Author(s): Richard Totman

Transgender

Through the lives of three "kathoey," male transvestites, this introduction to transgender in Thailand places a cultural, historical, religious, biological, and psychological emphasis on international traditions of sexuality. A fascinating anthropological and sociological exploration, the context of transgender is detailed through the challenges and joys found in Manat, Lek, and Akorn as they travel through the social rites of passage to become kathoeys. As a part of the cultural landscape of Thailand, the kathoeys are a modern expression of an archaic tradition, and through these personal stories a wider discussion of transgender and the existence of a "third sex" in international societies emerges.