Found at Pinknews

The ever increasing turbulence of the anti-government protests notwithstanding, a demonstration of a different nature was taking place yesterday in Bangkok.

Unaffiliated to any political party, a group of transgender 'ladyboys' paraded past central Police Headquarters in Bangkok to protest at the lack of AIDS awareness in Thailand.

Glamorously dressed in brightly coloured ball gowns and feathered head-dresses, the group struck a contrasting pose to the increasingly militant demonstrations undertaken by the yellow-shirted PAD supporters across the capital.

The PAD has most recently shut down a second airport in Bangkok, following a string of stunts that have taken place over the last four months in an attempt to cause national chaos and topple the government.

With calls for new elections and a plethora of political factions vying for power, the current landscape looks hopelessly divided between the army and various political groups.

Since gaining independence in 1947, Thailand has experienced an endless upheaval in government.

Until 1992 there was intermittent military rule, a period characterised by coups, coup attempts and popular protests.

But despite its instability, the Buddhist country has always been seen as liberal when it comes to LGBT issues.

Though not officially supporting same-sex unions, the LGBT community there is considered one of the most free and open in the world.

As well as holding transgender beauty pageants, trans actors play key roles in Thai movies and soap operas.

Transgender figures are also seen in department cosmetics counters, popular restaurants, cabaret shows and in the famous red-light district.

While observers hope the increasingly fraught situation in the country will end peaceably, the ladyboys, with their stylish parade of singing and dancing showed the world how peaceful yet fabulous protest is all about.

Found at Pinknews

Technorati:thailand ladyboy protest crisis politics katoey katoy thai bangkok

Thailand’s international transgender beauty pageant this year has to be postponed to 2009 as the ongoing political standoff in Bangkok continues to keep visitors away.



What would you do if your beautiful dream got squashed in a battle between two political elephants?

If you were Kangsadan Wongdu­sadeekul, a 21-year-old transgender beauty queen, you would respond like the perfect woman.
This year Kangsadan was supposed to represent her country in Miss International Queen 2008 (Thailand’s international transvestite beauty pageant) after she was crowned Miss Tiffany’s Universe 2008 (the most sought after beauty pageant title for Thai transvestites) in May.

However, the on-going battle between the People’s Alliance for Democracy (PAD) and the People’s Power Party-led coalition government has indirectly trampled on her dream to compete against aspiring transvestites around the world including Malaysia – echoing the Thai proverb which says, “In a battle between elephants, the ants get squashed”.

Miss International Queen 2008, which was due to be held in October and then deferred to November, has been cancelled (or in PR-speak postponed to 2009) as the political turmoil in Bangkok takes its toll on tourist arrivals.

Nevertheless, Kangsadan (and the future Miss Tiffany’s Universe 2009) will be competing in the Miss International Queen 2008/2009 pageant that is scheduled for early October next year.

How did Miss Tiffany’s Universe 2008 react to the postponement?

“She took it like a woman. Like all women she is not satisfied with herself, as she wants to be perfect when she competes,” said a translator while the teary-eyed katoey (Thai for transgender) checked out her eye shadow on a vanity mirror inside her Prada purse.

“She feels the postponement will be an advantage, as it will give her time to improve her English, looks and outfit.”

Looking pretty, Kangsadan nodded her head when the translator said: “She’s happy the pageant has been postponed.”

The translator, however, quickly added: “But don’t tell that to Alisa.”

At the next table was Alisa Phanthusak, whose family owns the world-famous Tiffany show, a katoey cabaret show in Pattaya, a beach resort about 110km southeast of Bangkok.

Earlier, Alisa, the organiser of Miss Tiffany’s Universe and Miss International Queen, admitted feeling “terrible” that the international pageant had to be “postponed”.

“But we had to take this painful decision because international tourist arrivals dropped after the government declared emergency rule (on Sept 2, after a Thai was killed when anti and pro-government groups clashed on the streets of Bangkok) and several countries advised their citizens not to travel to Thailand,” she explained.

At first the organiser postponed Miss International Queen 2008 to late November this year thinking the political struggle between the PAD and the government in the Thai capital would end by then.

But after two PAD supporters were killed and nearly 500 injured when the anti-government demonstrators clashed with the police outside parliament in Bangkok on Oct 7, Alisa realised the political instability would continue even through Thailand’s high tourism season (October to March).

To paraphrase the Thai proverb, in a battle between political elephants, Thailand’s tourism industry (not exactly an ant as it contributes 14% to the country’s GDP) gets squashed.

Take the example of the Tiffany Show. The audience for Pattaya’s must-see ladyboy cabaret show (usually attracting 2,000 guests a day) has dropped by 50%.

“This is the greatest crisis for tourism in Pattaya since I’ve been in the business for the past 10 years,” the 34-year-old businesswoman said, adding that the downturn was unfair as Pattaya was a long way from the epicentre of the political turmoil in Bangkok.

How about sending her international katoeys (since the transvestites – who Alisa described as “risk takers” and “more optimistic than the average tourist” – were dying to strut their stuff at the pageant) to the warring political groups with the message to “make love, not war”?

“One of my sponsors suggested organising a Miss International Queen rally in front of Bangkok’s Government House (which the PAD is illegally occupying) as a PR gimmick,” she related.

“He wanted to have fun with the current political situation and to have a peace (in Thai politics) theme for this year’s pageant.”

But Alisa, who was a member of the now-defunct National Legislative Assembly which was set up after the 2006 coup, is not about to risk her girls.

Technorati: beauty contest 2008 2009 pageant pattaya miss international queen Kangsadan Wongdu­sadeekul Miss Tiffany’s Universe ladyboy katoey katoy thai Thailand Bangkok

Kangsadarn Wongdusadeekul, known by her stage name "Nonk", cried as she accepted her Miss Tiffany crown from last year's winner.
Nonk, 19, particularly impressed the panel of judges with her question round.
Asked if she would be happy to join the army as a man, she told the audience: "Last year I went to register as a soldier but my figure had changed so the government did not let me.
"We are beautiful - so we have no need to be soldiers," she said, getting the biggest laugh of the night.
Her win brings considerable financial reward: 100 000 baht - equivalent to a year's wages for a factory worker - and a Honda car.
But with the cost of a single pageant dress at least 10 000 baht, winning Miss Tiffany is about more than the prizes.
Most of the 30 transvestites parading across the glitter-filled stage said they were seeking social acceptance rather than money.
Nonk says she is lucky to have been accepted by her family as her father is a colonel in the Thai army.
Nonk said after the contest that she had known she wanted to be a girl from a very young age, and her military family were so understanding they now tell friends she is their daughter. They keep few photos of Nonk as a boy.
"They said I can be whatever I want to be so long as I take care of myself and other people," she said.
Miss Tiffany 2008 was crowned in a sold-out 2 000-seater theatre, and televised nationally.
The runners-up were Pailin "Bank" Denfhanapapol and Doolkamon "Golf" Kontun, with awards also given for Miss Congeniality and Miss Photogenic.
The event has become increasingly high profile, with winners forging careers as television presenters and as the faces of beauty products.
Miss Tiffany will now advance to the global competition, Miss International Queen, to be held here in October.

Technorati: transsexual transgender katoey katoy thai thailand miss tiffany 2008 international queen pageant contest pattaya

Found at: Bangkok Post

A Katoey has won a village head election after decades of service to the community.
Choochat Dulayapraphatsorn, 46, beat three other candidates during the village head election in his community late last month, and last Wednesday he was effectively appointed by a district chief as the village chief of Ban Moo 3, tambon Tai Ban Mai, Muang district.
Mr Choochat, called ''Je Kob'' or older sister Kob by villagers, said he decided to run for the post after serving as an assistant. The election was held after the previous village head resigned.
Mr Choochat said he believes the residents voted for him because they have witnessed what he has contributed to their community over many years.
''I'm confident that everybody here loves me and accepts me,'' Mr Choochat said.
Over years of community service, Mr Choochat has been involved in community crime prevention activities and has assisted neighbours with tasks such as catching pythons which have entered their houses and injecting their pet dogs with rabies vaccine. ''Even though I am a transvestite, I can do hard, physical jobs just as well as the men, if not better,'' he said.
Mr Choochat is now the only transvestite village chief in Samut Prakan. He said he wants to be a role model to children for his hard work in the community, irrespective of his gender identity.

Found at: Bangkok Post

Technorati: thailand katoey kathoey politics village head choochat

Due to the new constitution of the Kingdom of Thailand, Katoey will now be allowed to have there rooms at the girl's dormitory in Bangkok's Srinakharinwirot University. The Principal of Srinakharinwirot, Khun Wiroon Tangcharoen, had been also a member of the Assembly that drafted the new constitution.
This is happy news to us, as you can imagine how everybody felt to life among boys when ineself is not.I hope this new rule at Srinakharinwirot University will be a example for other universities. We will keep you informed about the changes and how everything works out.Of course we are very thankful to Khun Wiroon Tangcharoen for having such modern and tolerant attitude.

Technorati: Srinakharinwirot University Wiroon Tangcharoen thailand thai bangkok katoey katoy ladyboys

I rediscovered this story on my computer,where I saved i some months ago. I guess it comes originally from The Nation Newspaper, but I want to publish it anyway, because I think it had been a good thing what Khun Klinthai has done. It should be a example for others, too not to think only about themselves:

A former transsexual beauty queen has spent her prize money on saving Thai buffaloes and distributing them to poor farmers in Lop Buri to help boost their income.
Former beauty pageant entrant, Sararat "Arf" Klinthai, who was born
Sawek Klinthai, now 30, said she underwent a sex-change operation at 17 and had entered nearly 700 beauty contests. She enjoyed considerable success including the Miss Alcazar runner-up at Pattaya and the Miss Siam Contest in Bangkok, and has 200 trophies.
After retiring, Arf returned to her hometown in Tambon Tai
Talad in Muang Lop Buri and raised some 100 Brahman cattle, on which she also conducted artificial insemination without help from veterinarians.
Arf said she spent her prize money - and donations from fellow ladyboy contestants - to save 50 buffaloes and cows bound for the slaughterhouse and gave 30 of them to the locals and let them sell the calves.
She said her love of animals and the province's sharp decline of buffaloes inspired her, and along with some
friends, she bought the buffaloes and cows and distributed them for poor locals to raise. She said this not only helped raise people's incomes but also conserved the animals for future generations.
Arf's 58-year-old father, Ode Klinthai said at first he was alarmed when he discovered Arf was a transvestite
but soon accepted the fact as he did not want to scold her or cause her misery. He said he taught Arf to be a good person, refrain from drugs, work hard and save up because a career in beauty pageants would not last.
Ode said he was glad that, despite undergoing a sex change, Arf was still capable of doing things and had never let her family down.
He said Arf had always loved animals and he was proud of her for having saved the buffaloes and helping poor
neighbours.

Technorati: Sararat Lop Buri Klinthai Arf Miss Alcazar Miss Siam ladyboy transsexual beauty queen

It had become like some kind of a trend. Early castration when a ladyboy is still in her teens. Doing so, many ladyboys hope that it will keep their body from developing male features. This may be right, but there are a lot of side effects, that the doctors who conduct these rather small surgeries in their backroom for just 4000 Baht (=120 US$), never talk about. And the young ladyboys don’t know anything about that, too. They just want to have it, because another ladyboy friend had it done and says it`s cool. It`s the kind of peer pressure that teenagers experience whatever gender they are. But when it comes to castration becoming a trend then it`s getting dangerous.
They will age faster than usual, growing taller, but with fragile bones, tend to listlessness and get easily fat. Also they will rather develop depressions.
Most often their parents don`t know, what their will-be-daughters are up to and when they open up after the surgery, the damage is done.
There is he demand fort he surgery and some money to be made. So there will always be an unethical doctor who will conduct the surgery without telling his young katoey patient about the dangers.
Now, the Health Ministry wrote to 16,000 hospitals throughout the country temporarily banning castrations for cosmetic purposes. According to a ministerial committee overseeing hospitals and clinics, boys below the age of 18 have been submitting to the surgery in the mistaken belief that it represents a cheap alternative to a full sex-change operation. The operation takes about 20 minutes and is easy to carry out in secret.
The Gay Political Group of Thailand has campaigned for greater regulation of the industry and an end to the castration of juveniles. “It's a totally wrong perception that castration will make boys more feminine,” its head, Natee Teerarojjanapongs, told the Bangkok Post. “These youngsters should wait until they are mature enough to thoroughly consider the pros and cons of such an operation.”

Technorati: thai ladyboy kathoey beauty teenage katoey young thailand gay political group

Thailand's military will stop branding transsexual conscripts as mentally disturbed, and will list them in a new "third category" as neither male nor female, a senior officer said Wednesday.
Thai men are required to report for the draft once they turn 21. Under the current system, transsexuals are rejected as suffering from "a mental disorder."
Gay rights groups complained that the label penalises transsexuals for the rest of their lives, because men are required to prove if they have completed their national service when they apply for jobs or bank loans.
When transsexuals submit their military rejection forms declaring they have a mental disorder, they are automatically disqualified from many jobs and mortgages.
Lieutenant General Somkiat Suthivaiyakij, head of the defence ministry's Reserve Command Department, said the military would immediately stop using the mental disorder label.
The military is trying to find a new word for a "third category" that is neither male nor female, that would not discriminate against transsexuals, he said.
Until the army decides on the new category, transsexual conscripts will be turned away with a form saying they have an illness that cannot be cured within 30 days.
"It's a temporary measure to deal with the problem as the defence and interior ministries work on a permanent solution," Somkiat told AFP. To qualify for the third category, transsexuals will have to report for the draft for three years in a row to prove they are really trying to live as women, he added. The annual draft takes place in April, and transsexuals make up less than one percent of the conscripts each year, Somkiat said.

Source: AFP

Technorati:thai thailand military army kathoey katoey katoy ladyboy