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A Guide To Thailand’s Ladyboy Population

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Staff Writer

8th May 2017

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Thailand’s ladyboy culture is infamous, and it is fascinating to many people from all over the world.
The commercialization of ladyboys by the tourist industry in Thailand has made this culture visibly ever present, and ladyboys that are seen by some as even more beautiful and exotic than ‘regular’ women are a huge tourist attraction.
But, of course, they are people — not a tourist attraction — leading mostly normal lives.
Bangkok is home to one of the largest ladyboy communities in Thailand, and they can often be spotted at work or out walking the city streets.
The Thai people sometimes refer to ladyboys as ‘kathoey’, which basically refers to someone of a third sex — although many ladyboys themselves prefer their western nickname.
Essentially, they are young men who transform themselves into women, either by simply dressing in women’s clothing and wearing makeup, or in more drastic and permanent ways via a series of surgeries and hormone treatments.
Thai ladyboys are an accepted part of Thai culture, and are generally widely regarded as something usual — particularly in the cities of Bangkok and Pattaya.
In the west, the ladyboys of Thailand have become synonymous with sex tourism, but this is not necessarily an inevitable life path for them, with many leading their lives in normal, 9-5 jobs.
Ladyboys are far more integrated into Thai society and culture than most westerners realise, and whilst it’s true that many can be seen plying their trade in bars in Bangkok’s notorious red light districts — either as entertainers or sex workers — in fact a high proportion of ladyboys are employed in a wide range of different jobs all over the city.
Some Thais go so far as to maintain that ladyboys have a fairly easy time getting work because with both male and female attributes they can do the work of both a man and a woman — they are generally regarded as good workers.
They can commonly be found in beauty salons, hairdressers and working on makeup counters, presumably thanks to their developed mastery of these skills through their experience transforming themselves into women.
The Bangkok ladyboy community are also generally credited with speaking a relatively good standard of English, so they often land jobs in hotels, or working as tour guides.
Ladyboy cabaret is a common tourist attraction in many of Thailand’s major cities: a performance featuring singing and dancing by impeccably made-up entertainers. These are often touted as family-friendly too.
Ladyboy Mambo Cabaret Bangkok (by zaphodsotherhead CC BY 2.0 licence)
The physical changes that these transgender women make are certainly not an alien concept to the Thai people — nor is changing sex often seen as a major concern.
Tourism has also played its role in the popularization and acceptance of ladyboys. They’re a popular crowd-puller that generates big incomes for those in the tourist industry.
However things are not quite as they seem. Whilst it is true that ladyboys are accepted and even respected on one level, they nevertheless remain excluded from certain aspects of society.
Some Thais believe that being a ladyboy is punishment for bad deeds in a previous life, and this leads to ladyboys occasionally being rejected by their families — at least initially.
Also they are often thought less of in school (many receive a lower standard of education as a result) and they are sometimes excluded from higher class professions. Perhaps this is one reason why so many choose to work in the sex industry.
Legislation is not in their favor, they are neither one sex or the other, and even using public toilet facilities can pose challenges. Marriage for ladyboys to someone of the same sex is out of the question.
A still from ‘Ladyboys: Inside Thailand’s Third Gender’, a documentary filmed in 2014 (photo by Sandysjyoon CC BY-SA 4.0 licence)
Despite this, ladyboys do manage to find love, and many find happiness in long term relationships. It is not uncommon for married Thai men to take a ladyboy as a mistress, and naturally there are ladyboys who enter into relationships with foreigners too.
Sometimes these relationships can be a ticking time bomb — particularly if the foreign man met his ladyboy girlfriend in the red light district, where relationships always start — and often continue — with a financial focus. Cross cultural relationships can be hard to nurture and maintain in the easiest of circumstances, but there are lots of different factors that can come into play with a ladyboy; doubly so for a sex worker.
That’s not to say that a successful relationship is impossible, and there are plenty of stories to be found online of lasting love with a ladyboy.
The most important thing to remember is that ladyboys are their own individual persons — not a tourist attraction, regardless of how they make their money — and as deserving of respect as any other human being.
Staff Writer for What's On Sukhumvit
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If you have visited Thailand chances are you may have witnessed the extravagant dancing beauties in a cabaret show or even through a personal encounter. Ladyboy's are referred to by many different names including kathoey, transgender, transvestite or cross dresser. Many ladyboys are now the toast of the town becoming famous throughout Thailand, some with successful modeling or television careers and a massive presence on social media.
In 2017, ten of the most famous have been ranked based upon their following and the frequency with which their names appear in local media. Today I thought it would be fun to take a look at these famous people with the help of Coconuts Bangkok, let's count them down.
Chalisa 'Rose' Yuemchai shot to fame after a minor role in the Chinese comedy movie 'Lost in Thailand', which made USD$107 million in profits. Chinese audiences were surprised when Rose delivered her single line in well spoken Mandarin. After the release of the movie she developed a strong Chinese fan base, with many Chinese travelers visiting Chiang Mai specifically to visit locations featured in the hit movie.
Nadia was crowned Miss Mimosa Queen Thailand in 2015. After winning the local trans pageant which is held annually in Pattaya she has since become quite well known. Since that time, Nadia has continued to work as a freelance model and dancer.
With nearly 100,000 followers on Facebook, Pynk gained fame after becoming a spokes model for a surgery hospital in South Korea. Thanks to her doctor, Pynk now looks like she came straight out of Japanese anime.
Jeen 20, made headlines in local media after showing up at the mandatory for men military draft in Thailand’s Chachoengsao province earlier in 2017. Her appearance wasn’t what the draft were expecting for a prospective soldier. Jeen became famous overnight after many people including the soldier recruits themselves took photos of her and posted them online.
Frame 22, shook up social media when she attended the military draft. Her cute and innocent look exempted her from military service but landed her many interviews on Thai TV. A communication arts major, the talented Frame produced a series of short films called 'Crazy Love' starring internet idols as actors.
Yoshi is known for her 'doll face' on social media. Not only a sensation on the internet Yoshi also appeared in a music video for Baitoey Rsiam, a world famous Thai country singer. She has also landed a few movie roles and has almost one million followers on Instagram.
Hana was definitely a fan favorite when she auditioned for modeling contest show 'The Face Thailand,' Season 3. Standing out from the crowd Hana was selected to be on the show but was eliminated midway through the competition much to the disappointment of her many fans. But it doesn’t seem to have mattered much, Hana had already developed a strong profile and successful modeling career before joining the show.
Another contestant on The Face Thailand Season 3, Blossom also didn’t make it into one of the coveted top three spots. However prior to the show, Blossom had already wowed fans and won hearts as the first runner up in Thailand’s most prestigious trans pageant, Miss Tiffany’s Universe 2013.
The latest trans beauty to do Thailand proud, Mo won Miss Tiffany’s Universe last year and later won Miss International Queen, the international beauty pageant for transgender women where she represented Thailand. Before receiving her title Mo became famous for her brief appearance on the popular Thai singing show 'I can see your voice,' where she surprised the audience by singing with a masculine voice.
After many years, Poyd remains as one of the most beautiful ladyboys in Thailand. She is the first transwoman that Thais will name and the idol of younger transpeople in the country. Poyd works regionally as an actress, and was named on a list of the 'most beautiful faces' in the world by US film magazine TC Candler.
[Infographic] 10 Ways To Spot A Ladyboy In Thailand

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Thailand is known as the Land of Smiles , but it's also know as the Land of the Ladyboys ! Compared to other countries, like the Philippines or Malaysia, Thailand has a long history and higher population of ladyboys in the world. As a matter of fact the word " ladyboy " is the English translation for " Kathoey ", a Thai word for transgender women and effeminate gay men.
Read interesting things you don't know about Thailand ladyboys .
The term "transgender" is rarely used in Thailand. Instead, the common term is, "Kathoey" which was once used to define intersex people, human beings who were born with ambiguous genitalia.
Kathoey have become entirely common in Thai society, like everyone else, they go about their daily affairs: shopping, meeting with friends, using public transport, visiting the temple.
Ladyboy , transgender or the third gender is rarely used in Thailand.
Miss Tiffany's Show Pattaya 32 Finalist. Can you the different with real women?
Thailand beholds the highest rate of Transsexuals throughout the world. According to Sam Winter , the numbers differ from about 10,000 to (unofficial) 300,000. substantially above that estimated for transgender in most other parts of the world. Thai community creats a sound public opinion environment for those of a different sexual orientation. They can enjoy their freedom of expressing themselves.
The very first Thai ladyboy is said to present as early as the 14 centry. At that time, Thais started to identify waht is now known as ladyboy.
First Buddhist scriptures also mention 3 genders: a man, a woman and a kathoey. So, religion officially allows for the third gender to exist. Buddhist teachings also hold that the circumstances we live today are the product of the ways in which we lived our previous lives.
Another concept behind kathoey is the result of karma – in particular one was born kathoey as a consequence of some sexual misdemeanor in an earlier life or lives or that they failed to fulfill an expected role in the reproductive process, such as a man not caring for a woman who is pregnant by him.
Whatever the reason, it is important to note that the common belief says there is no escaping from the karmic consequences, everyone has been kathoey at once in previous lives and will be again in future ones, thus kathoey should be treated with compassion.
Kathoey acceptance in society depends on the area in which they live. In the bigger cities, it is more normalized to be kathoey. In more rural villages, treatment of kathoey is described as tolerance than acceptance.
Miss Tiffany's Universe is a beauty pageant for Thai transgender women in Pattaya , Thailand. The contest is open to all transgender women who may or may not have gone through sex reassignment surgery.
The Miss Tiffan'’s Universe contest held once a year is receiving more attention especially since it is broadcast live on Thai television with an average of 15 million viewers. The Miss Tiffany's Universe winner receives a trophy and crown, Honda Jazz, cash prizes, jewellery, and other gifts from sponsors.
See the contrast of winners of Miss Tiffany's Univers:
You can discover more interesting things and pictures of each winner here: Tiffany Cabaret Show in Pattaya
Cabaret shows are popular and widespread in Thai culture . The Calypso in Bangkok is said to be where Lady Gaga gained a lot of her inspiration, and the Tiffany has been compared to the Miss Universe of kathoey culture.
These cabaret shows include elaborate song and dance routines with elegant costuming. One might be tempted to compare these shows to the drag shows in the US, but in these shows the performers are not just taking on a female persona; many of them
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