An American student from Texas explains her experience in Thailand; the introduction to ladyboys, the reaction of it by her and the way in which it was revealed.
When I first arrived in Bangkok for a study abroad program last spring, my university-assigned “buddy,” Yeepoon, sat down with me to show me the ropes. This meeting led to another, as I kept seeking her advice, and soon we enjoyed weekly lunch dates. All week I would save up questions about the cultural oddities I couldn’t explain.
What’s the deal with the entire country’s seeming lack of toilet paper, or the ubiquity of plastic bags? How many chillies are too spicy for a Thai? Patiently, she would explain everything to me.
It was during one of these lunches that Yeepoon told me her university had a “Most Beautiful” and “Most Handsome” election for each grade level. She pointed to a small, fair girl in the cafeteria’s lunch line, whom she said had been deemed the sophomore class’s “Most Beautiful.” Then, as an afterthought, she noted that the girl was actually transgender, or a “ladyboy.”
Though I had been in Thailand for a few months, her reaction surprised me. Ladyboys are very common in Thailand, and because most Thais are petite, the transition from one sex to another — at least in terms of appearance — can be relatively easy. But what surprised me was the way Yeepoon said it, as a form of light, harmless gossip.
I was impressed. In the U.S., even low-profile deviance from social norms is a source of gossip, but a transgender person winning a university-wide beauty contest? It would be more than a strong source of gossip; here it would call publicity, maybe even ridicule.
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