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The Third Sex
By Dr Richard Totman
Hands up if you want to be a lady, boy . .
HERE'S
a poser for every transgendered male. Had five per cent of the boys
at your school been openly dressing and expressing themselves as girls
when you were nine or 10, would you have joined them? I'd probably have
headed the vanguard at my all-boys school - but in those sad old days
when EVERYONE was in the closet, I wasn't even aware of a single gay
pupil among the 500 lads, let alone another embryo transsexual.
Things would have been dramatically different,
however, had I been born in Thailand rather the the UK. For those who
embark on the road to becoming 'ladyboys' are not only accepted by their
peers - they are seen by aspiring younger boys as heroines and role
models.
The 'kathoey' phenomenon
that has been part of Thai culture for generations is the subject of
The Third Sex, a fascinating new book by Dr Richard Totman, a prize
research fellow at Oxford University's Nuffield. Dr Totman, who is also
a widely-travelled theatre director, became probably the first farang
(Thai for Westerner) to infiltrate the mysterious world of the ladyboys.
He lived for months with kathoey girls and their families, learnt the language and spent much of his time talking to dozens of them and sharing their unique lifestyle. Yet he believes that, cultural acceptance apart, there is basically little difference between them and Western transsexuals. ''They are not a different species at all,'' he told me. ''However, in their case support groups are embedded in their culture, especially in the north.'' Nevertheless, in some ways TG girls actually have it better in this country. The kathoey are unable to change their passports and ID cards, for instance, even after SRS - and under existing Thai law must serve in the army and go through life as men.
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Dr Totman describes Thailand as something of a ''quasi military state'' which is now trying to mimic Western values and lagging behind. ''They have a cardboard image of the West - 30 years behind,'' he says. Richard, who will be spending this winter in Thailand renewing old acquaintanceships and directing theatre, also hopes to do something to persuade the Bangkok government to make changes. ''I'll probably end up in jail,'' he says, ''but not being able to change their ID cards is a constant source of anger and frustration to the kathoey.
'' Life in general also boils over all too often for many ladyboys. They may look like gorgeous women (I can vouch for that after spending a day with the touring Ladyboys of Bangkok show in Manchester this summer). But Richard explained: ''While I never came across anyone who regretted being what they are, fundamentally they are unbalanced psychologically. Many of them are subject to violent exhibitions of temper and emotion. ''They also have a disregard for their well-being. Most of them smoke, and a self-destructive streak seems to run through the culture. They consider their lives fairly cheap and the suicide rate is rather high.'' He added: 'Although some do regret their situation, they accept being kathoey as their destiny. Yet they are not unhappy from day to day and love partying. I certainly had a lot of fun with them. ''Having said that, most are intensely religious Buddhists and have shrines in their rooms.'' Their most fervent prayer? To be reincarnated as normal women
