Kathoey thailand11/19/2023 However, this is yet one more reminder that there is hope, and there are places where the community is making good progress and, hopefully, will continue to do so.Thailand is a hotspot for sunshine, low-cost living – and girls. Until acceptance is commonplace and the transgender communities are treated equally, there will still be work to do. While they still have some progress to make, so does everyone. In many ways, I can see that this situation is still less than ideal for the transgender community however, I do think that the Thai are far ahead of many other countries. Similar solutions exist for surgery, although many kathoey never have any surgery done since they are content with the effects from the hormones that many start taking as young as ten. Once the decision to transition is made, she will find it easy to get the hormones she needs to support this process – readily available without needing to see a doctor. There are older role models (in the media and out) who are available to help guide young kathoey and provide them with valuable information. Once that realization is made, they have a clearly identified group, as well as a well defined developmental path. The kathoey have fit well into this evolving culture and, in fact, have outshone many cisgender females, proving to be good businesswomen who are, in many cases, not restricted by familial duties.įinally, there is a established path in place already for boys who find they are discontent or dysphoric about their gender. This was initially due to their role as the mother, but as society has progressed it has become more and more common for women to be accepted in the workplace and to own their own small business. Furthermore, while some societies have difficulty accepting that men would want to be women – due to a misogynistic view of what they see as the “weaker” sex – in Thailand women tend to occupy a more advantageous role in society. As with so many societies, Thailand assigns specific characteristics to each gender however, in Thai culture the males and females are seen as far more similar to each other than in other cultures. Therefore, kathoey are treated with compassion – as this could easily be our role in the next life.Īnother part of Thailand’s acceptance related to gender roles. Many Buddhist teachers go so far as to say that we have all been kathoey in at least one previous life (and will again be in the future). In current day Thai Buddhist teachings, being kathoey is seen as being linked to a previous life where you may have committed some bad deed for which you are now paying for in this life. As with the Native American culture, these beliefs link transgender people to special shamanistic abilities and roles (a tradition that still persists to this day). Multiple genders – male, female, and a mixed gender. Additionally, if you look back to creation myths from ancient Northern Thailand, there were clear ideas about Unlike the West, where gender is defined based on physical characteristics, Thailand bases gender views more on a person’s role in society, as well as as their sexual role. Part of Thailand’s acceptance of the kathoey is related to their spiritual beliefs. We hear about the issues going on, and all the horrible things happening…and maybe the Thai are at least on the right path. The transgender community in Thailand has even become a regular part of the Thai society, but news about it is still a major export – especially as other countries are only beginning to acknowledge the existence of transgender individuals. Many are working in market stalls, boutiques, makeup counters, and cafes – While there are still a good number employed as call girls and prostitutes.Īnd yet…in Thailand they are able to go about their daily lives in a far more regular and peaceful fashion than in many other countries. Despite this seeming acceptance, many still occupy a more marginalized role in their Thai communities. The combination of acceptance, and a more fluid view of gender identity, had made it an appealing option for those looking to live as their identified gender. It is guessed that Thailand likely has one of the largest transgender populations in the world. Gender in Thai culture is far less concrete and, in many ways, more self-defining – instead of being based solely on physical characteristics as it is in many Western countries. Others, however, simply view transgender women as females. Rather than being seen as a subset of a gender binary, the kathoey are often perceived as belonging to a third gender. In Thailand, transgender women (as well as feminine gay men) are referred to as kathoey. In a previous blog post, I discussed some of the history of LGBTQ people in the Native American culture – but this is far from the only culture to have historically had a place for transgender people.
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