Queering the labor migration: Highly-skilled Filipino gay men as labor migrants in Bangkok, Thailand

While a number of migration studies concentrated on the economic, political, and social issues faced by immigrants both in their home and host countries, studies that attempt to connect migration, culture and sexuality, particularly the migration decisions among gay men and how such migration shaped and influenced their identity and sexuality within the Global South context are scarce. Using the theoretical frame of queer intercultural communication, this study aims to explore and understand the labor migration of two highly skilled Filipino gay men and how they construct or reconstruct their identity and sexuality in Bangkok, Thailand. Findings from the individual interviews revealed that personal, professional, and social factors shaped participants’ decision to come and work in Bangkok. Being highly skilled and having a job in Bangkok provides the participants the means not only to support their personal and family needs but also to participate in queer discourses and practises that allowed them to explore and understand their sexuality. This study highlights that looking at the issues on identity and belonging from the gay men’s perspectives enhances our understanding of the multiple gender identities that contribute to the study of queer intercultural communication and migration.