What is A Katoey?

Thailand's katoeys are renowned for their beauty and some of them really look convincing, like a real woman!

A katoey or ladyboy is a transgender Thai male person (from male to female) who choose to live as a Thai woman.

They are also known as phyuing praphet song which means "a second kind of woman".

In northern Thailand, there was a tale saying that in the beginning, there was a couple (a man and a woman) who had three children. The first one is a male, the second, a female, and third one, a third sex - a katoey.

Why is katoeys so common in Thailand?

Katoeys are not considered very strange in Thailand. Did you know that there are beauty contests for katoeys in Thailand?

In fact, it is commonly accepted for Thai boys to wear lipstick and wear girl dresses to school if they feel the urge to do so.

Since Thailand is a Buddhist country, the Thais strongly believe in reincarnation and karma. If a man had commited adultery in his past life, he will be born into a kotoey as a form of punishment for his past transgression.

Instead of despising and blaming them, the Thais feel that katoeys do deserve pity and a place in society. Some even believe that katoeys can bring them good luck.

You can find view the original article here at (http://mythaisensei.com/thai_culture/thai_katoey_intro.html)