Twelve years ago, LGBTQ+ activist Sirisakposh Chaitedspice (they/them) drove Chiang Mai conservatives crazy by organizing the city’s first Pride parade. Recently, Sirisakposh made news again by posing in a saffron robe with a rainbow stripe on their shoulder for a gender-inclusive monkhood campaign. We spoke with Sirisakposh about the controversial campaign and their fight for equality.
How did you become a gender rights activist?
I suffered a horrendous attack at school, and it was never just about me being queer. With me being born to a Vietnamese immigrant family and without hair, I was an easy target for other kids because I was different. People would call me names like kaew to remind me that I wasn’t one of them. The fact that I wasn’t like the other boys my age made it worse. Some kids would pull down my pants and pretend to rape me. Teachers mocked me…
