Just yesterday I posted a piece on the winner of the Miss Tiffany contest in Pattaya, Nalada Thamthanakom, and the background of beauty pageants in Thailand.
But it´s a thin line between a real beauty pageant where charisma and performance form the center of the show and events where Ladyboys are displayed in sexy outfits just to make tourists say: “Can´t believe this is a man.” The latter one equals a freak show set up for budget tourists to take pictures and show them around at home with the same words.
But do these beautiful girls on the stage really want to be shown as freaks and be referred to as “men”? Sure not.
As well as beauty contests, freak shows have a tradition in Thailand, too. Many zoos and animal parks have some cages and pits with freak creatures.
A liberal attitude towards transgenderism is a prominent feature of Thailand and of course there is money to be made with all kinds of Ladyboy shows. It´s a tough business, still, many Thai Katoeys dream of a career as a cabaret dancer.
But I am not so sure if all of these shows really exist only to promote a posititive image of Ladyboys…
What do you think? Are these shows designed to improve the image Ladyboys or just events to make money?
Tags: thai thailand ladyboy sexy miss show beauty contest katoey transsexual
Ladyboy (Freak) Shows
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Hi Victoria,
A good point, I think Miss (universe) contests are demeaning in general both for ladyboys as well as for ladies, apart from some freaked-out bodybuilders you will hardly see any mister universe elections, or am I misinformed?
About the cabaret dance shows: I think they emit both a positive and a negative image, Bad news is also good news; at least foreigners are able to see ladyboys in the comfort of their own chair, outside of dark alleys or in big groups. And they pay 100 Baht to bring their pictures home, also a lot of prostitutes are gaining additional income in the pole dance shows, but for the men already used to that it's a paradise and for the standard tourist it's purely a curiosity thing, I saw such a show once in Bangla Road, Patong Beach and a lot of men brought their wifes too.
To my opinion Coyete girls and á Gogo girls discredit Thai women, more than Ladyboys dancing for money. Because foreigners have no idea that 80% of ladyboys are having a regular job, so for them haaving no clue dancing or cabaret seems the only way of earning an income, they might respect that in their narrow mind. Having said this, the time has come for Thailand to export the awareness and acceptance of ladyboys being part of society anywhere throughout the world.
Thanks for commenting.
People should keep in mind, that Ladyboys are on display in that sexy, half-naked way only in tourist areas and quite often connected to the red light business.
Upcountry they are part of many traditional events and shows, too. But in a decent way i.e. Mor Lum dancers, since in rural areas of Thailand the presence of Katoeys is simply nothing extraordinary. People just come to watch their dancing skills and their loveliness.
Yes, for Thai people ladyboys are doing cabaret for centuries here, but no average farang, mr joe, will know about that. In the village where my fiancé lives I have seen
a 5 years old boy of who everybody suspected he will be a ladyboy in the future, because he liked to play with dolls and other lady-like things, the parents had no problem with it at all. In the Western world parents would normally suppress this kind of acts probably making him come out of the closet between the age of 14 and 40, depending on the dominance of his family!
You are right. In my village we have about half a dozen of young boys who already hang around with us. Some consider themselves already katoey while the younger ones just spend their time after school with us and watch.
Of one of the kids the dad is a foreigner while his mother is Thai. We all are pretty sure, he will become katoey as well. I wonder how this story will evolve in the future.
Thanks for the mention in your recent post.
I think that in the tourist areas ladyboy shows are primarily about sensationalism and money - but why not? Robbie Williams doesn't sing for free. He has loads of hangers-on living off his talent. Where's the difference?
I really enjoy your blog. Thanks for this.
All the best, Boonsong
Hi - I am really happy to find this. Good job!
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