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Thai Boys’ Love media as a means of Soft Power among International Students in Thailand

Agostinho, Daniela (2025) COSM40 20251
Centre for East and South-East Asian Studies, Lund University
Abstract
Thai Boys’ Love (BL) media has traveled far beyond its origins. This thesis explored how Thai BL media, especially BL series, has introduced Thailand to foreign fans who have become international students in Thailand. It considered the BL phenomenon from its Japanese Yaoi adaptation to its evolution into mainstream Thai entertainment. Through qualitative interviews with international and exchange students at major Thai universities in Bangkok, this thesis revealed how BL media created a sense of emotional closeness, contributed to their decision to study in Thailand, raised expectations about life and the academic environment there, as well as shaped participants' views on Thai values, gender norms, culture, and identity. While Thai BL... (More)
Thai Boys’ Love (BL) media has traveled far beyond its origins. This thesis explored how Thai BL media, especially BL series, has introduced Thailand to foreign fans who have become international students in Thailand. It considered the BL phenomenon from its Japanese Yaoi adaptation to its evolution into mainstream Thai entertainment. Through qualitative interviews with international and exchange students at major Thai universities in Bangkok, this thesis revealed how BL media created a sense of emotional closeness, contributed to their decision to study in Thailand, raised expectations about life and the academic environment there, as well as shaped participants' views on Thai values, gender norms, culture, and identity. While Thai BL presents an image of openness and progressiveness, the findings also reveal tensions between BL portrayals and the more complex realities of Thai society. By contextualising participants’ experiences within a soft power framework, this thesis concluded that Thai BL series are not just some random source of entertainment; the strong emotional connection these series created with the participants, as well as the way they served as a mental reference point for what to expect from Thailand, resulted in experiences of mobility and learning which changed the course of these people’s lives. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
Agostinho, Daniela
supervisor
organization
course
COSM40 20251
year
type
H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
subject
keywords
Boys' Love media, Thailand, Soft power, International students, Media reception, Queer representation in Asia, Cultural exports, Fandom studies
language
English
id
9202215
date added to LUP
2025-06-18 11:36:29
date last changed
2025-06-18 11:36:29
@misc{9202215,
  abstract     = {{Thai Boys’ Love (BL) media has traveled far beyond its origins. This thesis explored how Thai BL media, especially BL series, has introduced Thailand to foreign fans who have become international students in Thailand. It considered the BL phenomenon from its Japanese Yaoi adaptation to its evolution into mainstream Thai entertainment. Through qualitative interviews with international and exchange students at major Thai universities in Bangkok, this thesis revealed how BL media created a sense of emotional closeness, contributed to their decision to study in Thailand, raised expectations about life and the academic environment there, as well as shaped participants' views on Thai values, gender norms, culture, and identity. While Thai BL presents an image of openness and progressiveness, the findings also reveal tensions between BL portrayals and the more complex realities of Thai society. By contextualising participants’ experiences within a soft power framework, this thesis concluded that Thai BL series are not just some random source of entertainment; the strong emotional connection these series created with the participants, as well as the way they served as a mental reference point for what to expect from Thailand, resulted in experiences of mobility and learning which changed the course of these people’s lives.}},
  author       = {{Agostinho, Daniela}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{Thai Boys’ Love media as a means of Soft Power among International Students in Thailand}},
  year         = {{2025}},
}