Thais are often more relaxed with the idea of katoey -
men who live as women, also known as ladyboys - than with gay men.
Katoey (pronounced
"gaht-eh-ee") can be found in a wide range of social situations. These include television, where strikingly attractive katoey host several programmes while their less physically attractive sisters are a staple of soap opera comedy. But despite public acceptance, very few katoey are open about their situation - again the Thai reluctance to rock the boat, perhaps spicened by the idea that the truth may be more seductive when it remains unspoken.
In Thailand, however, only in the last two or three decades, at least partly as a result of
Western influence, has the distinction between gay and katoey become
clear. While modern, educated Thais tend to use katoey only to describe
individuals who were born male but who live full-time as women, many others,
particularly older and rural Thais, also use the word to to describe any effeminate male,
or any man who admits to being uninterested in women.
This failure to see a difference between men-who-consider-themselves-men-and-
who-are-attracted-to-other-men and men-who-consider-themselves-women has had a
significant impact on the way young Thais who are not heterosexual see themselves.
Because the idea of katoey is tolerated and to a certain extent accepted,
many adolescent boys call themselves katoey before growing older and
discovering that gay is a more appropriate term. Some even begin taking hormones
to develop breasts at an age when their bodies are still dealing with the impact of
adolescence, before they understand that they want to be men, not women.
The word katoey itself is problematic. Many Thais consider it
impolite or inappropriate but it is widely used and there is no other
widely understood term in Thai for the same concept. In English, "ladyboy" has strong associations
with youth and cabaret performances and is not appropriate for every situation
in which katoey live. "Transvestite" is inadequate because it suggests
retaining the male identity under the female clothes. "Transgender" is most neutral, but it covers a range
of experiences and identities (eg female to male) not known in Thailand. For
the time being, therefore, while recognising concerns with the word, A
View from the Edge will continue to use katoey.
