According to SORA NEWS 24, Thailand is often thought of as the transgender capital of the world, both because of the high rate of sex change surgeries that take place there, their high quality compared to other countries, and the fact that transgender people are usually treated better than in other places.
But Thailand’s transgender acceptance goes far beyond just the people who have undergone surgery. Thailand legally acknowledges a “third gender,” and within the larger culture, there are 18 genders that are part of the common language.
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18種性別中女性細分成10種。（圖／翻攝自metropop臉書）
Here are the 18 genders below:
- (Straight) Male: a man who likes women.
- (Straight) Female: a woman who likes men.
- Tom: a woman who dresses like a man and likes women or Dees.
- Dee: a woman who likes manly women or Toms.
- Tom Gay: a woman who likes women, Toms, and Dees.
- Tom Gay King: a manly Tom who likes Toms.
- Bi(sexual): a woman who likes bisexuals, Toms, lesbians, and men.
- Boat: a man who likes women, Gay Kings, and Gay Queens (does not include Ladyboys).
- Gay Queen: a womanly man who likes men.
- Gay King: a manly man who likes men.
- Tom Gay Two-Way: a Tom who can be both a Tom Gay King or Tom Gay Queen.
- Tom Gay Queen: a womanly Tom who likes Toms.
- Lesbian: a woman who likes women.
- Kathoey/Ladyboy: a man who wants to be a woman.
- Adam: a man who likes Toms.
- Angee: a Kathoey who likes Toms.
- Cherry: a woman who likes gay men and Kathoey.
- Samyaan: a woman who likes Toms, lesbians, and women, and can also be any of them.
18種性別中男性細分成6種。（圖／翻攝自metropop臉書）
SORA NEWS 24 mentions, actually, Thailand has a long history of multiple genders. Toms, Dees, and Kathoey are just as much a part of Thailand’s gender identity culture as gay, lesbian, and trans people are in the West.
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SORA NEWS 24 adds, it’s important to keep in mind that “gender identity” is different from “biological sex.”
Just like many countries in the world have come to accept that it’s possible for someone to be born a man but identify as a woman (or the other way around), we’re learning that there is a whole spectrum of other genders that people can identify as.
