Discourses and Interpretations of Same - Sex Marriage through News from the Mass Media in Thailand

Abstract

The occurrence of human sexual relations and living with a partner of human in a society are many forms. Male-female, male-male, and female-female relationships, or complex relationships occur in every age. This article aims to find how mass media in Thailand constructs the meaning of same-sex marriage through their presented news and it examines the characteristics of discursive practices on same-sex marriage determined by social institutions. The author uses cultural studies as the core to connect the relationship with the couple in the same sex society with the news of the mass media in Thailand during B.E. 2556 (2013) – 2561 (2018) The definition of same-sex marriage is still tied to social contexts, giving values of values of culture, traditions and social institutions that are surrounded by and alongside Thai society. It can be said that these are the factors that have raised questions about the appropriateness and possibility of same-sex marriage rituals in a capitalist social structure. However, when same-sex couples enter to fight for meaning or righteousness on the battlefield of marriage, it can be observed in 2 areas. It was said that 1) Social structure efforts to maintain traditional legitimacy in the area of heterosexuality, and 2) the other side is the individual (same sex couples), a new group of societies trying to negotiate for the legitimacy in this area. It was a clash between the two sides on the battlefield, which was a matter of word and definition in the area of the mass media. The background of these institutional cultures has played a role in power by creating a set of ideas that always define the relationship of the living with a partner of human society.