User:Nepsy23/Kathoey

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Religion:

In Buddhism there are a variety of interpretations on how to relate to Kathoey and Transgender people. Some within the Theravada school of Buddhism see being a kathoey as the result of karmic punishment for previous lifetimes. (added, this is a new intro to the following paragraph)

Bunmi, a Thai Buddhist author, believes that homosexuality stems from "lower level spirits" (phi-sang-thewada), a factor that is influenced by one's past life. Some Buddhists view kathoeys as persons born with a disability as a consequence of past sins.^{[dubious – discuss]} Using the notion of karma, some Thais believe that being a kathoey is the result of transgressions in past lives, concluding that kathoey deserve pity rather than blame. Others, however, believe that kathoeys should rectify their past life transgressions. This is done through merit-making such as "making donations to a temple or by ordaining as monks".

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While other Buddhists believe that the Buddha was never hostile to LGBT people and therefore that seeing being LGBT as a karmic punishment is a mistaken interpretation.

In northern Thailand, Kathoey, women, and gay men are considered to have soft souls and are therefore easily frightened and highly suspectable to possession. These three groups are heavily represented in spirit summoning since people without soft souls are considered immune to possession. Despite this, Kathoey being a large proportion of the spirit medium population is a modern phenomenon since there is little evidence that Kathoey were associated with religious practice and were banned from religious ceremony before the modern period. In rural areas in north Thailand, Kathoey have taken on jobs as spirit mediums where they become known as Kathoey maa-khii. Spirit mediumship provides Kathoey with a source of income as well as a support network.

During the festival of the nine gods in southern Thailand, Kathoey participate as spiritual mediums of the god Kaun Im. The southern Thailand tradition of the spirit medium Nora dance has traditionally been a primarily male performance. However, women and Kathoey have become an increasingly large proportion of the performers, with a majority male performers in 2014 being either gay men or Kathoey.

Employment[edit]

Many kathoey work in predominately female occupations, such as in shops, restaurants, and beauty salons, but also in factories (a reflection of Thailand's high proportion of female industrial workers). Discrimination in employment is rampant as many perceive kathoeys as having mental problems and refuse to hire them. In addition, the difficulty for Kathoey to change their gender marker on official documentation makes finding employment harder. For these reasons, many kathoeys are only able to find work in sex and entertainment industries. These sorts of jobs include tourist centers, cabarets, and sex work. Kathoeys who work in the tourism sector must conform to a physical image that is preferred by tourists. Kathoeys who obtain jobs in the civil service sector are required to wear uniforms coinciding with their assigned sex of male. In 2011, The Thai airline "PC Air" began hiring Kathoey as flight attendants.

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In rural areas in northern Thailand, some kathoey have acquired jobs picking fruit from trees. According to rural traditions men and women perform sperate roles in the process of collecting fruit. Men climb trees and while women collect fruit in baskets below. However, kathoey are allowed to perform both roles. Kathoey in Rural Areas in northern Thailand have begun acquiring jobs as spirit mediums as well.

Education[edit]

Many schools teach students that being transgender is wrong and a form of sexual deviancy. Thai schools utilize gendered uniforms as well. In 2015, Bangkok University revised its uniform guidelines to allow transgender students to wear the uniform of their preferred gender, however, many other institutions still force transgender students to wear the uniform that matches their assigned sex. Several Kathoey and transgender women to choose which schools to attend based mainly on the ability to wear the gendered school uniform they prefer. Some kathoey report facing violence and discrimination at all levels of schooling due to being kathoey by both their classmates and teachers. This has led to some dropping out or changing schools.

Bibliography

• Jackson, Peter A. Baumann, Benjamin. 2022. Deities and Divas. Queer Ritual specialists in Myanmar, Thailand and Beyond. Copenhagen, Denmark: NAIS Press.

• Saisuwan, Pavadee. 2016. Kathoey and the Linguistic Construction of Gender Identity in Thailand. In Levon, Erez. Mendes, Ronald. 2016. Language, Sexuality, Power: Studies in intersectional linguistics. New York City, USA. Oxford university press.

• Scuzzarello, Sarah. Statham, Paul. 2022. Transgender Kathoey Socially Imagining Relationships with Western Men in Thailand: Aspirations for Gender Affirmation, Upward Social Mobility, and Family Acceptance. University of Sussex, UK. Advances in Southeast Asian Studies, 15(2), 195-212.
• Suriyasarm, Busakorn. 2015. PRIDE at Work; a study on discrimination at work on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity in Thailand. Genevea, Switzerland. International labour office.

• Dredge, Kang. 2012. "kathoey in Trend: Emergent Genderscapes, National Anxieties and the Re-Signification of Male-Bodies Effeminacy in Thailand." University of California, USA. Routledge press. Asian Studies Review. 36(4) 475-494.
• Chandran, Rina. 2020. "'LGBT people are also Humans': Thai Buddhist monk backs equality" Reuters.
• Hodal, Kate. 2012. "Flying the flag for ladyboys: thai airline takes on transgender flight attendants." The Guardian.