General description
The term “kathoey” is not an exact equivalent of the modern western transwoman — it suggests that the person is a type of male, unlike the term sao praphet song, which suggests a female sex identity, or phet thee sam, which suggests a third gender. The term phu-ying praphet thi sorng, which can be translated as “second type of woman”, is also used to refer to kathoey. Australian scholar of sexual politics in Thailand Peter Jackson claims that the term “kathoey” was used in premodern times to refer to intersexuals, and that the usage changed in the middle of the twentieth century to cover cross-dressing males. The term can refer to males who exhibit varying degrees of femininity — many kathoeys dress as women and undergo feminising medical procedures such as hormone replacement therapy, breast implants, genital reassignment surgery, or Adam’s apple reductions. Others may wear makeup and use feminine pronouns, but dress as men, and are closer to the western category of effeminate gay man than transgender.
Kathoeys are often identified at a young age, and are considered to be “born that way”. They may have access to hormones (available without prescription) and medical procedures during their teenage years.
The term “kathoey” may be considered pejorative, especially in the form “kathoey-saloey”. It has a meaning similar to the English language “fairy” or “queen”.
Social context
Kathoeys usually work in traditionally feminine occupations, in shops, coffee bars and restaurants, beauty salons and hairstylists. Many also work in entertainment and tourist centers, as dancers, in cabaret shows — Alcazar and Tiffanys in Pattaya are among the best known — or as prostitutes.
Kathoeys are more visible and more accepted in Thai culture than transgender or transsexuals are in Western countries or the Indian subcontinent. Several popular Thai models, singers and movie stars are kathoeys, and Thai newspapers often print photos of the winners of female and kathoey beauty contests side by side. The phenomenon is not restricted to urban areas; there are kathoeys in most villages, and kathoey beauty contests are commonly held as part of local fairs.
Some believe that this higher acceptance is due to the nature of the surrounding Buddhist culture, which places a high value on tolerance. Using the notion of Karma, some Thai believe that being a kathoey is the result of transgressions in past lives, concluding that kathoey deserve pity rather than blame.
Pattaya: Kathoeys on the stage of a cabaret show.
A common stereotype has older well-off kathoey provide financial support to young men with whom they are in a personal relationship.
Kathoey women currently face many social and legal impediments. Families (and especially fathers) are typically disappointed if a son becomes a kathoey, and kathoey women often have to face the prospect of coming out. However, kathoey generally have greater acceptance in Thailand than most other Asian countries. Legal recognition of kathoeys is non-existent in Thailand: even after genital reassignment surgery, they are not allowed to change their legal sex. Discrimination in employment and lending remains rampant. Issues can also arise in regards to access to amenities and gender allocation; for example, a kathoey who had undergone sexual reassignment surgery would still have to stay in an all-male prison.
