A Critical Discourse Analysis of Gender Ideology Regarding Alternative Gender through Thai textbooks

Abstract

This research aimed to analyze gender ideology using linguistic strategies through the representation of alternative gender groups in the basic health education textbooks for upper secondary school students, based on critical discourse analysis. Data was collected from five publishers: Phatthana Kritsadakarn, Wattanapanich, SKSK, Aksorn Charoentat, and Amphan.

The results of the study found that health education textbooks do not focus only on providing knowledge in the subject, but also contain strategies for presenting alternative gender groups, such as using references, using base words, using co-occurring words, and using rhetorical devices. These strategies reflect certain thoughts and attitudes in presenting representatives of gender diverse groups from different perspectives. For example, presenting desirable representations of gender diverse people, such as a multicultural society is a form of society that accepts differences and equality in human dignity, including gender diversity and sexual orientation. Presenting undesirable representations of gender diverse people, such as cultural violence on gender, the belief that natural genders are only male and female, while other genders are “unnatural”. This results in bullying and discrimination against transgender people in society, which is linked to related socio-cultural factors, such as traditional ideas of people in society, related laws. Including the increasing presentation of various phenomena of the LGBTQ group in society through public media. The research results also show the creation of the image of the LGBTQ group in textbooks. When compared with social events that show changes in thinking about gender, it was found that the improvement of the content of health education textbooks in high school, despite showing significant developments and more presentations of LGBTQ people, has not been able to keep up with changes in society. For this reason, it may lead to the reproduction of gender inequality.