Kathoey Gender

' ... sexual minorities as gender and sexuality are believed to be free-floating, not fixed categories as one might reincarnate as... Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org Kathoey - Wikipedia Kathoey or katoey, commonly translated as ladyboys, is a term used by some people in Cambodia, Laos, and Thailand who were assigne... Show all Ubiquity: Kathoey are visible in nearly all sectors of daily life, including sales, medicine, and legal professions, though they are most famously associated with entertainment and the "cabaret" industry. Stigmatization: Despite their visibility, they often face "insidious job discrimination" and are frequently pushed toward the cosmetics or sex industries. Legal Status: Until relatively recently, they were barred from certain legal rights, such as testifying in lawsuits, and they still face hurdles in changing their legal gender on official documents. WU Wien +4 Modern Perspectives “Kathoey are everywhere in Thailand... They are a part of everyday life.” WU Wien

In the Western context, gender identity is often framed through a binary lens (man/woman) with transgender individuals identifying as a gender different from the sex they were assigned at birth. Kathoey, however, represents a more culturally specific third gender category. A kathoey is typically a person who was assigned male at birth but who identifies with and expresses a feminine identity. Importantly, many kathoey do not see themselves as “men transitioning to women” in the Western sense, but rather as a distinct gender category altogether. kathoey gender