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Why are there so many Kathoeys in Thailand?

OK in Thailand Kathoeys (Term refers to male-to-female transgender persons & effeminate gay men in Thailand) are very very common. Most villages (even rural ones) have atleast one, they`re are numerous Kathoey beauty contests every year, & many work in the entertainment industry. They are much much more visible & accepted than in Western trans people.

Why do you suppose there is such a disproportion? Does the more open minded culture make people more likely to be themselves?

My question is

743 day ago

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serenity 		I believe it is combination of many things
#1 the prostitution that happens in certain areas of Thailand is out in the open & the girls are dressing very skimpy & the feminine men or men who have feminine characteristics in them see this & aspire to be `sexy` like these girls who walk around looking like that;
#2 Yes, the open mindedness of Thais & Buddhists definately helps them come out in the open & be what they want to be.
#3 I`m not putting thais down, this is a good thing I think, but(!) Thais are more passive than westerners. They are very peaceful & non aggressive majority of the time, which may add to femininity of some men (again, I`m not trying to put anyone down, this is just an observation of mine & Id rather be around a bunch of feminine men then people like me who try hard to act tough & muay thai fighter could easily beat me & my whole town up)
#4 the gays who work in boys town & places like that see how much more the bar girls on the other side of the street make & many of them transition to make more money possibly;
#5 Thais have smaller frames than westerners so this makes it easier to transition when the time comes, plus surgery is not as expensive as in the west.

I don`t think It`s just an open minded culture alone, because I lived in San Francisco & they are pretty open minded but(!) It`s very rare for me to walk down street & see a transsexual there(I would see may be three month, which as you know, is rare compared to Thailand), so I think it is many factors in Thailand

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torogay 		I was curious of same question & had looked up several places.

Other than the common sense reasons you can find on this website, there seems to be historic circumstances.

Thailand had been in constant conflict with neighboring Burma. At some point, situations got so bad that even a lot of little boys were sent to battle fields. Fearing for their son`s lives, Thai mothers dressed them as girls.

This is an interesting aspect or perhaps beginning of this whole abundance of gays & transgenders phenomenon

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serenity 		Mattyboy,

I tend to agree with your observation. Thailand just seems to be world class entertainment draw & having been there I have learned that they are more open minded than other countries & accepting;

I also understand that since many of them are of the Buddist faith they accept all for who they are

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