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Monday, 20 November 2000
BANGKOK, Thailand -- The community in Thailand has scored another one of those amazing and hilarious social victories that seem regularly to pour out of one of the most vibrant gay cultures in the world.
The BBC reports a winner of a beauty contest in the central Thai province of Ratchaburi this month was forced to give back her prize when judges were told that there was more to Miss Kesaraporn Duangsawan than had met the eye of her adoring judges.
In a word, she turned out to be a he.
Beauty pageants are an extremely popular form of entertainment in Thailand. And while several of the country's larger contests feature transvestites and transsexuals as emcees and judges, this is the first known case of a Thai man actually winning a female contest.
Unlike much of Asia, Thailand is a haven of tolerance when it comes to transvestites. Cross-dressers host numerous talk shows, live openly in all-gay housing projects, and even serve limited roles in the country's military. Their popularity on national television became the focus of official government expressions of concern, though it has done nothing to dim their appeal.
Two years ago, a transvestite kickboxer, Parinya Kiatbusaba, become a national sensation in Thailand - blending scarlet hair and fingernails with mastery of the violent 400-year-old sport. Parinya's success in the ring made his name a rallying cry in gay Thailand and a cultural hero for the country's transgender community.
The 16-year-old's full make-up and graceful delivery of kicks and uppercuts, occasionally followed by a ballet-inspired leap or peck on the cheek of his opponent, shattered attendance records at public matches nationwide.
Kickboxing in Thailand is the ultimate symbol of masculinity and the core of its military culture. The Royal Thai Army remains the sport's official custodian.
The culture-wide appeal of irreverence in the face of strong-chinned tradition and the community's unrivaled ability to both exploit rigid gender norms for their own ends or turn them on their head to ridicule before an enthusiastic national audience, enjoys greater success in Thailand than anywhere else in the world.
Over the past several years, the community in Thailand has become more fully aware of its social popularity and has begun the work of translating that into political influence. While it has enjoyed little success so far, it has become noticeably less timid in asserting itself into the country's political affairs.
Source : Obtained from
datalounge.com
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