Elska, a project dedicated to sharing the bodies and voices of LGBTQ communities around the world, has put the spotlight on Bangkok, Thailand for its latest edition. Inside, readers can get to know a cross-section of ordinary men from the LGBTQ community of what is perhaps Asia’s queerest city, presenting them through intimate photography and personal storytelling.
“This is now our forty-third adventure, but from the beginning we knew we’d eventually have to come to Bangkok,” says Elska editor and chief photographer Liam Campbell. “I suppose I always kept it in the back pocket, perhaps a kind of treat for when we wanted to make an issue that would feel more like going on holiday. But the reason we finally came now is because we ran a poll amongst our most loyal readers to nominate any city in the world where they wanted to see an Elska made, and Bangkok got the most votes. It seemed that my personal enthusiasm for Thailand was matched by our readers.“
“Bangkok really wasn’t what I was expecting though, at least when it came to making Elska” continues Liam. “I suppose I was stuck on stereotypes of the Thai capital as some kind of paradise of debauchery, a city of heathens when rather it was a city of angels. The Thai name for this city (Krung Thep), which can actually be translated as ‘city of angels’, suits the guys we met here, who were overall more reserved and demure than we expected. Overall it’s such a surprising issue and that’s my favourite thing about Elska in general.“
Inside ‘Elska Bangkok’ and the companion zine ‘Elska Ekstra Bangkok‘ thirteen local queer humans are introduced. Each has been photographed in the streets of Bangkok and dressed in their own style, as well as at home with less clothes (or sometimes entirely without clothes), the goal being to allow readers to get to know these participants at their most open. Each also wrote a personal story, penned themselves in either English or Thai (and followed by English translations), bringing you even closer to them. The tales they contributed touch upon a variety of subjects, such as:
- Om T’s reflection on how to achieve power through drag, and the experience of being Amadiva, one of the most legendary queens from ‚Drag Race Thailand’;
- Chang C’s story about how to deal with heartbreak from a Buddhist perspective;
- Oat M’s piece on growing up in a brothel and the relationships he’s forged with various
sex workers through his life;
- Ark S’s confession on how to cope with losing friends when you choose to go sober;
- Hamza S’s tale on fleeing from his native Morocco to find safety in Thailand
‘Elska Bangkok’ is 180 pages and is available from a select group of shops around the world as well as for order online from the Elska website. In addition, the comparison zine ‘Elska Ekstra Bangkok’ is available, including hundreds of pages of outtakes, behind the scenes tales, extra boys and extra stories. The list of stockists and details of the subscription service can also be found on the Elska website: www.elskamagazine.com.
