An intersectional burden: Gender and sexual stigma against toms in Thailand

Sexual stigma has deleterious effects on the health and wellbeing of sexual minority women. In low- and middle-income countries, theories and research on stigma against sexual minority women largely focus on sexuality-related stigma processes, such as internalized homophobia or perceived or enacted stigma due to sexual identity, attraction or practice. Yet, there is considerable gender diversity among sexual minority women. Further, sexuality and gender identity may intersect with broader gender inequalities to influence the experience of stigma among some groups. In this study, we conducted 21 qualitative life-history interviews with self-identified toms in Bangkok, the capital city of Thailand, to evaluate whether and how gender identity, independent of and together with same-sex sexuality, influences experiences of stigma among gender non-conforming sexual minority women. We find that the pervasive experiences of stigma against toms derive as much from their assumed masculinity in Thai society, as from their same-sex sexuality. Notably, coercive feminization (attempts by others to orient toms toward sexual and gendered expectations of Thai femininity) and boundary policing (expressed hostility toward tom gender performance and sexual intimacy with feminine Thai women) were manifestations of concurrent gender non-conformity and sexual stigma, shaped in turn by the unique location of toms within the Thai gender/sex system. We propose that research and theories on stigma and health among sexual minorities systematically integrate a gender perspective, to elucidate the effects of gender identity and location within the gender structure on sexual minority experiences of stigma.