Abstract:
This research aimed to examine the history of representation reproduction of gay and transgender women, as well as the practices of discursive activism by gays and transgender women in Thai print news media. The study employed the concepts of representation and discursive activism, collecting data through purposive sampling from print news media in The National Library of Thailand. Content and textual analysis were conducted using Atlas.ti software. The study identified a total of 610 news reports on gays and transgender women during 1924-1989. The results revealed that the representation reproduction of gays and transgender woman in the print news media was influenced by historical contexts and hegemonic discourses of specific historical periods: medical, psychological, and social problem discourses. Furthermore, the study uncovered the new historical evidence of discursive activism among gays and transgender woman aiming to negotiate with the hegemonic discourses of their time, especially regarding gender equality in marriage law, rights of transgender women to participate in the national beauty pageant competition, and gender recognition law for transgender people, as reported in the print news media