The Reception of Thai Boys Love Series in China: Consumption, Imagination, and Friction

Starting from the mid 2010s, the world has witnessed the spectacularly rapid rise of Thai Boys Love series, TV series produced in Thailand that center around the homoromantic and/or homoerotic stories of one or more young, physically attractive, and masculine-identified male-male couple(s). The prevalence of these series is not only present within China’s intricate and distinctive social landscape. In fact, China, with millions of energized and devoted enthusiasts, is perhaps the most significant international market for Thai Boys Love series, and these series are indisputably the most popular non-animated male-male-love media in China nowadays. Guided by three subtopics, consumption, imagination, and friction, this thesis explores the reception of Thai Boys Love series in China, casting light on the Chinese consumers of these series, including viewers/fans, subtitle groups, and event organizers, in relation to the complex societal, historical, and ideological dynamics in contemporary China. The detailed introduction in the beginning on the development of Thai Boys Love series in Thailand and their trajectory in China sets the stage for this thesis to delve into four noteworthy aspects regarding the reception of these series in China. First, it unveils the carnivalesque consumption of Thai Boys Love series safeguarded largely by the various self-censoring strategies most consumers are practicing to get around the dominant but porous governmental censorship. Second, it examines the alternative unbounded world portrayed in these series that appeals to most viewers given the pressures and difficulties they have to confront in their day-to-day lives. Third, it indicates the problematic consequences these series may render in terms of how they promote and reinforce the fantasized “gay paradise” stereotype toward Thailand and the hegemonic “gay archetype” image to regulate gay men and marginalize some members in the gay community. Fourth, it explicates the actual vulnerability of the alleged “Chinese-Thai romance” under the rise of nationalistic sentiments as well as the comeback of Sinocentrism among most Chinese people. It ends with a reflective discussion about this thesis, the limitations, and possible directions for future research. This thesis is based on my close reading of the most well-received Thai Boys Love series from 2014 to April 2021, my extensive online observations since 2016, and a wide variety of secondary sources in English, Chinese, Japanese, and Thai.Bachelor of Art