Between Islamic Norms and Pop Culture: The Case of Muslim Women and Thai Boys' Love Films in the Contemporary Southeast Asia

This study focuses on the spread of Thai boys' love films in contemporary Southeast Asian society and explores how Muslim women who enjoy watching boys' love films reconcile them with religious norms. Against the backdrop of the increased consumption of video streaming platforms such as Netflix and YouTube during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown period, Thai boys' love films have been widely "exported" not only within Southeast Asia but also to the wider Asian region. On the other hand, homosexuality is considered taboo in Islam, leading Islamic intellectual groups to issue statements calling for its regulation. This study aims to investigate how Muslim women who began watching boys' love films during the pandemic period understand and reconcile watching films about homosexuality that deviate from the Islamic norms to which they adhere.