"People start to see us!"
The vagaries of history are not black and white, but usually quite a mixed bag, which is certainly what Pyae Phyo Kyaw found to be the case after the coup. Because as terrible as the violent military coup has been on so many levels, it has also managed to make possible some progress within Burmese society that Pyae Phyo Kyaw could never have imagined in his lifetime. As a gay man, he knew how deeply homophobic his society was, yet saw only minimal steps at progress through the years. Even though the democratic transition period was a major step forward, there were still many prejudicial attitudes and acts of discrimination that he encountered, which he details in this interview. The one unfair characterization which had always plagued him was the ugly stereotype of gays being cast as weak and cowardly. But Pyae Phyo Kyaw noticed something unusual in the weeks after the military attempted a coup: members of the LGBT community came out onto the street in force… and they were accepted and appreciated! This was his first indication that some profound shift in thinking just might be taking place. But that was just the start, and as he and his boyfriend came to dedicate themselves to their country’s freedom, he found that he was pushing the boundaries of inclusion even further.
“We are also brave, and we can do the right things. We are also resisting the military government. So they think, ‘We have to stop discriminating them.’”
Pyae Phyo Kyaw: We [the Burmese LGBT community] saw this moment as a chance to prove ourselves, that we are equal and we are worthy of respect. It's time to tell our society that we are not different! We are are also able to do the right things. We despise this military government, so it's time to tell our society that we are one, we are not different. We see this as a chance. How people saw us changed a bit after that [street protest], I believe.
Host: How did it change?
Pyae Phyo Kyaw: Before the coup, it became a bit safer for us than before [the democratic transition], but it's not like up to this level. But after the coup and after the LGBT society joined the street protests, and just doing whatever we can, well, people start to see us! Like, ‘Oh, we are one. They [the LGBT community] are just different, but they are not inferior to us. And they are not cowards.’ Because before the coop, people used to describe us as cowards. They even used the term ‘gay’ as a symbol of someone who is weak and wicked. But they started realize that it's not true, because we are also brave, and we can do the right thing. And we know right from wrong. We are also resisting the military government. So they think, ‘We have to stop discriminating them.’ And they started to change and a positive way.
Host: That's incredible. That's really powerful. So did you actually hear this kind of conversation going on, that members of the straight community were actually re-evaluating and revising their prejudice based on this moment of people coming together?
Pyae Phyo Kyaw: Yeah. Social media in Myanmar is Facebook, and you can see this a lot on Facebook. But the most obvious thing is the NUG government allowed a gay man to be their minister. That's an incredible thing! And in Karenni state, where I'm currently at, they have so many traditions, and being gay is not part of their culture. But when we arrived here, and made some contribution, they acknowledged [my boyfriend and I]. They even avoid using the word ‘gay’ in front of us, because it might offend us. So they also started to see that being gay is not that bad. These are the changes I've seen so far.”