Facts You Never Know about Ladyboy Culture

[reader]

From the Thaiger

Researching or reading about the country, there’s a huge chance you might encounter the word “kathoey,” which they use to refer to transgenders, better known as “ladyboys”. Thailand’s ladyboys are famous worldwide and many travelers go to Thailand specifically to meet them.

Ladyboys have been around in Thailand for a long time. It’s quite a bit surprising that they continue to be so prevalent, despite the negative stigma associated with them. They are considered part of Thai culture.

The term transgender is rarely used in Thailand. Instead, the common term is kathoey which was once used to define intersex people, human beings who were born with ambiguous genitalia.

Kathoey has become entirely common in Thai society, like everyone else, they go about their daily affairs: shopping, meeting with friends, using public transport, and visiting the temple.

Thailand beholds the highest rate of transsexuals throughout the world. According to Sam Winter, the numbers differ from about 10,000 to (unofficial) 300,000,  substantially above that estimated for transgender in most other parts of the world.

The Thai community creates a sound public opinion environment for those of different sexual orientations. They can enjoy their freedom of expressing themselves.

First Buddhist scriptures also mention three genders: a man, a woman, and a kathoey.

So, religion officially allows for the third gender to exist. Buddhist teachings also hold that the circumstances we live in today are the product of how we lived our previous lives.

Another concept behind kathoey is the result of karma – in particular, one was born kathoey because of some sexual misdemeanour in an earlier life or lives or that they failed to fulfil an expected role in the reproductive process, such as a man not caring for a woman who is pregnant by him.

Whatever the reason, it is important to note that the common belief says there is no escaping from the karmic consequences, everyone has been kathoey at once in previous lives and will be again in future ones, thus kathoey should be treated with compassion.

Kathoey’s acceptance in society depends on the area in which they live. In the bigger cities, it is more normalized to be kathoey. In more rural villages, the treatment of kathoey is described as tolerance than acceptance.

Miss Tiffany Universe is a beauty pageant for Thai transgender women in Pattaya, Thailand. The contest is open to all transgender women who may or may not have gone through sex reassignment surgery.

The Miss Tiffany Universe contest held once a year is receiving more attention especially since it is broadcast live on Thai television with an average of 15 million viewers. Miss Tiffany Universe winner receives a trophy and crown, Honda Jazz, cash prizes, jewellery, and other gifts from sponsors.

The lifestyle of the kathoey varies as well. Mostly though, the kathoey lives like other Thai people. They work as hairdressers, filmmakers, sex workers, waitresses, models, and other jobs that you would find any woman.

They have romantic relationships and are allowed to marry. Kathoey, like other trans people, is just that, people.

Kathoeys are more visible and more accepted in Thai culture than transsexuals are in other countries in the world. Several popular Thai models, singers, and movie stars are kathoeys, and Thai newspapers often print photographs 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.

Continues with videos

https://thethaiger.com/news/national/thailand-ladyboy-facts-you-never-know-about-ladyboy-culture-in-thailand

PHOTO: pattayaunlimited

[TMax]

I've been with quite a few ladyboys, some can be a bit moody (maybe hormone imbalance or just having a bad day?) but generally they're quite fun to be with but never and I mean never piss them off. Also some are very well endowed, enjoy and know just how to use it, a lot are truly versatile as well and can go all night long😁🤗

[floridarob]

They were ahead of the trans movement and pronouns....none of which I really understand 😬....but trying to  explain to my straight friends why I like cock so much, would be the same😝

[Travellerdave]

I have met guys who go to Thailand to have sex exclusively with ladyboys and yet maintain that they themselves are not gay even they enjoy the same activities as us gays who like boys. I would say that if you suck cock you are certainly gay - but they don’t agree. 

[TMax]

7 minutes ago, Travellerdave said:

I have met guys who go to Thailand to have sex exclusively with ladyboys and yet maintain that they themselves are not gay even they enjoy the same activities as us gays who like boys. I would say that if you suck cock you are certainly gay - but they don’t agree. 

Yes I have to agree with that, I have met many guys that are in denial when it comes to ladyboys and sucking cock, they won't even admit to being bi😂

[bkkmfj2648]

1 hour ago, Travellerdave said:

I have met guys who go to Thailand to have sex exclusively with ladyboys and yet maintain that they themselves are not gay even they enjoy the same activities as us gays who like boys. I would say that if you suck cock you are certainly gay - but they don’t agree. 

If Thailand created a unique word, kathoey, to describe what we call ladyboy in the west perhaps the aficionados / fans of people who frequent / desire them should have their own word to describe them:

  kathoey-lover

  kathoey-appassionato

  kathoey-fan

I would not consider someone who goes with a kathoey / ladyboy as gay.  why?  I am gay, and I have NO desire to go with a kathoey / ladyboy.  

What do you all think?

[Londoner]

I've heard some odd things about the lives of khatoeys in rural Thailand, such as the acceptance of khatoey -only beauty contests in schools and the visibility of young, very young ones. I'm talking primary-school age.  And what about khatoeys doing their service as monks? anyone seen this?

I have a clear memory of seeing two barely-pubescent khatoeys  near Silom. And I am told that there is private language that they often use....a little like Polari which UK posters may recall.

P's cousin, whom I've known for sixteen years, is a ladyboy- well he is now. When I first met him  he was a cute and rather feminine boy. Over the next decade, he transitioned slowly but surely into a khatoey, though without the surgery. He was mamasan in one of Pattaya's "men for ladies" bar. My last two dinners with them both revealed him as rather feminine gay man again.

And I've just heard that back home in Nakom Sawan, he's khatoey again. An interesting life but rather expensive when it comes to clothes and make-up.

[Travellerdave]

2 hours ago, bkkmfj2648 said:

 

I would not consider someone who goes with a kathoey / ladyboy as gay.  why?  I am gay, and I have NO desire to go with a kathoey / ladyboy.  

What do you all think?

I too have no desire to go with ladyboys. Like you I am gay. 

They are all over in Pattaya so there is obviously a demand for their services. Some closely ressemble woman but others are just boys using make-up in female clothes.

 

[TMax]

1 hour ago, Londoner said:

And what about khatoeys doing their service as monks? anyone seen this?

I've not seen that but have seen some going in for attendance at registration for the army conscription, they can be exempt from service if they have transformed but have to appear at the registration with the medical certificates to prove it, some real stunners show up.   

[Tartegogo]

6 hours ago, bkkmfj2648 said:

I would not consider someone who goes with a kathoey / ladyboy as gay.  why?  I am gay, and I have NO desire to go with a kathoey / ladyboy.  

What do you all think?

This exactly.

I define gay as someone who exclusively wants to date the same gender, and straight as someone who exclusively wants to date the opposite gender.

If a person identifies as a woman and presents as a woman, I am not interested, I am only interested in men, those who have the same gender as me.

But note: I love having sex with transmen, and that is again, because I am gay: they are men. That doesn't make me bi.

Transmen may HAVE a pussy, but that is not WHO they are.

[PeterRS]

There used to be a small area off Nana Soi 4 (Nana Plaza?) where there were three ladyboy bars. I was taken to one with lots of boys. I was amazed at how beautiful these boys were. They were basically twinks who would happily let you fondle them if you had bought them drinks. We did not take any off but were tempted. Rather surprisingly we thought, there seemed very little girlish about most of them. We wondered if there would be much difference between offing them compared to one of the twinks in, say, Classic Boys. I wondered, too, how many would become kathoey eventually.

[zombie]

On 10/31/2022 at 2:42 PM, Travellerdave said:

I have met guys who go to Thailand to have sex exclusively with ladyboys and yet maintain that they themselves are not gay even they enjoy the same activities as us gays who like boys. I would say that if you suck cock you are certainly gay - but they don’t agree. 

Some years back before Covid I went for a bar crawl with a straight relative to various bars including  a ladyboy bar in Pattaya. Bought one of the "girls" a drink and had a chat. She told me that most of the time the bar customers want the ladyboy to fuck the customer.

And from what I was told  LB's- at least in that bar- were well endowed!

 

(Without wishing to complicate the issue, there ar some "straight" guys who do like being fucked by their girlfriends by  what is called 'pegging'.

Pegging is a sexual practice in which someone (usually with a vagina) performs anal sex on someone else by penetrating their anus with a strap-on dildo.)

 

 

 

[pong2]

They can also be found and also with specific local names about anywhere in ASEAN. For me a little strange that other very buddhist countries, like Burma, Vietnam then seem to have them, but in much lower numbers. Myself mostly familiair with Indonesia and in some areas there they are also rampant high in numbers. Were thought of as more acceptable ´relief allowing´ for married men compared to all-ladies.

Somehow I also kind of remember some very old guidebooks or the like about Tahiti (french owned) that magical paradise island far away in the Pacific Ocean that seemed to have them in relative abundance.

´Real´ Thai gays I know better were always very, very adamant in stating they very certainly were NOT kathoey.

[floridarob]

2 hours ago, pong2 said:

Somehow I also kind of remember some very old guidebooks or the like about Tahiti (french owned) that magical paradise island far away in the Pacific Ocean that seemed to have them in relative abundance.

Samoa as well.....

[VancBCMan]

On 10/31/2022 at 9:04 AM, Tartegogo said:

If a person identifies as a woman and presents as a woman, I am not interested, I am only interested in men, those who have the same gender as me

+1

[iendo]

On 10/31/2022 at 1:22 PM, Travellerdave said:

Some closely ressemble woman but others are just boys using make-up in female clothes.

 

Wouldn't that be a transvestite?