Abstract
The large number of Thai transgender women (Kathoey) in Thailand and their visible roles in society often lead casual visitors to believe that Thailand is open and accepting of LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender) culture. Hence, it is common to hear Thailand described as gender tolerant and culturally sensitive. However,
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transgender women themselves beg to differ. They explain that the accumulated injustices of the Thai state on transgender rights – such as same sex marriage, social welfare, change of gender on identification card and structural employment discrimination - are the main push factor for Thai transgender women migration to Europe. This research presents state and street discrimination in Thailand and Europe. It also presents the visions of Europe that are commonly held by transgender women, visions that motivate some of them to migrate, and argues that these fantasies are romanticizing productions of western colonial influence. In Denmark, the Netherlands, Belgium and The UK, where the governments support equal rights of transgender people, Kathoeys find that they are allowed to legally marry, revel in professional progress, access social welfare and receive transgender legal protections. However compared to Thailand, Kathoeys experience more severe discrimination and transprejudice on street (social) level in Europe. This research studies the phenomenon of Thai transgender women migration to Europe and their perception before migrating and reality of living in Europe. It compares the levels of discrimination in Thailand and Europe and presents empirical data regarding street discrimination towards Kathoeys in Europe, despite state protection. The gap between European legal protections and the negative attitudes toward Kathoeys that continues to exist on the street demonstrates the power of universal and essentialist binary opposition: as hetero-normativity and cis-gender bodies are constructed to comprise normalcy and natural, Kathoeys and their transgendered bodies equate with deviancy and the unnatural. The Kathoey discourse of social acceptance through hetero-beauty myth is also theorized in an effort to understand Kathoey’s otherness, oppressed identity and inferiority issues in the Western world, which is influenced by hetero-normativity and post-colonial legacy. The study also investigates transgender prostitution industry in Europe and Thai transgender women’s narratives on European lives.
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