Have you ever wondered why there are so many Ladyboys in Thailand? Here's the deal

One thing you quickly realize when you come to Thailand is that it's really true, there are just a whole lot of transgender women here. The following is what I believe is the reason for this, based on having spent around 5 years living in Thailand. I should start off by saying that I'm not attracted to transgender women, and I have never "accidentally" slept with any (although I suppose it's possible). I see a lot of foreign guys here dating trans women, and while some of them know, a lot of others do not. This has always confused me since it's very obvious to me, but oh well. Thai women also sometimes complain half jokingly that the ladyboys are prettier than them, but I just don't see it. I will say that their photo filter and editing skills are on point, and in photos you often can't tell. Real life is different though. Anyway...

It's a common belief that all of the ladyboys in Thailand work in the sex industry. While an awful lot of them do, this is far from the truth. Go anywhere, literally anywhere, and you'll see transgender women working there. Restaurants, markets, hospitals, department stores, law firms, you'll find them everywhere. So why are there so many? Here's my theory:

Why so many ladyboys?

People are people, no matter where you go in the world. Whatever people you're around and whatever country you are in, some are born attracted to the opposite sex, some are born attracted to the same sex. And plenty fall somewhere in between. The same is true with gender identity (bear with me, I promise this won't be a gender studies course), some people feel to greater or lesser degrees that they were born the wrong gender. This is all just biological fact.

Where the difference happens is where biology butts up against culture. I'm from the US, where like in other Western countries, being gay is probably easier than being transgender. For a long time both were seen as unnatural, and still are by many, but in general it's got to be easier coming out to your parents as gay than as trans. In Thailand this is not really the case. The transgender woman goes back a long time in Thai art and culture. To most Thai people, the idea of a man who becomes a woman is just a lot more normal than a man who is attracted to other men. While ladyboys are often called katoey (กะเทย) which is normal but slightly derogatory, the preferred term is sao praphet song (สาวประเภทสอง), meaning the second type of woman.

Two more pieces of evidence for my theory

1. The same phenomena described above is true for women as well. It's rare for two feminine women to date, but extremely common for one feminine woman to date a tomboyish woman. In Chicago where I'm from, there are entire neighborhoods, it seems, of butch lesbian couples. In Thailand, the idea of two tomboys dating is pretty much unheard of
2. Among wealthier Thai guys in Bangkok and Chiang Mai, it's much, much more common to be gay than transgender. In their social circle (if not their family), it's more Westernized and thus more accepting of homosexuality

Anyway, that's what I think and I figured I'd write it down. It's something friends ask me about often when they visit so I might as well just have this to point them to, and if they're curious, I figured the Steemit community might be as well. If you disagree or have anything to add, please comment below. Also if you have questions about this or Thailand in general, ask and I'll do my best to answer.

Cheers!

Post image is a transgender model named Blossom. You can see her and others in this post on the 10 most beautiful transwomen in Thailand from a site called Coconuts... just don't forget to upvote first 😁😁😁😁😁