they question the provision that provides exemptions from the prohibition of gender discrimination based on religious principles or national security. If you're trying to analyze this phenomenon through BL series, I recommend you give up. BL series don't expose this reality. They rarely do. For example, they have rarely exposed homophobia, internalized homophobia, discrimination against members of the LGBT+ community, and when they have, it has been superficial, as was the case in the series Be My Favorite.
In Asian culture, it's very common to call a friend or stranger older, but within the same generation (i.e., when the age gap isn't too great), using the term "older brother" or "older sister," as siblings are called. In East Asia: In Chinese and also in Taiwan (Mandarin), they are called Gege (older brother) and Jiejie (older sister). In South and North Korea, they are called Hyeong/Oppa (older brother) and Nuna/Eonni (older sister). In Japan, they call him Onii-san (older brother) and Onee-san (older sister), but this is no longer commonly used if the speaker is quite mature. In Southeast Asia: In Indonesia/Malaysia/Brunei, they call him Abang (older brother) and Kakak (older sister). In Thai, there's no difference, if I'm not mistaken; they both call each other Phee (Phi). In Vietnam, they call him Anh (older brother) and Chi (older sister). In the Philippines, they call him Kuya (older brother) and Ate (older sister).
In China, it is very common to refer to (unrelated) people as 姐姐 (older sister) or 哥 (older brother). In ancient times, disciples of a master did not address each other by their first names, but rather as 大哥 (Elder Brother), 二哥 (Second Elder Brother), 四弟 (Fourth Younger Brother), etc., according to their position in the hierarchy. This did not mean that these people were related by blood; this system was simply a hierarchy similar to that of a family. Chinese society is more hierarchy-conscious than the West. Applying these kinship terms to people outside your family expresses that your relationship with them is more intimate, or at least less formal, than with others outside your social circle, which includes your friends, coworkers, classmates, etc. Therefore, it is common to call those close, intimate people as 哥哥 or 姐姐.
There's a clear misconception among many viewers who follow 'Moon and Dust': Song Qi and Song Li, the two main characters, ARE NOT BROTHERS. They call each other brothers, but not a single drop of shared blood runs through their veins. Nor are they stepbrothers. They are not children of married parents, as is the case in 'The On1y One' or 'Addicted'. They are more like the main characters in 'Unknown': two boys with no blood relation. One picks up the other off the street and brings him home, and they grow up together. In China, it's very common to call people who aren't related by blood "brother" or "sister." This is a term of respect or an expression of intimacy and flirtation. Similarly, people call many people "uncle" or "aunt" who aren't actually related, even strangers on the street who are providing them with good service, for example.
Phat/Phad who knocked Loy upside his head with his cane also likes him?!
Phat (played by Kimjui Aueaoangkun Penchanwattanakit) secretly loves Nuan. And when he discovers that she's in love with Loy, he begins to consider Loy a rival in love. Meanwhile, Phat's younger sister, Bua (played by Biw Lalichat Warawirojpol, best known for her role in "Falling in Love" (2024), also harbors feelings for Loy. For these reasons, when Phat discovers Loy and Kaew's love, he plans to expose them to everyone in the village with the aim of ruining Loy's life. He then enlists the help of the jealous Phaka (played by Aunaun Sujintra Rungraung). This young man also likes Loy, but agrees to join Phat's plan to destroy the two protagonists.
There is a throuple in Unforgotten Night they touch on it basically for a steamy shower scene but it's more involved…
Because they were both in love with Japan, Seiji and Ken always had a conflicted, far from friendly relationship. And suddenly Seiji proposes to Japan that they open up their (still budding) relationship to a three-way, polyamorous relationship with someone one saw as an enemy and the other as only a friend? Because Ken "was crying in the corner"? Can this be believable?
3 person relationship. first I've seen this as a new person to BL drama. are there others where this concept is…
Hello. I think this three-person relationship (Japan, Seiji, and Ken) was the classic straw that broke the camel's back. Seiji always considered Ken just a friend. He had thousands of opportunities to have romantic or sexual relationships with him, but he was never interested because, to him, Ken was nothing more than a friend. Why this sudden interest in Ken? When did Seiji realize he loved both of them at the same time, when he always showed interest in Pan and never in Ken, despite the latter's constant insinuations first and then his declarations later? It would be great if BL explored this concept of love between three people, but this must be done when there is love, desire, between all parties, not on a whim of the director or writer... This "fell out of the blue" when the curtains were already being drawn on the series... it was like adding something else to continue frustrating viewers.
But did you like the show? So many movies and shows have prostitutes in it but the are all fiction. I personally…
The nightclub management acts just like pimps: puts the place of amorous appointments, promoting the "business," seeking clients from the prostitutes, and demanding that they fulfill their "obligations." There is an episode in which a client, using money, wins the right to be with Wela, to receive from Wela a luxury sexual service, like the club, in which, as I mentioned before, the only thing missing is penetration. By then, Wela and Khemthis were already in a budding relationship, and it was clear they liked each other. Well, on this occasion, Wela didn't "enjoy" the client's "demands." He seemed annoyed, irritated, constantly asking permission to go to the bathroom... in short, he tried to avoid the client at all times. Typical of prostitutes when they don't want to have sex with the client, but are forced to because the client paid and the pimp demands it. And Khemthis, furious and powerless, can do nothing to prevent the boy he loves from being groped, fondled, kissed, touched... by another man, who even goes so far as to put his hand in his underwear.
But did you like the show? So many movies and shows have prostitutes in it but the are all fiction. I personally…
No, I didn't like the series, not because it touched on the subject of prostitution, but because I didn't have the courage to acknowledge that it addresses the subject of prostitution. Screenwriters, directors, producers... they were all afraid to call a spade a spade and call a spade a spade. There's a review in the review section where I go into more detail about why I didn't like it and other issues, if you're interested in reading. The year before the premiere of 'Deep Night,' Thai cinema gave us a shocking film titled 'Doi Boy,' which, among other topics, addresses issues such as migration, prostitution, crime, border conflicts, and human rights. I also have a review in the corresponding section. And filmmaker Nontawat Numbenchapol, in his first fiction film, didn't hesitate to say, "Hey, we're going to talk about prostitution here." In this film, the protagonist, Sorn, a young man of Shan ethnicity, flees the political conflict in Myanmar, changes his identity, and makes a living as a sex worker in Chiang Mai, Thailand. However, he becomes involved with a client and a dangerous criminal plot. I have no problem with dramas addressing social issues, real issues, like prostitution. What I don't like is that they're trying to scam me, that they try to pass me off as a pig in a poke.. What were those involved in making the series afraid of? That they might upset BL fans if they made things so clear? Maybe, because then it might not be a BL series if it had touched on deeper, more obvious themes… One or two bad decisions? For me, they were all bad decisions, based on what I've said before. Whether or not the relationship between host and client is consensual DOESN'T define whether it's prostitution. In fact, prostitution is always consensual; there's always a mutual agreement between the two parties; one pays and the other receives payment. I don't think it's just "paying someone to pretend they like it." There's an exchange of money for sexual services. It's true, the host doesn't directly charge any money for the sexual service; the club manager does, and they then redistribute the profits among the hosts. That's prostitution, no matter how you look at it. That's my opinion.
Doesn't the same thing happen to, or could it happen to, French, Polish, British, Spanish, Hungarian, Bulgarian, American, Mexican, Thai, South Korean, Italian homosexuals? Isn't it true that many of them can decide not to come out of the closet, marry a woman, live a lie...? So what does what you say have to do with ANYTHING? Is what you're saying really Sinophobia?
What do you think I'm describing? That there's repression against some homosexuals and not others? And how do they choose those they're going to repress? Is it by the initials of their names, or by their date of birth? Maybe the color of their underwear? It would be very interesting to know all these details.
Thank you for your post. It motivated me to write one. But I don't understand. Apparently, according to your words, the proclamation of the Chinese infallible party only affects Xiao Lin, and not his friend Ouyang Fu Gui, who is very open, very much out of the closet, and aware of his homosexuality, nor the people who go to gay clubs. I can't understand it. Could you explain it to me?
There are still those who refuse to accept that 'Deep Night' is about prostitution. Is it because the hosts aren't "operating" on street corners, in parks, or on overpasses along any Bangkok road, seeking to be contacted by their clients? Is it because they don't sell their caresses and allow themselves to be touched, groped, fondled, kissed, caressed, have their hands put under their clothes, pinched, obeyed, or prepared drinks to be given to them at the client's request... (all in exchange for money, don't forget) in a brothel or brothel? Because it's not a brothel where they practice their trade? Why isn't there penetration? Is physical contact an essential requirement for it to be considered prostitution? Why aren't the hosts the ones who directly agree on the service contract with the client? This is handled by the venue's management and the system itself, which selects the "winner" who will spend the night with the rentboy or taxiboy for a fee? Isn't it prostitution because we see a single host (Wela) being led from inside the club to the exit where the winner of the bid or auction who paid the highest sum of money to sleep with him in a hotel is waiting in his car, but "look at what a coincidence": the winner is the guy Wela is in love with, that is, the other protagonist? Hey, what if the winner had been someone else, let's say, an elderly man, yes, to put it melodramatically and all, a millionaire who had bid much higher than Khemthis in the auction, therefore, when Wela was led to the car instead of the co-star it would have been someone else? But, of course, if that were the case, it wouldn't be a BL, but a drama series, and that doesn't sell to BL lovers, who like very very very very light narratives, right? Why, according to these people, is there no prostitution? Because the hosts aren't victims of a human trafficking network? Don't they have sex with clients in exchange for money? Who says sexual relations ONLY occur when there is penetration? Isn't sexual relations the set of behaviors engaged in by at least two people with the goal of giving and receiving sexual pleasure? Don't the club's directors profit from the sexual exploitation to which these young hosts gladly submit? Isn't this exactly what happens at that place? Isn't it true that sexual relations can include many practices, such as sexual caresses without the need for penetration? Isn't this what happens at the club? Are you one of those who think that for sexual relations to be considered sexual relations, there MUST ONLY be oral sex or intercourse? Isn't it true that the series shows how, once the "service contract" has been agreed upon (true, it's not the young hosts themselves who do this, but the club owners themselves, through the show), both the young host and the person paying for the services go to a private area (instead of closed spaces, they are tables set aside on the same stage, but where other people cannot reach) to have sex, which, as we all know, DOESN'T NECESSARILY HAVE TO LEAD TO PENETRATION? I have no doubt that the bodies of these young people seem to have been turned into a commodity. Do hosts ONLY flirt with customers, serve them drinks, and engage in lively conversation? So why does Wela hide the "content" of his work from his mother, his professors, and his university classmates? Why is he ashamed? Why does he lie and hide his work? Is he in danger of being expelled from university ONLY for flirting with customers? Customers who put their hands down his pants and demand kisses and caresses, and he only resists when he seems to have fallen in love with Khemthis? In another galaxy, this might not be prostitution, but at least on planet Earth, this is pure and simple PROSTITUTION, with a capital P. Didn't the Club's directors engage in activities that consisted of profiting from the exploitation of the hosts, for obvious sexual purposes? Didn't the Club's directors rely on constant work and the combination of various forces to keep their actions under wraps? In the end, didn't they have to "clean up" the show, eliminate all the auction, eliminate all the sex worker aspects, and instead develop circus-like activities so they could invite Wela's mother, the teachers, and others? Why didn't Wela ever invite his mother to visit him at the club while it served as a cover for sexual activities? Why did he never even tell his mother about what he did at the club? In Thailand, it may be illegal to provide sexual services, but... has this prevented prostitution from taking place? Do you really want to talk about it? What does the closure of clubs in Asia, and especially in Japan, have to do with a dramatized TV that's meant to entertain and doesn't seek to denounce or question realities? Of course, Wela is a man. If he were a woman, it wouldn't be a BL series, but rather a series about heterosexual love, don't you think?
I don’t know why you keep repeating the word prostitution over and even with capital letters but there is no…
Do hosts ONLY flirt with customers, serve them drinks, and engage in lively conversation? So why does Wela hide the "content" of his work from his mother, his professors, and his university classmates? Why is he ashamed? Why does he lie and hide his work? Is he in danger of being expelled from university ONLY for flirting with customers? Customers who put their hands down his pants and demand kisses and caresses, and he only resists when he seems to have fallen in love with Khemthis? In another galaxy, this might not be prostitution, but at least on planet Earth, this is pure and simple PROSTITUTION, with a capital P. Didn't the Club's directors engage in activities that consisted of profiting from the exploitation of the hosts, for obvious sexual purposes? Didn't the Club's directors rely on constant work and the combination of various forces to keep their actions under wraps? In the end, didn't they have to "clean up" the show, eliminate all the auction, eliminate all the sex worker aspects, and instead develop circus-like activities so they could invite Wela's mother, the teachers, and others? Why didn't Wela ever invite his mother to visit him at the club while it served as a cover for sexual activities? Why did he never even tell his mother about what he did at the club? In Thailand, it may be illegal to provide sexual services, but... has this prevented prostitution from taking place? Do you really want to talk about it? What does the closure of clubs in Asia, and especially in Japan, have to do with a dramatized TV that's meant to entertain and doesn't seek to denounce or question realities? Of course, Wela is a man. If he were a woman, it wouldn't be a BL series, but rather a series about heterosexual love, don't you think? Yes, it's obvious we didn't watch the same series.
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1 
2 
Despite the approval of marriage equality, there remains a lack of resources for transgender people to change their legal gender. Multifaceted stigma and discrimination persist in the education system, in housing, in the workplace, in healthcare, and in the military. Social isolation and exclusion persist in families. Discrimination and marginalization in employment persist. LGBT+ disparities in health and mental health persist.
While there is no doubt that the legalization of marriage for LGBTI couples is a key milestone for Thailand, much more needs to be done to ensure full protection for LGBTI people in the country.
The LGBTI population in Thailand, for example, continues to experience multiple forms of violence and discrimination, including technology-enabled gender-based violence, often directed against human rights defenders.
Thailand passed the Gender Equality Act in 2015, which aimed to provide legal protection against discrimination based on sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, and sex characteristics. However, this did not resolve the problems faced by the community over the years. If you study the criticisms directed at the Thai government by the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women regarding this law, you will see that they question the provision that provides exemptions from the prohibition of gender discrimination based on religious principles or national security.
If you're trying to analyze this phenomenon through BL series, I recommend you give up. BL series don't expose this reality. They rarely do. For example, they have rarely exposed homophobia, internalized homophobia, discrimination against members of the LGBT+ community, and when they have, it has been superficial, as was the case in the series Be My Favorite.
In East Asia:
In Chinese and also in Taiwan (Mandarin), they are called Gege (older brother) and Jiejie (older sister).
In South and North Korea, they are called Hyeong/Oppa (older brother) and Nuna/Eonni (older sister).
In Japan, they call him Onii-san (older brother) and Onee-san (older sister), but this is no longer commonly used if the speaker is quite mature.
In Southeast Asia:
In Indonesia/Malaysia/Brunei, they call him Abang (older brother) and Kakak (older sister).
In Thai, there's no difference, if I'm not mistaken; they both call each other Phee (Phi).
In Vietnam, they call him Anh (older brother) and Chi (older sister).
In the Philippines, they call him Kuya (older brother) and Ate (older sister).
In ancient times, disciples of a master did not address each other by their first names, but rather as 大哥 (Elder Brother), 二哥 (Second Elder Brother), 四弟 (Fourth Younger Brother), etc., according to their position in the hierarchy. This did not mean that these people were related by blood; this system was simply a hierarchy similar to that of a family. Chinese society is more hierarchy-conscious than the West.
Applying these kinship terms to people outside your family expresses that your relationship with them is more intimate, or at least less formal, than with others outside your social circle, which includes your friends, coworkers, classmates, etc.
Therefore, it is common to call those close, intimate people as 哥哥 or 姐姐.
In China, it's very common to call people who aren't related by blood "brother" or "sister." This is a term of respect or an expression of intimacy and flirtation.
Similarly, people call many people "uncle" or "aunt" who aren't actually related, even strangers on the street who are providing them with good service, for example.
ลอยแก้ว Loy Kaew First Love | EP.1 [2/3] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5h_qirJAt_s
ลอยแก้ว Loy Kaew First Love | EP.1 [3/3] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=arv__K2Eif8
The series stars actors Leng Natthaphon Nindonwai (Instagram: instagram.com/lengnatthaphon) and Sello Pornwasin Rueangnukul (Instagram: instagram.com/stampc4).
It would be great if BL explored this concept of love between three people, but this must be done when there is love, desire, between all parties, not on a whim of the director or writer... This "fell out of the blue" when the curtains were already being drawn on the series... it was like adding something else to continue frustrating viewers.
There is an episode in which a client, using money, wins the right to be with Wela, to receive from Wela a luxury sexual service, like the club, in which, as I mentioned before, the only thing missing is penetration. By then, Wela and Khemthis were already in a budding relationship, and it was clear they liked each other. Well, on this occasion, Wela didn't "enjoy" the client's "demands." He seemed annoyed, irritated, constantly asking permission to go to the bathroom... in short, he tried to avoid the client at all times. Typical of prostitutes when they don't want to have sex with the client, but are forced to because the client paid and the pimp demands it.
And Khemthis, furious and powerless, can do nothing to prevent the boy he loves from being groped, fondled, kissed, touched... by another man, who even goes so far as to put his hand in his underwear.
The year before the premiere of 'Deep Night,' Thai cinema gave us a shocking film titled 'Doi Boy,' which, among other topics, addresses issues such as migration, prostitution, crime, border conflicts, and human rights. I also have a review in the corresponding section. And filmmaker Nontawat Numbenchapol, in his first fiction film, didn't hesitate to say, "Hey, we're going to talk about prostitution here."
In this film, the protagonist, Sorn, a young man of Shan ethnicity, flees the political conflict in Myanmar, changes his identity, and makes a living as a sex worker in Chiang Mai, Thailand. However, he becomes involved with a client and a dangerous criminal plot.
I have no problem with dramas addressing social issues, real issues, like prostitution. What I don't like is that they're trying to scam me, that they try to pass me off as a pig in a poke.. What were those involved in making the series afraid of? That they might upset BL fans if they made things so clear? Maybe, because then it might not be a BL series if it had touched on deeper, more obvious themes…
One or two bad decisions? For me, they were all bad decisions, based on what I've said before.
Whether or not the relationship between host and client is consensual DOESN'T define whether it's prostitution. In fact, prostitution is always consensual; there's always a mutual agreement between the two parties; one pays and the other receives payment.
I don't think it's just "paying someone to pretend they like it." There's an exchange of money for sexual services. It's true, the host doesn't directly charge any money for the sexual service; the club manager does, and they then redistribute the profits among the hosts. That's prostitution, no matter how you look at it. That's my opinion.
Isn't it prostitution because we see a single host (Wela) being led from inside the club to the exit where the winner of the bid or auction who paid the highest sum of money to sleep with him in a hotel is waiting in his car, but "look at what a coincidence": the winner is the guy Wela is in love with, that is, the other protagonist? Hey, what if the winner had been someone else, let's say, an elderly man, yes, to put it melodramatically and all, a millionaire who had bid much higher than Khemthis in the auction, therefore, when Wela was led to the car instead of the co-star it would have been someone else? But, of course, if that were the case, it wouldn't be a BL, but a drama series, and that doesn't sell to BL lovers, who like very very very very light narratives, right?
Why, according to these people, is there no prostitution? Because the hosts aren't victims of a human trafficking network? Don't they have sex with clients in exchange for money? Who says sexual relations ONLY occur when there is penetration? Isn't sexual relations the set of behaviors engaged in by at least two people with the goal of giving and receiving sexual pleasure? Don't the club's directors profit from the sexual exploitation to which these young hosts gladly submit? Isn't this exactly what happens at that place? Isn't it true that sexual relations can include many practices, such as sexual caresses without the need for penetration? Isn't this what happens at the club? Are you one of those who think that for sexual relations to be considered sexual relations, there MUST ONLY be oral sex or intercourse? Isn't it true that the series shows how, once the "service contract" has been agreed upon (true, it's not the young hosts themselves who do this, but the club owners themselves, through the show), both the young host and the person paying for the services go to a private area (instead of closed spaces, they are tables set aside on the same stage, but where other people cannot reach) to have sex, which, as we all know, DOESN'T NECESSARILY HAVE TO LEAD TO PENETRATION? I have no doubt that the bodies of these young people seem to have been turned into a commodity.
Do hosts ONLY flirt with customers, serve them drinks, and engage in lively conversation? So why does Wela hide the "content" of his work from his mother, his professors, and his university classmates? Why is he ashamed? Why does he lie and hide his work? Is he in danger of being expelled from university ONLY for flirting with customers? Customers who put their hands down his pants and demand kisses and caresses, and he only resists when he seems to have fallen in love with Khemthis?
In another galaxy, this might not be prostitution, but at least on planet Earth, this is pure and simple PROSTITUTION, with a capital P. Didn't the Club's directors engage in activities that consisted of profiting from the exploitation of the hosts, for obvious sexual purposes? Didn't the Club's directors rely on constant work and the combination of various forces to keep their actions under wraps? In the end, didn't they have to "clean up" the show, eliminate all the auction, eliminate all the sex worker aspects, and instead develop circus-like activities so they could invite Wela's mother, the teachers, and others? Why didn't Wela ever invite his mother to visit him at the club while it served as a cover for sexual activities? Why did he never even tell his mother about what he did at the club? In Thailand, it may be illegal to provide sexual services, but... has this prevented prostitution from taking place? Do you really want to talk about it? What does the closure of clubs in Asia, and especially in Japan, have to do with a dramatized TV that's meant to entertain and doesn't seek to denounce or question realities?
Of course, Wela is a man. If he were a woman, it wouldn't be a BL series, but rather a series about heterosexual love, don't you think?
In another galaxy, this might not be prostitution, but at least on planet Earth, this is pure and simple PROSTITUTION, with a capital P. Didn't the Club's directors engage in activities that consisted of profiting from the exploitation of the hosts, for obvious sexual purposes? Didn't the Club's directors rely on constant work and the combination of various forces to keep their actions under wraps? In the end, didn't they have to "clean up" the show, eliminate all the auction, eliminate all the sex worker aspects, and instead develop circus-like activities so they could invite Wela's mother, the teachers, and others? Why didn't Wela ever invite his mother to visit him at the club while it served as a cover for sexual activities? Why did he never even tell his mother about what he did at the club? In Thailand, it may be illegal to provide sexual services, but... has this prevented prostitution from taking place? Do you really want to talk about it? What does the closure of clubs in Asia, and especially in Japan, have to do with a dramatized TV that's meant to entertain and doesn't seek to denounce or question realities?
Of course, Wela is a man. If he were a woman, it wouldn't be a BL series, but rather a series about heterosexual love, don't you think?
Yes, it's obvious we didn't watch the same series.