Tourist attention is positively bolstered by the Tourism Authority of Thailand’s efforts to promote the country as a pink paradise, a safe haven for LGBTQ+ visitors, which it is. There is very little directed violence against trans people in Thailand compared to other countries, which again, helps non-cisgendered individuals live fearlessly, and therefore, more discernibly. Trans-only cabaret shows and televised beauty contests are fantastic showcases for visitors, but also for participants, as they are able to celebrate their identities loud and proud. A male visitor from Germany, who has attended eight cabaret shows over the last five years, said he finds “Thai ladyboys much more alluring than the ones in other countries, because they are very convincing as women. Maybe because the build of the men here is more slender, and they do not have much body hair to begin with, I really can’t tell they were born as men.” His perspective was that the sheer beauty of Thai trans women ensured their presence was felt worldwide.
Of course, not all trans women work in the sex or entertainment industries; just a few months ago, Thailand elected its first trans member of parliament. Tanwarin Sukkhapisit, a prominent filmmaker and bisexual transgender individual, won a seat for the Future Forward party with the platform of improving LGBTQ+ related laws and policies. Unfortunately, although the Thai outlook was largely unaffected by Western narrow-mindedness, the same is not true for the law. A bloodless coup in 1932 demanded a switch from an absolute monarchy to a constitutional one. This required new legal and political systems, and the People’s Party, who had seized power, based their charter on the British one, which did not recognize the third gender.
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To this day, the disparity between law and life is massive. For example, no matter the gender an individual identifies with, and whether or not they’ve had treatment to express that identity, legally a person may only be recognized as the sex they were born to. While seeing a trans woman in a long-term relationship with a cis man is completely normal, because gay marriage is not legal, such a couple could not marry. However, a trans woman in a relationship with a cis woman is largely unheard of, and yet, would be completely legal. This incongruence between adopted Western policy and the Thai way of life further suggests that the lack of colonization, and therefore, the non-absorption of traditional occidental heteronormative values into society, is the most important reason there are so many ladyboys in Thailand. Their international prominence is largely boosted by their sizeable presence in the country’s heaving (sex) tourism scene.
As policy-level changes are implemented, communal acceptance will deepen to the point where kathoeys become fully integrated into society. They will hold occupations and live lifestyles that do not have to center around their sex, gender, or sexuality, any more than other aspects of their selves, like whether or not they like eating cheese, or riding bikes. As the East, the West, the law, and reality catch up with each other and with history, gender-based discrimination will disappear.
Source: https://t-tees.com
Category: WHY
