Re-orienting Shan Migrant Masculinities in Chiang Mai’s Queer Sexual Commodity

This article explores transnational sexualities as experienced by Shan migrantsin Thailand. It focuses on how their bodies and masculinities are shaped by the circulation of sexual discourses, practices, and subjectivities across national contexts. By examining the sex work undertaken by Shan men, this article provides a nuanced picture of their labor that considers the effects of migration and mobility on local and national modes of desire. It aims to provide a deeper understanding of Shan identity politics, viewed through the lens of ‘body, masculinity, and nationality’ in the commodification of masculinity. It highlights the articulation of Shan masculinities, which have been exoticized and commodified, leading to the presentation of hypermasculinity in gay bars. Conceptually, this research draws on Sara Ahmed’s idea of ‘orient’ to challenge the desire for migration. It suggests that Shan men’s experiences of resistance in Thailand create a unique modality of their masculinities, effectively rendering them alien. Their personal experiences of alienation illustrate a dual sense of being aliens—both as immigrants and as sex workers. Thus, this research argues that the representation of masculinity is not a fixed entity but rather a contingent, crafted, and contested one. Furthermore, it contends that this articulation of masculinity is ethnicized within webs of power and capital, showing how Shan masculinities are influenced by and respond to their complex socioeconomic environment.