When I told my friends that I am planning a longer stay in Thailand, it is amazing how many times I heard the same stupid reply - "watch out for them ladyboys!" Again and again I heard a comment that silly, as long as it really started to grate. All make the same stupid joke, as if it was clever and original. What a ridiculous stereotype of Thailand, I thought. As if it can take ladyboys everywhere.
The funny thing is, if I go to Thailand,I soon discovered that ladyboys or katoeys as it is known in Thailand, are really everywhere. It is not just a handful of them working the tourist resorts. You'll see that they work in shops and restaurants. Even if you go into the land you will find katoeys. They really are everywhere.
In fact, I had not been here long before I had a personal acquaintance who was a katoey. One of the things that I just noticed how comfortable other Thais were in her company. StraightThai men were giving very happy to tell her how her compliments on how beautiful she looked. They all called her "she", as it is polite and they made happy.
Personally, I was initially a little uncomfortable in her presence. I had no fear, they would jump on me. It was a pleasant and balanced person. I was just a little unsure how to deal with it. It was the charming way, the other Thais treated them soon, that has calmed me.
What is a katoey?
What exactly is aKatoey? I had this discussion with a few western friends recently. Both live in Phuket and they both said that you can call only a katoey someone if they have undergone gender change, otherwise you should use the term ladyboy. I have the distinct feeling is a Western invention. Katoey is a Thai word and that's not how it is used.
Thais use the term much more relaxed. You use the term for any man who acts like a woman. Transgender man is probably the closest English term. Menchange many women as surgery are katoeys. To those who take hormones to create female attributes such as breasts. To those who are dressing like a woman. In fact, even gay men who need a little make-up and valance are made around than katoeys known.
Why do so many Katoeys in Thailand?
According to this definition, there are some much katoeys in Thailand. Why this phenomenon is much more common than in other countries? It seems unlikely that thereis a genetic reason for Thailand transgender men more than other countries. I think the reason is still much to do with the tolerant attitude of the Thais.
There are many katoey TV stars, singers and models. They even have katoey beauty contests. There have been several katoey movies such as "Beautiful Boxer", the true story of a katoey who became a champion Muay Thai fighter has been. She would often kiss her defeated opponents.
Katoeys seem to be a faraccepted part of Thai society. This is probably partly related to the Buddhist religion and its preaching of tolerance towards others. But other countries with a strong Buddhist influence (Cambodia, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Tibet, Laos, Japan) is not known for their ladyboys.
There must be something else at work. I think an important factor is the Thai belief that life is fun (should be sanook). See if they have a katoey, they think it's fun. You may laugh and joke about it, but not in a badWay. They are certainly not complaining or threatening, as one happened in Western countries.
So the main reason why there are so many katoeys in Thailand is simply that Thai society is open and tolerant to them. One wonders how many there may be cross-dressers in the Western countries if our societies were a little more to forgive.
How many Katoeys work in Phuket?
In the wake of the tsunami tragedy and the media feeding frenzy that followed, a friend sent me aArticle from a British newspaper. The reporter was in Phuket and obviously struggling to compete for attention with reporters in major affected areas. So he did, which was a lot of reporters in Phuket and started on the seedier side of the local nightlife. Right to what it was to deal with the tsunami tragedy, I am not sure do.
This particular reporter seemed to be fascinated with the ladyboy scene. He made a few generalizations about the nightlife Phuket, which on the whole islandreally was a cesspool of debauchery. He claimed it was 5000 ladyboys working in Phuket sex industry and a large demand for their services.
Where did he get this figure? It seems like a very bold claim. Is there a census? Have the authorities to include ladyboy? I really doubt there was a reliable statistic available to this reporter. Like most of his report, I think he just managed it, but until he apparently seen enough to believe ladyboys around, it was a reasonable guess at.
PhuketSeason population is estimated at around 500,000. At 5000 of them are ladyboys then that would be 1% of the population. This seems very unlikely but not unthinkable. But he said 5000 actually work in the sex industry. Where was this army of available ladyboys?
At Soi Katoey in Bangla Road, Patong, there are always a few dancing on the front of the soi. There is another katoey bar at the back and show to the Moulin Rouge ladyboy. But surely, even at the highestEstimate might not, more than 50 ladyboys working in Soi Katoey. There are perhaps 30 Implementation at Simon Ladyboy Cabaret Show is - that even as the sex industry are? For the sake of argument, let's say it does. Then there is the gay area around Soi Paradise. There are many ladyboys around this area but I think an estimate of 100 would be very generous.
There are a few ladyboys freelancing along the beach fronts where they annoy passing drunks. But really, theydo not exist in very high numbers. Let's be generous and say 100 again. Have I missed any? Perhaps there are some plants, dotted around the opposite sex.
Even if we think about figures, we have a very generous guesstimate of 300 ladyboys, in the sex industry. I actually think that is probably very generous. Many of the above figures are probably the same katoeys move from place to place, and I think I have overestimated all my guesses. The total number could be aslittle as 100th
So I would say somewhere between 100-300 katoeys work in Phuket sex industry. Probably not, but then 5000 a value of 100 would not be a good press.
Men and Katoeys
And what about the demand for Katoeys? Is there really a lot of men on the lookout for their services? Since most common approach seems to be trying to fool very drunk men, I would think that their performance is not massively in demand. I've met a few men who have sexual encounters withkatoeys. Most of them say it was a drunken mistake.
I meet a man who happily proclaimed he had just been blown 'off' by two katoeys in his hotel room. He was pretty proud of themselves and certainly not say it was a mistake. You meet some funny characters in Patong.
I think there are some real demand for katoeys. Although they are active in the gay area, I do not think it is purely a matter gay. Although they are made, as women, I think it is a straightThing. But it is difficult to define a group of men, katoeys find attractive. Certainly, there are a lot of curiosity about them. Each month will have brought the word "katoey" in the top 20 list of keywords that people are our Phuket website. And we have only a small section on katoeys.
Negative
Although katoeys are generally well accepted in Thai society is still a negative side to their reputation. They have a reputation for vicious and unreliable.I have personally met a few during my years in Thailand and I must say that on the outside they all seemed well adjusted and happy. However, I have also heard many stories of katoeys involved in criminal activities such as pickpocketing and other thefts. It is also known to harass and threaten passers-by late at night in search of customers along the beach fronts.
These things happen, certainly do, but the extent of the problem is not clear. Whether katoeysactually committing crimes on a scale greater than other Thais is hard to judge.
They have also a reputation as an emotionally unbalanced. Like I said, all the ones I have met seemed in order. But I think it's fair to say that the burdens of their lives are very demanding and it is not surprising that many of them lose emotional control easily.
The tolerance of katoeys in Thai society is not absolute. Their families, especially fathers, sometimes reject it. Men who in mostother means katoeys tolerant, still think it is disgraceful, a father.
And the tolerance of the authorities has its limits. When a katoey volleyball team won the national championship, two of the team were selected for the national team. The government stepped in and blocked their selection. They did not want it good for the image of the country.
Saving Private Tootsie
In 2002, there had been a Thai film with the English title of "Saving Private Tootsie". In this filma plane crash strands a group of katoeys in the jungle of a war-torn neighboring country. A group of macho Thai soldiers sent to rescue them. The story revolves around the personality clashes between flouncy katoeys and the macho men as they try to escape to this neighboring country.
In the end, pull them all together to the last ferry back to Thailand. The soldiers set aside their distaste for the katoeys and its leader returns home to finally accept his son,also a katoey.
The film is a message of tolerance, the Thai society is typical. At the end of the film there is a nice quote from one katoey. "Maybe I was born in the wrong body, but at least I was born in the right country."
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