People who have a different sense of their gender than the sex that was assigned to them at birth are called transgenders.
E.g. a born-male who may not identify with some, or all, aspects of being a male but rather experience a female side to his personality is a trans woman.
While transgenders and transsexuals are used interchangeably, they are not the same; the transgenders who undergo medical surgeries & procedures to transition from the sex-assigned-at-birth to another are called transsexuals.
And trans women or Kathoeys (called Ladyboys in English but the term is sometimes considered offensive in Thailand) is a term that is used to refer to both transgenders and transsexuals in Thailand.
It is different from being gay as that means being physically, emotionally, and/or romantically attracted to the same sex (Kathoey is seen as a derogatory word for those who self-identify as gay).
Being a trans woman means you feel like a woman and a trans woman (or a trans man) could be straight, lesbian, gay, bisexual, or queer.
There are a few reasons as to why transgender women are so common in Thailand.
Reason 1: Culturally, Thailand is much more open to kathoeys.
While the estimated rate of transgender people in Thailand is the same as in most other countries (around 0.3 percent), transgenders are free to express themselves in most urban areas in Thailand i.e. they can be ‘out & proud’ and, therefore, are more visible.
While there is discrimination in some occupations, entertainment & fashion industries accept them openly and many Thai models, singers, and movie stars are kathoeys.
Reason 2: Buddhism is the largest religionOver 90% of the population follows Buddhism. in Thailand and it doesn’t frown upon transgenders.
While Buddhism attributes being a kathoey to sins of one’s past life, it doesn’t comment on it being right or wrong (it sees being a kathoey as a disability that needs to be pitied rather than punished).
Reason 3: Male-on-male intercourse is considered sinful, while sex with kathoeys is considered fine.
If homosexuality is frowned upon but being trans is not, it makes sense for LGB people to adopt a lifestyle that allows them to live without discrimination.
