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queeringperspectives
Sep 11, 20234 min read

#38 - Queer Life in Cambodia: A History of Struggle and Renewal

In collaboration with SafeSpaceBTB

We move from Thailand to Cambodia to talk to Thida Chhuon about her work with SafeSpaceBTB. Today, we present to you some facts about queer life in the country and the specific challenges they face.

The Khmer people are the biggest Buddhist-majority ethnicity in the country, speaking a language of the same name. Once home to the Khmer Empire, which spread across what is now Cambodia, Thailand, and Laos, the three countries speak sister languages and share many religious and cultural traditions, which offers some similarities to the attitudes towards queer people we explored in Thailand. However, Thailand and Cambodia different historical struggles that are reflected in the reality of queer life in Cambodia.

Since the fall of the economic and cultural riches of the Khmer Empire, Cambodia has suffered occupations, bombings, dictatorships, genocide, and political corruption that have understandably caused some socioeconomic setbacks.

We will explore a bit more of Cambodia's recent history in the next episode, but for now it is important to analyze the case of this country to emphasize once again how colonization, Western interventionism, local reactionary anti-Western sentiment, and authoritarianism can directly influence a community's attitudes toward queerness.

At the same time, understanding Cambodia's economic decline in comparison to Thailand's wealth highlights how socioeconomic and political factors are essential indicators of the quality of life for queer individuals, as they undeniably restrict the availability of protections and structures necessary for social change.

Cambodia has a similar gender system to Thailand, and in fact the term 'kathoey' we discussed last week comes from the Khmer word 'kthuey'. The kthuey were integral to traditional ritual dances throughout Khmer history.

Today, however, the term is more often used pejoratively, much like the f* word in English, to insult anyone who is perceived to have a "deviant" gender or sexual identity. Thus, despite the original inclusion of a 'third gender' in Khmer culture, the French 'civilizing' efforts and the anti-Western sentiments of independentist local politics, both of which actively persecuted queer people, caused an attitude shift in modern times, similar to the other countries we've covered. This is reflected in how a word that signaled a special role becomes a queerphobic insult.

In Cambodia, in addition to the problems we found in Thailand: a surface-level acceptance of the queer community that hides some microaggressions, as well as unequal access to opportunities. For example, forced heterosexual marriages are still common, mostly in rural areas. Conservative Christian and Muslim minorities, as well as affluent families seeking to protect their social prestige, are more inclined to do so.

Queers are often divided by mainstream culture into into two distinct groups: sák khlei (short hairs) and sák vêng (long hairs). 'Short hairs' identify more closely with men who have sex with men, while 'long hairs' identify more closely or completely with women. 'Short hairs' tend to live closeted lives and try to "pass" as cis straight men, often marrying women. 'Long hairs', on the other hand, live their public lives as women, often transitioning medically to "pass" safely.

From this, we can see how, despite the historical antecedents of a third gender identity, the current expectations and pressures of heteronormativity enforce a gender binary system that requires queers to "pass" in public life to live more comfortably, thus limiting the historical significance and visibility that kthuey identity may have previously had. Luckily, this has started to change with younger generations who are more open to gender fluidity.

Over the past 10 years, poverty in the country has been drastically reduced from about 35% living below the poverty line to only about 15%. This has been made possible in part by an increase in tourism. The big cities have followed an approach similar to Thailand regarding queer tourism, promoting itself as a safe destination for queer foreigners. This has provided some safety for locals who find work in the recently opened venues in the big cities.

However, for queer locals who face work discrimination, especially in rural areas and for those who cannot 'pass', the country's economic boost has not reached them equally. For many trans* women the most accessible solution is sex work, but this is very risky in Cambodia as the country has been battling with high rates of sexual assault, perpetrated by young men. They can do so with more impunity when it happens to trans* sex workers, since they have little protection and are actively persecuted by the police if found to be involved in prostitution. Understandably, for many trans* women, the best option has been to flee to Thailand.

This is why the work of queer organizations like SafeSpaceBTB, founded by our guest Thida, is so radically important. As the name suggests, offering a safe space when public life can be a struggle due to social ostracism and economic hardship is fundamental, especially for young queers. SafeSpaceBTB offers support through advocacy work and by offering a space where queers can find information about sexual health, access to mental health counseling, and a general space where they can find community and express different aspects of queer culture through art.

Generational trauma created directly or in response to Western interventionism has fundamentally altered or erased the historical place of queerness in the cultural formation of this nation. Still, the seeds of change are already there, and with no religious fundamentalism or political motivations to sustain queer persecution, it is only a matter of time before the wounds heal.

This is already happening with the annual celebration of Pride for over 10 years, and the formation of several queer organizations, like SafeSpaceBTB, all over the country.


In the following weeks, we will delve deeper into different aspects of Khmer culture and the approaches taken by queer Cambodians to reclaim the space they have lost.


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