Following up on last week's post on the subject, BoingBoing reader Rachel writes:
The Thai word translated as "transvestite" or "shemale" is khatoey, also spelled katoey, kathoey and several other ways. The word doesn't really have the negative ring of those two English words. And, trust me, those English words do have a negative ring. Call any TS woman in the US a "shemale" and she'll be deeply insulted 98% of the time. Very few crossdressers in the US like the term "transvestite". If you're looking for an English word to describe these women, "transsexual" is probably closest; "pre-op transsexual" or "non-op transsexual"
is possibly more accurate, though contentious.Probably the best site around to actually get to know the khatoey is Andrew Matzner's Transgender in Thailand site . I also recommend looking at
my site for a more general view of transgender life in Asia.
You might also read my journal about getting SRS in Thailand.I think that the site you linked to — Alcazar's — is primarily a club in Pattaya. The contest is quite glamorous and highly-esteemed, but that is because Alcazar's itself is the most famous kathoey cabaret in Thailand. I think that the contest is primarily a promotion for the club; it isn't so much about Hollywood dreams as it is about helping secure Alcazar's place in the drag universe. Finally, a plea: I hope that you are interested in the khatoey women as people, not as sex objects; your entry on BoingBoing seems to indicate that you are curious about their roles in society and how society views them, not in prodding them with a virtual stick as so many others have. If you are in fact approaching them with respect, then you have my heartfelt thanks.
Link. Photo: Thai kickboxer-turned-beauty-queen Nong Tum, whose life story is now a movie. Link.
