Response to- Thai Ladyboys are they Relevant?

• Posted by Deleted Member January 5, 2013 #Ladyboys  #Thai  #Relevant  1,488 views
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  The question was are Thai Ladyboys relevant? Ladyboys or kathoey’s as they are termed in Thailand, at present there are approximately 300,000 ladyboys in Thailand with a population of estimated at 63 million. Consequently, 1 out of every 100 Thai men is a ladyboy.  The root for the alteration of their body does not lie entirely in the more ‘classic’ reasons for this kind of transformation, which is when one feels they are trapped in a wrong body or Gender Dysphoria.

   

  The demographics of the inherent population and the fact that the financial stability of the country; where working in a mainstream occupation is scarce, the tourism sector is where the money is made. Through their alterations of their body, the ladyboys enter the world of sex tourism and entertainment as a part of a survival mechanism, to provide for themselves and their family.   However, this is of course not the only reason as even in Thailand, they have a sectored part of the community who just feel different and follow very similar paths to Western T-girls.  The case study examined a specific group of people who challenge the normality in how we perceive their way of life; we must make clear that their sexual orientation is not here for discussion in this text. 

   

  In relation to their physique, due to the Asian influences and stature, yes their figures are moderately better than Western T-girls however, even this is open to individuality of the person in question, my personal experience is that like Western T-girls ladyboys still have the same male tendencies i.e.: shaving, walking, talking etc. 

   

  A ladyboy is perceived by the general population in Thailand as a business and is fuelled by the financial situation of the country where jobs are scarce; we alluded to this earlier in the text.  The cultural context is vital, since sexuality has different meanings and values in the Thai culture contra to our Western culture.

   

  This has brought upon a perception amongst many ladyboys and the wider population that rather ladyboys are considered more of an expansion of the categories of gender. They are not something which seeks to deconstruct the current notions of male and female, but instead in their view, present a third gender and/or a different type of woman.

   

  To conclude yes, I believe they are relevant certainly in their own right and their own culture.   The fact that prostitution is perceived differently, firstly by their country and secondly by their families I believe is the important ingredient here.  Due to Western laws and constraints; certainly in the UK, views and ideals are of course very different.